TriVita

I returned home from Vancouver, B. C., where I had been speaking to one of the most diverse groups of people I’ve seen in one room. I was wondering what brought these people of different ethnic, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds together.  What was the commonality and how could this group go forward?  Here is my conclusion, and it is in the heart and soul of most every individual if they will allow it to blossom.  It is their dream of a life of meaning and purpose.  I like to think of those dreamers in TriVita as Wellness Entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs are dreamers.  They function best when allowed to connect their dreams to what they do every day.   They are typically more spontaneous, unorthodox and in fact, disruptive – which seems to be the best strategy for an entrepreneur with a big audacious idea!!  They are certainly willing to embrace change!

But that really has been the foundation of North American advancement over the past several hundred years.  If I may use a term many people are familiar with and one I am most comfortable in using as my basis for this blog, it is the “American Dream”!

According to Wikipedia, “The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, a set of ideas in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility achieved through hard work.”

In the definition of the “American Dream” authored by James Truslow Adams in 1931, life should be better, richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to their ability regardless of social economic class or circumstance of birth.  The idea is rooted in the U.S. Declaration of Independence that proclaims “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

What we must remember is Adams wrote the “American Dream” when the bustling, growing America had lost nearly everything in a short period of time called the Great Depression.  My father’s family lost everything in the Great Depression so I know the stories of hardship.   But in the midst of this hardship, James Adams cast a new vision for hope, and freedom for all to dream again of prosperity – he coined the term the “American Dream”!

Who really built America?  In this election year you might have to stop and process that question from what all we have heard.  But history shows us who built America.  The Dreamers did… those we call entrepreneurs.  Was it easy to sail from Europe in small ships to find a new land of opportunity?  Not according to history.  Was it easy to carve small farms out of the forests?  Was it easy to travel west and endure the hardships of opening up new territories without any infrastructure other than nature?   Not according to history.  But they were dreamers!!

What about those people who first bought automobiles when there were no service stations or even roadways to support their new way of traveling?  Horse and carriage had far more support.  There certainly was not OnStar roadside service!  The kerosene lantern was more convenient and reliable than electrical service when the electric light bulb was invented. It was the dreamers of a better world who supported the new ideas.

Who built America? It was the many people who pursued the American Dream.  The government’s role is to offer protection and the human rights of liberty and freedom that enable people to fulfill their entrepreneurial dreams.

Today we know we face many challenges.  Those impacted by the horrific Superstorm Sandy know the emotions of loss.  Those who lost everything in what we now call the Great Recession – savings, retirement accounts, home equity, and even college funds for their children – know the feelings of loss.  What will lift us out of this time period of loss and setback is what has always carried us forward.  It is our dreams!  It is what we are willing to sacrifice because we know the rewards.  We don’t need government to feed, clothe and care for us, we need government to protect and give us those rights and freedoms to pursue our dreams.

As Wellness Entrepreneurs, may you pursue your dreams and purpose with passion and intentions!  Live the Dream… Your Dream!

Michael