A Note To the Entrepreneur In All of Us

I find it weird that in America we revere the entrepreneur but teach people that they should go to college, graduate, and get a nice job with a good company. It's a confusing message. Folks talk about the 'entrepreneurial spirit' as if it's something you're either born with or you're not. We're taught to respect that but aren't taught to cultivate it in ourselves. Why not treat it as something that needs to be seeded in us from a young age, nurtured and grown strong?

When I was growing up I watched a lot of television - way too much for my mothers liking. She was afraid it would make me stupid (the jury is still out on that one). I remember her many attempts to curb me and my younger brothers appetite for the boob tube, including putting a lock on the cord.

It never lasted long; I would be back to my addiction in no time. My mother didn't get it. What she thought was zapping my mental potential was actually teaching me things too.

The characters I watched everyday represented America and her values - as I understood them as a child. 

I don't know if I was born with an entrepreneurial spirit, but I know I got a taste of it by watching the fantasy Americans on TV.

The lemonade stand is a theme I can fondly remember being repeated through out the shows of my childhood. A spunky little white boy or girl, usually with their little brother or sister as co-owners, would set up a stand and start raking in the big bucks (.25 is huge to kid!)  

One summer, my brother and I, having decided we would set up a lemonade stand, like the ones we saw the kids on TV do, went to work. I grabbed the powdered 'all natural' lemonade mix, some sugar (lots of sugar), a plastic container and made what, we truly believed, was the best (and sweetest) refreshing lemon based beverage.

After setting up a table in the backyard, our plastic cups on one side, our 'Lemonade' sign on the other, we were ready for business.

A few hours went by and we did not sell a drop of lemonade. Children are sensitive at any age and don't often handle disappointment well but we didn't get sad. Besides, working up a thirst by playing karate, we were pretty satisfied because for a couple of hours we got to be, entrepreneurs.