American Dream

Jason Navallo's book, American Dream: Interviews with Industry-Leading Professionals, is an ideal inspirational read for the ambitious person who is looking for direction. Due to the interview format, the book takes on a conversational tone. The industry-leading professionals selected are not household names, just a diverse group of people in various fields who happen to be multi-millionaires through their own effort. It starts to seem as though any ordinary person really could create a successful career out of modest beginnings. All it takes is an idea and the will to succeed.

A part of American Dream that I found compelling was the question, "Do you believe in the Law of Attraction?" The six people featured all gave very different answers. In this way, success is like longevity. There's more than one way to achieve it. What these successful people do have in common is that they've clearly spent a lot of time thinking about it and planning around it. In some ways, some individuals agree that there was a certain amount of luck involved in what they are doing, but that has mostly to do with choosing a field. In all cases, they most likely would have worked just as hard at anything they had chosen.

There are many parts to the entrepreneurial mindset. Reading a collection of interviews like this helps to make the commonalities stand out. Thinking like an entrepreneur is a mental skill set. You're looking for opportunities that others have missed. You're looking for something you can create that customers may not even realize they want yet. You're finding ways to get financing when the banks tell you no. You're building different kinds of networks and relationships outside of the traditional business community, because they don't understand what you're doing yet. You have a personal connection to your enterprise, and you feel sure that nobody else can supply this need to the market in the way that you can. You're so obsessed with doing the best possible job that you work around the clock for years on end if necessary.

American Dream was a really inspiring and fascinating book. It made me feel that I have at least one idea that has the potential to turn into a solid business. It also made me feel that if I do this thing, I could potentially create hundreds of jobs for other people. There is a lot of power in this idea, that anyone with the dedication can learn how to start and run a successful business. Read it, share it with your spouse, and give it to your ambitious young people.

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