How Entrepreneurial Kids Can Save America

Just imagine a thriving American economy, full of happy business owners on the constant lookout for great employees! Imagine kids, instead of standing on street corners looking for trouble, standing in line for their business licenses. And imagine what the attitude of our country would be if the school system looked at our kids as potential leaders instead of as potential losers. We would wake up in the morning full of vision, dreams and ideas, and our employees would feel like part of something gigantic, as if a huge nest egg were about to hatch. But instead, so many in our workforce today have contempt for the very people who give them their paychecks. They have been trained to expect instead of perform; they have been indoctrinated with the idea that the American Entrepreneur is the monster in the closet.

I hear it every day, “My son or daughter is running with the wrong kids,” “I have no control over them,” “They used to be good kids, now they are taking drugs and not coming home at night,” etc., etc., and it never ends! We all scratch our wooden heads and ask ourselves: Where did we go wrong? What happened to my beautiful child? Let’s reflect. From a very young age, did you give your kids everything they ever wanted? Do they have all the latest electronics and distractions, all the designer clothes, or do they have nothing but their friends, no money for anything, no direction, but find out that if they hang out with the wrong crowd, they can have it all the wrong way? Do you give your kids money when they need it? Do you know what type of people your kids hang out with? What do you see in your child—a spoiled couch potato with no interests; a lost soul wandering from person to person looking for inspiration, or a young man or woman full of ideas and dreams, and not afraid to take on the world with gusto?

In these questions are the answers to our country’s future success or failure. We have become a nation of spoiled, entitled people with only ourselves to blame. We have failed our children by allowing the system to dictate to our guilt what we should think and how we should act and feel as Americans. The system has betrayed us, and it has lulled us into a sleep that has created an epidemic of politically correct zombies—followers who act without ever truly thinking.

History shows us that we used to be a country of fearless entrepreneurs, and kids learned by becoming apprentices. We now spawn leachy, ungrateful kids who think they know everything, and even when many of them have the opportunity to go to college, they graduate without knowing how to write a check and end up flipping burgers. Strangely, they take up the quest of fighting for the government's protection so that the system's nanny-like qualities will always be there to care for these dulled, dumbed-down students who step into reality for the first time in their lives completely clueless.

I am convinced that deep down inside each and every true American is a yearning to be free and independent, whether it is planting a garden, designing and building, or creating a dream business. I truly believe that each and every American wants to be self-governed and self-reliant, but then why do we believe in the system that takes this all away? It is the system that does not inspire self-respect; the system is in the discouragement business, not the encouragement business!

I have found a secret that cures most of what is hurting our kids and, believe or not, it is beyond simple—teaching a child as young as five years old the art of entrepreneurship! Kids are already natural entrepreneurs. Just help them set up a lemonade stand and watch their innate ability to create, sell and promote their product, and the end result, self-respect. If the American school system could turn out entrepreneurs and leaders instead of employees, we would have the perfect balance of economic strength and the true American Dream!

If we inspire our youth to be self-reliant, we will spoil the plans of the enablers and grow a new country within a country. We will awake the sleeping giant of the Entrepreneurial Spirit which is the engine of the American Dream and strength.

Dianne Linderman can now be heard on Talk Radio Network on her 2 hour live syndicated national radio show “Everything That Matters.” Visit her online bookstore HERE.

Getting Back to Basics

Because of this crazy economy, we all start to think about the real possibility of losing our jobs and our way of life. Unfortunately most Americans have searched most of their lives, not for long term financial security, but for comfort! We buy beautiful things for our homes, nice cars, overpriced clothing and jewelry. We wine, dine, and pay for expensive entertainment, all the while not thinking about what we would do if it all came to a sudden stop!

It is never too late to start planning, and because I have had to find a way to survive a few financial disasters in my life, I can now look at any adversity in life as a total adventure. It’s all about your attitude and how willing you are to live with less. I call this getting back to basics. What did you do that made you money when you were a very young person? I was 16 years old when I became a silversmith. At first it was just for fun. I took my simple, plain sterling silver bands to school and sold them for a hefty profit to all my friends. After making dozens and dozens of plain bands, I had to really start thinking of new and more interesting bands, so I purchased some silver stamps, and stamped my bands to make them look unique and was able to sell my new designs to the very same friends. I moved on to setting stones on my simple bands, and, before I knew it, I was a full fledged silversmith.

I am sharing this story with you because everyone has a creative base, and even if you think you don’t have one, you can start this very moment. Jewelry is not only a craft, but it is also a passion, an investment, and, if you don’t mind sitting outside all day, it can become the perfect business for anyone with even a small amount of creativity. My favorite memories were the days at outside crafters fairs with my 14-year-old brother in the sunshine just hundreds of yards from the beach. Even then I thought, “What a way to live!” When my brother and I returned home at night, we counted our bounty, and, on a good day, at 16 years old, I pulled in hundreds of dollars, and as I told you in a previous article, on my best day ever, I made $800.

