THINK LIKE AN IMMIGRANT
I think it was Gary Vaynerchuk who said business owners need to have an immigrant mentality. If it wasn’t him who said it, then I apologize to whoever did. But I thought about that concept today when I saw a Latino family cross the street near my home. They appeared to me as if they hadn’t been in the U.S. very long, therefore likely had a good chance of being immigrants. They sparked this reaction in me, something that I hadn’t experienced before. My sense was that these people were grateful to be here. They were grateful to have clean water, fresh food, and housing. And they were probably very grateful to have work. They looked like the many Latinos I’ve seen lined up early in the morning looking for a day job - anything that would pay.
So many of us who were born here take our situation for granted. We’ve become an entitled society. The “we deserve this because we’re Americans” mentality is starting to bring us down. Our insatiable appetite for “things” has made us weak.
What if we shifted our thinking and began to think like an immigrant? What if we became hungry for the simple things again, instead of the flat-panel TV and stainless steel appliances that we’re been made to believe we all deserve? Tough to swallow, I know. But it wouldn’t be that hard to do. In thinking like an immigrant, we’d put the needs of the group ahead of our personal needs. Through that action we’d make some real progress and change many of the injustices that occur in our country.
In the business sense, thinking like an immigrant will make you succeed no matter what gets in your way. I’ve seen countless examples of immigrants starting their own businesses because they know they only have themselves to count on. And they work harder than anyone to keep their dream of living here alive. Immigrants pass that work ethic on to their children who in turn want a better life than the one their parents had. I can see why those who oppose immigration are afraid. Immigrants are willing to out hustle them. And the offspring of these immigrants are more adept to out hustle their American counterparts.
Me, I’m not worried. I’m going to learn from these folks and try imitate their actions. I’m also going to raise my kids so they know that hard work is the only way to get things in a honest manner. If you want it, you got to work for it. Healthcare, though, is another matter altogether. But we’ll save that for another post.