I once spent about 3 weeks in the US, as a fresh faced young Man of 25. It was what many like to call an experience of a lifetime. We split our time between 2 cities, Chicago and Washington DC, under the patronage of the American government, on one of President Obama’s Africa focussed programs.
I loved America. I know this is already a polarising statement in many circles, but I did. Genuinely. I loved the organised chaos. Functioning systems like transport and well developed infrastructure, alongside the ‘reach for the stars at all costs’ attitude that I saw with the many Americans I encountered. To be fair, I was on an entrepreuship trip, so a lot of the people I interacted with were dream chasers in co-working hubs and business accelerators.
We went to Six flags, a popular american amusement park with roller coaster rides that terrified even the adrenaline loving spirit in me. There’s over 50 of these parks in the US alone, and a 60 year history behind it. On the flight over, I had watched a documentary about Disney theme parks, and looked forward to going to one of them. I didn’t, but Six flags scratched the itch quite well. There are 12 Disney theme parks around the world, a multi-billion dollar enterprise that started as a wildly executed idea back in 1955, surviving bancruptcies and lawsuits and accidents and much more. They are still here.
I met the billionnaire founder of Open Table, a popular online food ordering company, one you’ve probably never heard of because there are so many billion dollar valued companies in the US. His story, and that of many other successful (even if not billionnaires) business men and women who I met, went something like this; I saw a problem, I had an idea to solve it, I found people to help me build the product behind the idea (often from the not-so-proverbial garage), we failed a bunch of times, pivoted (changing course) a bunch of times, then someone with more money and more influence noticed us, loved us, took a bet on us, and the rocket ship took off.
Years later I would start a business accelerator back home, through which I hosted many successful Kenyan founder CEOs, and what was, and still is amazing, is that their stories were not any different from the Americans. The only difference was context, but the underlying process to enterprise success was the same. Just a couple of days back I was a guest and panelist at the 10th anniversary celebration of a college friend’s company, one who was one of the earliest members of the accelerator I founded. In 10 years, an idea that seemed impossible (and in his opinion still is), had grown into a multi-million shilling business employing over 40 permanent and pensionable employees. His Dad and Mom had travelled from upcountry to experience this moment. I couldn’t have been prouder.
Here’s why i’m sharing these stories.
Eccleseastes 3 says that there’s a God-given task for every human being. That task as is repeated over and over in the bible to great men like Joshua and Moses and David, requires that you rise above your fear and excuses, and just get going. All of us, believers and unbelievers alike, are created in the image of and likeness of God. Within each of us is a creation power waiting to be unleashed. You don’t get to exercise that power by over-thinking things and sitting on an idea for years because (insert here the reason you have given yourself). I’ve heard all the possible reasons, from lack of capital, to parents pushing children to get a stable job, to bills need to be paid, to I can’t take risks with a family to feed, to the government isn’t supportive, you name it.
Yet, like my friend above, like the Open Table founder, like Walt disney, people just like you and I (no 3rd eye, no special powers, and often no rich Dad), step out into the abyss, trusting in the God-given creator spirit within them, and despite all odds, sometimes at great personal cost, they pursue those dreams. America is America because it has had a higher concentration of people like these, than anywhere else in the World.
That idea, that nagging problem you can’t stop thinking about, Start quickly, and don’ be in a hurry to get to the finish line. The dreams grave yard is filled with many who started, and didn’t stick around long enough to see it through.
