You have all the reason in the world to achieve your grandest dreams. Imagination plus innovation equals realization. « Denis Waitley, Author
I promised myself that this month I would not mention the “E” word. I would not subject you, my dear readers, to any more pep rallies or sales mantras dedicated to getting us all through the “R” word, which I also promised myself I would not mention.
So, this month, I would like to chat about something altogether different: the Obamas, an iPod and the Queen. At first, I was surprised that the political machine that runs the United States believed the best American culture had to offer the world’s beloved monarchy was a palm-sized, glorified MP3 player. Not to say I don’t think highly of the iPod; in fact, I love mine. However, I thought other leaders from other lands, with rich and diverse cultures, would have given her finely woven silks or perhaps a work of art or an antiquity, something less mundane than a piece of technology that has become commoditized.
But then I got to thinking. The iPod represents American ingenuity and imagination, our adept skills at marketing, our ability to advance technology in the blink of an eye and our amazing gift at quietly seeping American pop culture across all borders of all nations (i.e. Coca-Cola, McDonalds and Hollywood movies). These are the attributes that I see time and time again, still alive and well in the entrepreneurial spirits of our industry leaders and those innovators up and coming.
The occasional snob in me sometimes believes that perhaps this is not the best legacy to leave our children. But there is a flip side: We are believed by the world to be a nation still in its youth. And there is no better way to celebrate our brilliant adolescence than with a bottle of Coke, a cheeseburger and some rocking tunes on an iPod while we busily conjure up the next big thing.
