Driving Towards The American Dream

I’ve had a busy winter, traveling to speak at and attend a number of marketing conferences in cities all across America.

Naturally, I’ve made a special point of focusing on warm climates, since negative wind chills have become commonplace back home in Chicago.

I always take the time to talk to all kinds of local business owners and entrepreneurs to get to know them and learn their stories – to find out how and why they got started, and what keeps them going despite all odds.

Meeting people who were born in other countries and left everything and everyone they knew to come to The Land Of Opportunity is one of my favorite experiences.

Unlike tens of millions of Americans fortunate enough to be born here, these go-getters don’t look to sacrifice their self-reliance at every turn, expecting to be handed everything from education to jobs to free cell phones and more.

They’re just happy to be here, eager to do whatever it takes to get their slice of the American Dream of owning their own businesses.

Throughout our conversations, I’m often known to burst into exclamations like, “Now THAT’S what I’m talking about!” and “I love it! THIS is what America is all about!”

Talking with entrepreneurs is always such a welcome relief from all of the “we need more good, middle class jobs” brainwashing B.S. that we constantly hear from institutions (Big Business and Big Government) whose primary goal is the perpetuation and growth of their own power.

*As loyal followers of mine know, I have nothing against “jobs” per se – it’s having a “job mentality” that is thoroughly un-American and counter-productive to our standing as The Greatest Country On Earth.

I could go on and on relating stories of forward-thinking, foreign-born entrepreneurs, but here I’ll focus on just one…

On my first day of a recent week-long trip to San Diego, I got together with Jimmy Nicholas (right) for a round of golf. (Jimmy is a REALLY good golfer, so I truly appreciated his patience to play with me and not break into constant fits of laughter.)

Jimmy let me in on a discovery he made of a limousine company that basically charged not much more than taxicab rates and of course provided MUCH more luxurious service and personal attention. I must have taken a couple of dozen rides with them over the duration of my stay, and every one of them was a great experience.

The limo company (“M&D Transportation Services”) is owned and operated by two brothers, and currently consists of two cars and five drivers. The brothers came here from Somalia with basically nothing to their names, and immediately took any jobs they could find – usually working two or three at the same time.

They worked at these jobs almost non-stop, and saved practically every penny they made (unlike typical Americans, who feel they “could never live without” things like iPhones, cable TV and annual vacations) to put towards The American Dream of owning their own business.

They bought a limo, splitting the driving between them, while continuing to work their regular jobs as much as possible. Soon, they were able to buy a second limo (on their way to their goal of a fleet of a dozen or more) and quit their jobs.

(*Which is something well-known to be a universal American dream – so why do we always hear about how great more jobs would be for Americans? But I digress…)

It was so motivating for me to hear their answers to my questions, which were basically the polar opposite responses that a typical, born-in-the-USA American would give.

Here are just a few examples…

Q: How many hours a day do you typically work?
A: I work 8 hours on my job, and then drive for about 10 more.

Q: What if it gets busy or you get a call when you’re near your quitting time after a long shift?
A: Of course I take advantage of the opportunity and keep working.

Q: How much vacation do you take every year?
A: Why would I do that, when I haven’t reached financial independence yet?

Q: What if I call you and you’re not available to come pick me up?
A: We have arrangements with other limo companies, so we’ll make sure you’re taken care of – just call us anytime you want.

Q: What about when things are slow, and you’re not getting any calls?
A: I drive around to different spots, hustling for business – and we also have lots of arrangements with restaurants and hotels, so that doesn’t happen a lot.

BONUS: Not one driver ever said anything about sitting in on Wall Street, or cashing 99 weeks of unemployment checks from the Government while they wait for “a good job” to come along, or complaining that the economy is slow (they all mentioned that fact – never as an excuse for a lack of income, but always as a reason why they just had to work that much harder and smarter).

I think you get the idea, and can see how much more enjoyable life is thanks to interactions like these with forward-thinking, opportunity-minded, results-oriented entrepreneurs.