Football, The American Dream & A Playground for the Rich

I was privileged to take a trip to a wealthy golf haven back in January – a playground for the rich. But first I want to rant about something related…
Our American foundation is under attack. Make no mistake. Powerful forces are trying to pull America toward the left. I’m not talking about social issues. I’m talking about economic policy, incorrect thinking about “jobs”, and the rampant disease of “entitlement”. Since its founding, America became great because of hard work, persistence, and personal responsibility.
Unfortunately, too many people now feel “entitled”. Entitled to a job even if they have no skills or don’t work hard. Entitled to high speed internet, cable, smart phones, and 2 nice cars (not one but two). America became great because you did “the work” before you got “the rewards”.
Do you have employees that constantly show up late for work? Constantly check their Facebook and Twitter during the work day? Do they get grumpy when you ask them to actually do “some work”? If so, then you need to DO something about it. Let the firings begin if need be, until the situation improves.
There’s also an ugly rash of attacking those that are wealthy and successful – the evil 1-percenters. America grew exponentially because of the “American Dream”. From as far back as when people “went West” to start their homesteads in the face of great danger, people in America have the “seek a better life” mantra bred into their genes – at least until recently. Shouldn’t people in America still aspire to be successful? Many times wealth is accompanying that success. And I don’t think anyone should be ashamed of the wealth that comes with their success. After all they are the ones that worked hard for it!
I had the privilege of visiting the Marriott Palm Desert Resort in Palm Springs back in January. This place just screams “luxury” from the moment you pull into the palm tree lined approach. This is the type of place that the wealthy and successful get to enjoy… not because they were “entitled” but because they “worked really hard”.
I didn’t get much if any time to enjoy the golf, the pool, or the amenities. I was there for an NPH Broker/Dealer conference – both as an exhibiter and also to be on a financial planning software “panel”. Even being in such a beautiful place, there were many of us there “working” and “selling” to try to make our businesses more successful. That is a statement in and of itself. The breakfast time in the exhibit room started at 7am each day. The all day schedule went until 8pm and 9pm each night. Not much time to even catch up on email.
I’m not writing this to “whine” but just to tell you about my recent trip and show off these gorgeous photos. And also to share a few things that I learned. There were two “famous” people that spoke at the conference – Daymond John from Shark Tank and Brian Billick, NFL Coach and now TV commentator. Both “worked really hard” to achieve their success.
Daymond John was broke and overextended for years as he tried to get his clothing business off the ground. Hard work, long hours, and focused strategy eventually helped his business to take off. He never felt “entitled” while he was building his business. He didn’t sit around on the couch “hoping” it might work. He acted. He persevered. He would fail and then find another way.
Brian Billick gave his thoughts on how to build a successful sports team or business. His 3 main keys for success are the Personnel, Structure and Chemistry. First, you have to hire the right players and employees. “Those who won’t are no better than those who can’t” said Brian.
You then give those people the “Structure” to be successful. Empower them to excel at their jobs by not micromanaging them. His last big key was to foster the right “Chemistry”. Fear might motivate in the short term, but in the long term you can’t sustain any success because fear does not build chemistry. Brian’s big key here was that “they don’t care what you know until they know that you care”. This applies to employees and clients. Once they know that you care, then they will care what you do, what you know, and how you can help them.
Hopefully over the years we have shown you, our customers, that we do care. May the American Dream never die. Go after it and don’t ever be ashamed of that pursuit.