Welcome to the back half of the year! July is one of my favorite months. Summer is at its peak, and we just came off a high of tax seasons following Memorial Day. The busy time of summer break travel is offering us tons of opportunities to ensure our customers get that much needed service to their vehicle. And we should be taking full advantage of our summertime help from those part-timer school kids eager to make more money when they have the opportunity.
Family time is at an all-time high as you can’t drive down the street without the smell of burgers coming to temperature coupled with that uniquely pleasant smell of fresh cut grass. These are paired with the sight of those giant inflatable water slides towering over everyone's backyard fence. On a special day, the sky will be lit up with bright, colorful artwork as little kids race down the lawns with sparklers in hand to create lines of magic in the air.
The celebration of our nation’s greatest risk decorates our trees, houses and streets with American flags reminding all of the leaps taken just for us to be here. Afterall, the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776, in the Pennsylvania state house (A.K.A. Independence Hall) was a huge step away from the dominating British leadership to stand alone, separate from tyranny and oppression, but to create something they felt would benefit the people they loved, their friends, their family and their community.
The move away from familiarity in your life (even if it is uncomfortable or dangerous) will absolutely give you independence. Freedom from the above-mentioned tyranny and oppression, freedom to succeed at your own dreams and the freedom to fail at your objectives without the safety net of the very thing that you shunned to get your freedom.
For many of you reading this (assuming you made it to the back of the magazine, or clicked on the link), you stepped away from your safety net of “employee” to the blissful and painful title of “employer”. It is truly magical how changing the simple last letter of “e” to “r” can completely change your outcome and your income. As a side note, if you have not been the “employer” (and I am not talking about the manager), you cannot truly comprehend the difference, and you can only dream about rolling in the big bucks while on vacation yet again as your employees slave over your business, throwing fist loads of money at you to fulfil your wildest desires.
I will wait for the employers to rise off the floor from the laughter of those lines.
Perhaps your line of previous employers treated you poorly, keeping you locked in a position of servitude for their own good. Maybe you're supposed bonuses were knocked down infraction by uncontrollable infraction that you became so angry you were possessed by the souls of the Boston Tea Party, rummaging through the shop pouring out the motor oil into the drains in an act of final retaliation. Screaming out you are done; you are now going to be in charge of your destiny from here on out.
Could it be that you had a fantastic employer who prepared you for success, nurturing you along the way? Allowing you to fail just enough to know the difference without allowing you to give up on your potential. Your desire to step out from under the covering wing is not to defy your employer, but to complement and prove their belief in you. While you are proclaiming Independence, you are not going it alone, as that employer will do what it takes to make sure you are successful.
By both standards you have defied traditional employment folklore where you must work for a company that will protect and provide you as long as you provide them with their stated needs. With this you are free to live, prosper and fail by your own accord. And for this, your responsibility is much greater than it has ever been. Much like the colonists, you not only carry on your back the dreams of what you leaped to gain, but you also pave the way for people to follow you, work for you and become protected by you.
Much like the new Americans, they too did not take in just soldiers to grow the dream, but their families and their futures. The successes and failures of you will now cascade down to the teams you lead, and the families and futures they have. Too much of this is lost with new leaders, new employers and new dream chasers. This is Entrepreneurship, this is your chance to do great for you and yours and all of those watching and supporting. This is America.
