2011 State of the Union Address re-cap

Never have I felt more empowered! All I could think of after the State of the Union Address was .. 'I HAVE TO DO BETTER!'

One thing that I like about President Obama is that he talks to the hearts of the people. He personalized so many of our lives by highlighting stories of people who share the same burdens as us. I can also appreciate his acknowledgement of the troops with his statement ‎'The Americans who've bore the greatest struggles are the Americans who serve our Country'.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear Obama stress the need and importance of our teachers and education when he said ...

'If we want to win the future—if we want innovation to produce jobs in America—then we also have to win the race to educate our kids'

'If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation; if you want to make a difference in the life of a child—become a teacher.'

Although I was excited to hear education being pushed, Obama made a profound statement that left me a little unsettled. To hear Obama say that non-Americans value and take advantage of OUR education more than we do, hit a nerve! I applaude the students that come here from China, India, Africa, Spain and countless other countries to pursue higher education but it saddens me that those of us who were born in this very country could care less about the education being offered. This is extremely true for African Americans as we have high drop-out rates and under perform in almost all categories. The fact that WE aren't taking advantage of an education that came with a price for us sickens me.

The price you ask? The price that was paid for through our ancestors' blood. I could care less if people are tired of hearing this statement, if it sounds cliché.. it needs to be said! REMEMBER, we (blacks) were not supposed to read! We were not supposed to be educated! They were not going to teach us! Our ancestor's had to learn in silence, in the still of night while their slave masters were asleep, fellow slaves had to teach each other how to read. They marched, fought and were killed for the education that is offered in our own country today and some of us wont even give it a second glance. Let's WAKE UP! Show those who came before us that we appreciate their struggle; show them that their work was NOT in vain! I am nearly embarrassed myself, being 25yrs old and not having my degree. I was blessed to be able to start my career 6yrs ago and I have not had to worry about a degree, while some of my friends have their degrees and cant even start their career because they have yet to be employed. After hearing what I heard during the State of the Union Address I am convinced that I must attain the HIGHEST level of education possible! For me, that means having my doctorate and I don't care how long it takes, even if I'm 60+ years old I WILL pursue that! I encourage you all to do the same. After all, what could it hurt?!? If someone comes and robs you of ALL that you own, the one thing they can't take is your knowledge, and that is PRICELESS!

Know this, Obama did not fall into the Presidential position by happenstance, he took deliberate steps of action in his education, personal and professional life to get to where he's at now.

The underlying message

This is where the saying 'two people can look at the same thing and see something totally different' comes in. While many of us watched the State of the Union Address, we all took away different things. I found a re-curring theme and underlying message that may not ring true for you, but rings true for me!

ENTREPRENEURSHIP!

‎'We measure progress by the success of our people. By the jobs they can find and the quality of life those jobs offer' - Barack Obama


Yes folks, it's time to build our own! Obama mentioned a lot of things about 'innovation'. Innovation can be defined as 'a new idea, a new method or device, something someone creates.' I am constantly telling people there is NEVER a shortage of opportunities when you create your own. Obama said it himself Tueday night, jobs are extremely competitive now because there's a LACK of them! If you want to be employed, employ yourself! If we learn to create for ourselves we can most definitely sustain ourselves. We lose when we become overly dependent. I started my own business because people kept calling on me to do things that I love, but that I also could be getting paid for. But now I see that not only is my business a means of extra income but also something to fall back on in the event that I am ever out of a regular 9-5. I took the little knowledge I had about starting a business, researched it and BAM! I'll be launching at the beginning of Feburary! It's not rocket science, your hobbies, things you're good at, things you love doing, can be turned into a profitable, lucrative business! (and if you need assistance putting that together, contact me. it's a part of the consulting I do)

To sum all of that up; If you want to see jobs, create them! We can do any and everything we want if we expand our vision.

Thank you Obama for renewing America's hope, now it's up to us to put things in motion. I saw a lot of excitement on Facebook and Twitter during the Presidents SOTU, don't let that fire die down! Obama was right when he said 'we do big things', lets continue make that statement live!

If, for whatever reason, you missed Obama's 2011 State of the Union Address, watch it here (includes text)

Barack Obama 2011 State of the Union Address

What did YOU get out of the State of the Union Address? Feel free to share your thoughts :)