I emigrated from Canada to the USA in 1995. (You could say you’re protecting the wrong border.) Yet with my good fortune to speak to organizations across the land I often get asked what’s in store over the next while. With my Green Card in one hand and my iPhone in another I have a perspective on how united we stand.
But I can’t say we started off on the right foot. I used to be a tad cynical.
Growing up as USA’s northern neighbor it felt like being the little brother of a star football player who gets all the girls and can chug a keg for the sport of it. On top of that, regularly hearing Americans say they live in “the greatest country in the world,” referring to the President as “the leader of the free world” and calling the Super Bowl winners the “World Champions” coupled with baseball’s “World Series” smacked of braggadocio.
But hey, ask anyone in most countries where they’d emigrate to; the United States of America tops the list.
I have spent 14 years getting to know my American neighbors as brothers and sisters. Here’s what I’ve learned and predict:
• Americans don't tolerate boredom. Bad news gets boring after a while. I think that magic shift from fear to confidence with the flow of cash will come from American’s who get tired of the pause button. This mode of not building, buying or creating something will get old sooner than later. American’s are far too ambitious to wait around for too long.
• Awareness breeds clarity. After 9/11 I heard a phrase repeated in many circles. “Why don’t they like us?” This lead to another question. “Who are they?” Gradually but perceptibly American’s generally looked beyond their border to better understand the outside world. This global recession was kick-started by unchecked greed on Wall Street but will recover by Main Street’s curiosity about how we fix this globally with the greatest capital of all – human capital.
• Adversity begets growth. The recession has inflicted a good deal of pain. It’s not all Wall Street’s fault. We nurtured a debt culture and embraced it like a two year old covets his bankie. Our recessionary wake up call has us all rethinking what is really necessary. Delayed gratification is back folks. A healthier set of values and priorities are settling in. The USA has always grown stronger from adversity.
A friend and fellow entrepreneur, Bruce visited the other night and he noticed I was feeling down. Without diving into the reasons, Bruce just repeated a quote he’d heard. “Know the difference between being preoccupied and occupied. Preoccupied is thinking the same thing over and over. Occupied is doing something about it.”
The United States of America won’t be preoccupied for too long. It’s time to do something about this mess we’re in. Otherwise we’ll be bored silly.
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