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Today is a national holiday here in the States. It’s Memorial Day. It’s a day for remembering and honoring people who have died while serving in the military.
I’m not thankful for wars or the politics and emotions that foster them. But I am thankful to have been born in a free country. American citizenship is a blessing. To be able to travel about freely – something not possible in other parts of the world – and to do so safely, it’s something we mostly take for granted.
I read that 40% of our population support socialism, but I’m not sure I buy it. I hope it’s not true. And that’s not a political stance, but rather a stance born from what prompted the birth of our nation. The quest for freedom. Freedom to earn. Freedom to experience fairness. Freedom to pursue. In a word, freedom.
Today, and every day, I’m thankful to be a human living in America. When I was in high school there was a movement, “America, Love It or Leave It.” I never understood that movement because it presumes nothing can be improved. And it assumes any quest for improvement may lack gratitude.
So many things are wrong. But so many things are right. Our nation is not so unlike our individual lives. Or our businesses. There’s much to love. There’s much to be dissatisfied with. There’s much to improve. There’s much to honor as being great already.
Wherever you live. Whatever the political climate, or culture. I suspect the fact that we’re alive and that you’re able to listen to this podcast – and able to pursue your personal growth as a business owner, as an executive, as a leader – puts you in the company of the blessed.
I’ve never known what it is to live in houses with dirt floors, like the millions of people who will never know anything different.
I’ve never known what it is to have to travel some distance for somewhat clean water to drink…like the millions who struggle daily to find such a basic element of life.
I’ve never known what it is to not have books readily available, unlike the millions who wish they could learn if only somebody would teach them.
Today, it’s not about business. The Grow Great podcast has a business focus, but at the heart of it all – it’s about us. People. Humans. It’s about our frailties, weaknesses, and struggles. It’s about our victories, triumphs, and achievements. It’s all the stuff that defines us as a community – and as individuals.
I’m thankful for those who made it – and continue to make it all possible. My ability and your ability to pursue improving our lives and the lives of those who surround us.
Be well. Do good. Grow great!
RC