Spit in One Hand and Wish in the Other

Spit in One Hand and Wish in the Other

The sermon at church last Sunday inspired this post.  During the sermon, the minister quoted an old cliche, which I had never heard before.  "Spit in one hand, wish in the other and see which one has the most in it".  As these words sunk in, I realized this one simple cliche epitomizes an entrepreneur. These words undoubtedly were the basic ideology of our founding fathers as they built our great nation. They did not "wish" to live in a great nation, they created it on bit at a time.  For these pioneers knew "wishing" was wasted energy.  

Everyone wishes to have a better life for themselves, their families and their communities.  The one's who reap the bounties of their aspirations, are those who put their back, minds and efforts into achieving their goal.  

In today's modern world, it seems the media exploits the successful, the wealthy, the famous.  Why?  Audience!  These people have become idolized figureheads for the majority of society.  These people do not attempt to fill their left hand with wishes, they have filled their right hand with accomplishments.  A feat the rest of society only dreams of.  

As one contemplates the condition of our American economy, a look back in history readily reveals hints of our recent "fall from the top".  We used to be a nation of "doers".  Nearly everyone learned the talents necessary to improve their family and community lives. They were not afraid to work hard to "git r dun".  It seems in the past quarter century,  much of the population has become "couch potatoes".  They expect fame and fortune to come to them, just as the media promises.  A large portion of the American population have become dependent on entitlements.  Our nation has become a nation of "left-handers" or "southpaws" as it may be. (Only because I referenced filling the left hand with wishes previously).  

Unfortunately, our government has contributed to our country's economic demise. Instead of enabling the people to be self sufficient, it seems we are constantly told why we can't do things for ourselves.  The people's ability to create, to build and to accomplish are often hampered by over-regulation,  To reverse this trend, we need enabling policy instead of entitlement policy.  In short, we need to put the nation back to work by offering incentives rewarding creativity and hard work.  It is time to create opportunity within our borders by leveraging our expansive assets at home.  We cannot continue to export our precious opportunities when the world has become so flat.  We need to develop and exploit our opportunities at home first.  Then we can export the products and services created at home.

Ahh, but some will say it is too expensive to build products in the United States, other countries can do it cheaper.  Why is that?  It is more expensive because of the massive over-regulation on American businesses.  I refrain from pointing my finger at any one influencing industry, for self-interested industry lobbying efforts have contributed to much of our over-zealous government regulation.

It is time every American citizen realizes that they have a choice.  A choice to improve our nation by pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and contributing.  A choice to put your education to work.  A choice to voice your opinions to the representatives and senators elected to represent you.  A choice to make your dreams come true instead of wishing it true.

I have been blessed working in an industry of hard-working entrepreneurs the last 17 years.  These people believed in working hard to improve their communities, using whatever tools and resources they could find.  Because of their hard work, millions of Americans now enjoy the benefits of broadband.  This is one example of how a program was developed by our government which enabled innovation.  We need more self-enabling programs such as unlicensed and/or affordable spectrum for small businesses.

Spit in your hands, wipe them on your jeans and get to work.  Our nation needs you, each and everyone of you!  Your wishes will only come true, if you work to make them come true.