For almost an hour, much of what Bono had to say was good, really good actually, until he started talking about his country of Ireland and the similarities and differences to the US. He then made a dramatic statement, "my country of Ireland is a great country, and I love it, but here in the United States you have a certain spirit that we don't have. And you have a certain type of capitalism, American capitalism, that is not really found anywhere else. If you want to change some things across the world, including 3rd world countries, take your American capitalism spirit there. That will make the real difference." That's when his speech went from good-to-great.
Bono had never been on my radar up to that time. I knew who he was, and had listened to his music but nothing about his politics, his beliefs, or his passions. Since then I've learned more about him and have thought and talked about that statement more than a few times, but not like I have recently.
I can only surmise what is driving these thoughts on a Sunday afternoon; maybe it has to do with me expanding my consulting/coaching practice. Or maybe the fact I've been working with a few people who are talking about starting their own company. Or a combination of both. Writing a business plan, considering strategies, filing a name, a few legal papers, and a bank account......
And POOF, you have a business. The beginning of another segment of American capitalism and you don't even "have" to do that much! Entrepreneurial seizures working well.
We take this for granted. I mean, we take for granted how easy it is to just up and start a business. Thousands of people start U.S. businesses every day. Many others want to and either fear or common sense holds them back. BUT....we can. That's my point. We can.
It's not like that in most countries. We need to be aware of that and not take such things for granted.
Freedom. It's a great thing on a lot of levels.
To that end.....
1 comment:
Bono may have read Adam Smith!
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