With the passing of another 4th of July celebration, I was reminded of the 'real' meaning of Independence Day.
As well as being birthday of our great country, it is also a day to celebrate the concept of independence. Over the past week I interviewed several people. I asked each individual to personalize the concept of independence and tell me what it means to them and their family. All of these people are either business owners or are considering becoming business owners.
John - (Former Corporate Employee) 'When America was founded, the American Dream focused on self determination. Homesteaders wanted the freedom to own their own land and/or run their own business. They wanted to build, produce or grow something. Employment was never a goal; instead it was considered a stepping stone. The goal was to build something you could own and control. Through the War of Independence, our founding fathers gave us the key. All we have to do is open the door. That is the gift of Independence Day'
Harry - (Recent Immigrant) 'My family and I will be using the 4th of July weekend to decide which franchise to move forward with. We will never be free until we control our own income. Being an employee will never allow us to make our own way in this world. Being a business owner is an important step one toward personal independence and we will be dedicating this 4th of July weekend to taking the first step.'
Andrew (Former College Professor)- 'For me, Independence Day is about removing the shackles of salary slavery. It is about owning my own business and not having to answer to any boss. I have been a salary slave and it is wonderful to declare my own independence'
Pretty powerful stuff. There were many other insightful comments. What does Independence Day mean to you? How are you going to take the larger message of Independence Day and apply it to your life? Share your thoughts - Click here to visit our blog.
Respectfully,
Rick Bisio
Founder of The Educated Franchisee
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 Independence Day and the Dream of Business Ownership
As we mark America's 238th birthday on July Fourth, hundreds of people will become naturalized citizens across the country.
Immigration has long been a cause of impassioned debate with many opponents centering their arguments on the fear that foreigners "are taking our jobs." The reality is that many times foreigners take low paying jobs that others are not willing to do: manual labor, kitchen work, house cleaning, and landscaping, for instance.
Of equal, if not greater, importance is that immigrants are by nature risk-takers, and increasing numbers of them are starting their own companies. Many of America's largest corporations, including an estimated 40 percent of Fortune 500 Companies, were started by immigrants or their offspring. Among them are Google (Sergey Brin, Russia); eBay (Pierre Omidyar, France); Pfizer (Charles Pfizer, Germany); ATT (Alexander Graham Bell, Scotland); DuPont (E. I. du Pont, France); Nordstrom (John W. Nordstrom, Sweden) and Yahoo! (co-founder Jerry Yang, Taiwan). Naturally, these businesses started off small and then grew to become the billion dollar giants they are today.
Indeed, immigrants are creating businesses at high rate....
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Go to Inc. Click Here
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 Leadership Lessons From R. Donahue Peebles
Q. What were some early influences for you?
A. My parents divorced when I was 5, and I lived with my mother. She was a working single parent, and I learned to be a bit more independent. By the time I was 8, I would often cook for myself and take care of myself. My mother worked really hard, so I didn't want to burden her with me......
Q.
What leadership lessons had prepared you for that?
I learned from watching my mother, and I learned from watching politics. It's about getting people vested in the outcome of success. I also knew I didn't need to take credit for everything. I was the chairman, so if the board did well, I was going to get credit for it. But I felt it was important to let other people get credit and recognition, and it gave them more of a sense of ownership in the goal.....
Q.
What other insights about leadership have you learned?
Go to New York Times, Click Here
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 Typical US Worker Now Lasts 4.6 Years on Job.
There's a widely held belief that Americans are less loyal to employers than they were in prior eras. And with pensions virtually extinct and job security close to nil, who can blame them. But the truth is employees stick with the same job longer today than they did 10, 20, and 30 years ago-and economists say that may not be a good thing.
American workers are stuck in a rut, economists say. Despite improvements in education and technology, they're staying in their jobs longer rather than seeking new opportunities. A high "churn" rate is typically seen as a reflection of a healthy economy. "People are holding on to their jobs not because they want to, but because they don't have as much opportunity as they once did," says Anthony Carnevale, director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. There were 3.9 million job openings in October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is little changed from the previous month ......
Go to Market Watch, Click Here
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6 Things Yo u Probably Didn't Know About Monopoly
Here's an interesting list of fun facts you probably didn't know about one of America's favorite board games, according to Hasbro.
1) During World War II, compasses and files were put in Monopoly game boards smuggled into prisoner-of-war camps in Germany. Real money for escapees was slipped into the packs of Monopoly money.
2) Monopoly has become a fixture in pop culture. In one of President Barack Obama's State of the Union Addresses, he likened tax dollars to Monopoly money. In the movie "Zombieland," the characters Tallahassee and Little Rock play Monopoly with real money as a way to pass the time. And the band Chumbawumba has a song titled "Don't Pass Go," in which they sing, "Go straight to jail and don't pass go."
3) .......
Go to Market Watch, Click Here
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