Who Are The Shining Stars In Your Own Family?
by Michael D. Hume, M.S.
I couldn’t be more proud of my offspring – all of them – but since it’s her birthday today, I’ll tell you about my youngest. As far as I know, she’s not a celebrity (and also not wanted by law enforcement)… she’s just a “normal” twenty-something. But if all normal twenty-something Americans were more like my daughter, we’d indeed have a bright future in store.
My kid is hoping to start and lead a non-profit organization with the mission of building much-need infrastructure projects in Africa. Schools, mostly. She has labored mightily on this difficult and lofty goal, and so far, it’s slow going. Who has money these days to donate to such an undertaking? My daughter and her partners are finding the big bucks hard to come by.
Some young people in this country think there are lots of rich people out there, hoarding their money, using it to make themselves richer. But it seems as though people looking for charitable funding for truly noble good works are not able to get funding they would’ve had a few years ago. Maybe the rich are hoarding, and no longer contributing the way they were as late as 2007 or 2008. Or maybe, in the wake of our nation’s new economic direction, there just aren’t that many rich left. And maybe the riches that do remain are needed more urgently than many think, just to continue funding basic businesses, jobs, and needs right here in the United States.
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Nevertheless, my kid and her colleagues cling to their cock-eyed optimism. Things will turn around. They’ll get the money. They’ll build the schools.
Meanwhile, she is showing up daily on-time to her job, struggling to pay her bills, dreaming her dreams and refining her plans. And I’m proud to say my daughter is all about working toward building things, good things, that people need.
Some people’s kids are more about destroying things, protesting, tearing down what’s there because it isn’t perfect but not offering the first idea of what to put up in its place.
I’m pleased to say I think there are plenty of young folks out there like my daughter, and her siblings, and their friends and colleagues. They work hard. They dream big. They start a business or raise money for a cause or invent a new product to help the world. They refuse to succumb to the temptations of victimhood that reside just under the skin of us all… and they will reap a happy harvest from their work, as will everyone in the world they work hard to preserve. Among their benefactors will be the same people who rise in the morning and go to sleep each night with a curse on their lips for the very efforts that will eventually bring that happy harvest.
The grumpy, protesting young people think it’s my generation, and the generation of my parents, who are the targets of their dissatisfaction and ire. But it’s my kids, and their entrepreneurially-minded colleagues, who will really have to do battle with these malcontents in their own age group.
And that’s just the way it is. In this, and every generation.
Thanks, Precious Angel, for being the kind of person you are, and for working hard to become the person you want to be. Happy Birthday! I owe you… and so does the rest of our society.
Michael Hume is a speaker, writer, and consultant specializing in helping people maximize their potential and enjoy inspiring lives. As part of his inspirational leadership mission, he coaches executives and leaders in growing their personal sense of well-being through wealth creation and management, along with personal vitality.Those with an entrepreneurial spirit who want to make money “one less thing to worry about” can learn more about working with Michael at http://www.caym.tv/18812Anyone wanting to jump-start their vitality can browse through the best (and most travel-friendly) nutraceuticals on the market at http://shop.enivausa.com/239824Michael and his wife, Kathryn, divide their time between homes in California and Colorado. They are very proud of their offspring, who grew up to include a homemaker, a rock star, a service talent, and a television expert. Two grandchildren also warm their hearts! Visit Michael’s web site at http://michaelhume.net
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