I was born poor in a land of abundance. Others come from distance lands and only see opportunity.
I didn’t realize I was poor until I went to school and saw my classmates. I never missed a meal, and I always had a roof over my head. Mom did the best she could with what she had. She did something right, by instilling in me the desire to do more, and to be more.
That was a long time ago and now because of the economy there are still kids growing up poor, but some don’t have a stable family to guide them through life, or a roof over their head, for the security of a stable home environment. How will they get their inspiration?
I listened to the story of Albert Mensah and the struggle he went through, just to get to America. Now his kids are born as citizens of the United States and they have shoes, where he had none. They don’t just have shoes, they want the latest celebrity sport shoes. They have their own rooms, where he had to share space on the floor of a hut in a village in Ghana West Africa. His kids have their own computers, where he barely had books at school. Now kids walk around with computers in their back pockets in the form of smart phones.
Mensah would take his kids back home to Ghana to remind them of their roots. He would tell them his stories of growing up poor, to inspire them to do the best they could, with the opportunity they were given. As parents, we try to pass on the stories of our struggles so our kids will do better than us. They say, “That was back then, this is now.”
Sometimes kids don’t understand until later in life, what we were trying to tell them. It is a privilege to have a lot of the things we have, not a right. In America, we have the freedom to be whatever we want. As parents, we should inspire our kids to do more than us.
As parents, if we are persistent and focused and live with purpose, our kids will pick up on that. They look at what we do, sometimes more than what we say. If we go to work every day and complain about our job, they pick up on that to. So, how do we instill in them, to become prepared for the future during uncertain times? The world has changed and there is no job security. We must lead by example.
If we start a part time business and stick with it long enough to have success, the kids will see that. They will learn the value of persistence and determination. Tracy Walker was telling her story of moving towards joining the millionaires club with the Empower Network on the Monday Night call. Tracy bought into the concept that if we go to school, get a degree, and get a job we are on our way to the American dream.
She found herself in debt, and jobs what didn’t pay enough. And when she found a decent job, it fell apart because of the economy. She found herself building a business on line, to start over. The industrial age required many people to fill new jobs. Getting a degree meant starting a little farther up the ladder, as part of the industrial complex.
What are you going to do? If you start a part time business on line realize that it will take time to get to where you want to go. Is an additional $3,000 to $5,000 per month a good starting point? To most people it would bring a change in lifestyle. Are you working on your personal development? Your job only requires you to show up to do your assigned task.
If you venture into the entrepreneurial world you become the boss of you. Back in the day, when I went to business school, there were no entrepreneurial classes.We were being groomed for corporate America. I learned what I know, by listening to some of the best motivational speakers and thinkers of today and yesterday, and by having an open mind, which meant I soaked it up.
Life is strange, and we never really know what is going to happen. I’ve learned to hope for the best, but plan for the worst. It served me well in the military. In fact, in the military, we are taught to think of the worst case scenarios, because in the heat of battle quick action is critical.
H.G.M.
Internet comments
Pablos Carognas
This is a beautiful story Earl. We grew up with very little and my mother was the inspiration that drove us to do more………
PS you look a little like Forrest Whitaker 😉
Sherry Starnes
Great post Earl! I was raised to believe there was only one way and that was hard work, live day-today and everything would be alright. Don’t get me wrong … I was raised in a Christian family… lots of love… not a lot of money. One of the things missing in my childhood was a positive attitude. Lots of negativity, and I didn’t even realize it was happening or that it took place until my adult years. I look at things differently now, and that’s due to my positive mindset. Thanks for sharing your insights with this awesome post.
Lynn Brown
Awesome post and message Earl. It goes to show most of us have been raised to believe there is only one way to live our lives and because there are so many different kinds of family situations it makes it tough for some kids to grow up with a positive mindset. Thanks for sharing your insight. Always enjoy your writing!
Laura Parrish
Great post Earl. On the flip side, of the mindset on this, I choose to remember that abundance and wealth are a mindset …” poor” doesn’t always have to do ANYTHING to do with money. You may not have had a lot of the materialistic things that other kids had, but you had a roof, cloths and a family that LOVED you. That’s more than a lot of kids have today. They might have all the “goodies”, but they have parents who have “checked out” or “tuned out” of their lives. Giving your kids every materialist thing in the world isn’t truly what they want or need…all they really want is love, support, and approval of their parents! This business can GIVE THEM all that because time freedom is the TRUE gift! Thanks for the awesome post!
Earl Hackett
Thank you for your comments. Where we begin, does not have to be our end. We all come from different social-economic backgrounds. I didn’t have the material things, but I was nurtured and loved and inspired to do more. I could have gone left, but I went right. And Uncle Sam kept me straight. The next post talks about determination and continues the story. Now we have a generation that has some of the material things, but they are missing the most important things they need, which is love and guidance. Thanks for the engagement.
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