So many of us have forgotten the simple times in life, always believing that, if we could get the perfect job and make lots of money, we would be able to relax, but what most of us found out is that we spent the first half of our lives acquiring things and the second half of our lives getting rid of things. Having too much becomes a burden and then you can’t enjoy anything that you have acquired. I guess as we get older we start to appreciate the simple things in life again, and that’s where I am at.

Plant a garden, rid yourself of stuff you never use, redecorate your home in things you have made or found and painted, even photos you have taken. Set up a monthly yard sale and even embellish and recycle some of your old junk. I know people who make a huge living doing this, and they are happier than they have ever been, spending days going through thrift stores and yard sales. And, once a month, they have what they call a barn sale, or even something quaint, like a garden sale. These same friends of mine used to make six-figure incomes and are so much happier being creative, treasure hunters. Some of them buy antique jewelry and add new beads and crystal to make unique, beautiful jewelry.

Getting back to basics is really about finding your original passions in life, and, before you have to, start thinking of what you could do and simply start doing it. Go to crafters fairs, flea markets, and farmers markets and even find others who have an online presence and grill them about what is effective. Learn photography; everything I have ever done in life has required some photos, and just like everything else, they represent quality. I buy hundreds of magazines, and look for ideas in decorating, colors, and even the way photos are taken. Educate yourself, and don’t be afraid to fail. If you start thinking about the basics before you need to, you will have security and will not find yourself without them.

Sure Glad Cows Don't Fly

Don’t look up now—it’s too late! The B.S. was coming down in buckets as Nancy Pelosi and her posse took advantage of hard-working entrepreneurs who were too busy making a living in order to pay for the millions of unemployed Americans. Maybe that’s part of the plan, keeping the American work force and business owners so busy trying to foot the bill for our country’s bad money managers that we don’t have time to protest or read the 1000-page health care bill. I don’t know about you, but I woke up on Sunday morning to find out that 220 people had stolen a piece of my children’s future. I would love to plant a few of the money trees that our new health care system is going to require.

Many of us have become a society of believers in a dream. Not the American dream, but a twisted dream where you wake up and have everything you ever wanted, without working for it. I have been blown away listening to people who think that we are actually going to have free health care for all. These are the same people who sign up for every free give-away that pops up in their e-mail, buy hundreds of dollars of lotto tickets, and gamble away their life savings in slot machines never wondering whose money is jingling around inside. Drunk with visions of their own freedom through gifts and entitlements, they are betting that they will win, never believing that they will most definitely lose. They want to believe in a lie because they don’t believe in their own abilities to achieve the real American Dream. Instead of grasping onto the reins of their own horse, these people believe that the fairy godfather is going to deliver them happiness and equality without their ever having earned it.

The do-gooders, who are the (mis)leaders of our country, paint such a pretty picture for their followers. These followers don’t really want the truth anyway; they love the excitement of the lie. The misleaders have been trained in engage in deceptive warfare on good Americans and with such sureness, they explain to the hopeful that the money to pay for all of the freebies will not come from taxpayers.

But these misleaders aren’t wearing their own boots because they have been bribed to wear someone else’s. In their greed and cowardice, they have chosen not to represent Americans, but to represent the special interests of those in our highest offices. They have been promised the same twisted dream that they have been asked to sell to us, and even though deep down in their toes they know the truth, they have given up any desire to stand on principal. They have been promised that their elite positions will be protected if they just all stand together. They have been told not to show fear and to charge forward no matter what the silly American people want or think.

This type of bullying can be seen in every schoolyard. Just last week my 12-year-old daughter had to stand her ground with a pushy 14-year-old who uses her personality, cuteness, and over-bearing aggression to get exactly what she wants from the whole class. She has learned that all it takes is pure irritation and an overzealous personality and the understanding that, when she gets people mad enough, she can point her finger at them as the problem and then she is in control.

My daughter was able to take her on because she did not get irritated. Instead, she spoke up with love and conviction, showing the other girl that she was actually the problem and not accepting her craziness. My daughter gave her a dose of correction, and put the controlling girl in her place and did not think another thing about it. She left that girl in a daze, because when you stand up properly, you affect the weak confusers, leaving them without a handle.

Now is not the time to get mad but to get strong. Don’t be confused by the misleadership in our country. These misleaders are betting on your anger and confusion. Try something new; confront them with conviction, strength, love of country and understanding of your rights. Never give them the upper hand by doubting your beliefs, your passion and your true love of the Red, White and Blue!

Together we stand!

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