"This I Believe..."
The Founding Fathers laid out three unalienable rights - the right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. But somewhere along the way, we have lost the understanding of what pursuit actually means. It seems more and more people feel entitled to...well...FILL IN THE BLANK for yourself. Pursuit does not guarantee success. Pursuit does not mean hard work and determination need not apply. And pursuit most definitely does not guarantee happiness. However, we are free to pursue - to chase after - our dreams, wants, and happiness. Our Founding Fathers knew that if people were given this freedom to pursue their happiness, then we could create the greatest experiment in democracy in the history of mankind.
Many have failed before arriving at success. Henry Ford, famous for his assembly-line creation and automobiles, failed five times in business before finding success with the Ford Motor Company. R.H. Macy had similar experiences, failing at business endeavors seven times before launching the highly popular department store Macys. Albert Einstein, one of the greatest minds of the 20th century and Nobel Prize winner, didn't speak until after he turned four years old which led his parents and doctors to believe him to be mentally handicapped. Would you believe that Walt Disney was fired from his job at a newspaper because he lacked imagination and creativity? It's true. He even failed in several business ventures and went bankrupt before founding the Disney we all know and love. Creator of the extremely popular and huge money-maker Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling, was living off of welfare due to a divorce and severe depression before the success of her first novel. Even Bill Gates, one of the most successful people of our time, was considered a complete loser at one one. He failed out of Harvard, and his first business, Traf-O-Data, failed miserably. Now consider where is because he refused to quit the Pursuit of his Happiness.
When the Founding Fathers wrote to us that we had the right to the Pursuit of Happiness, they did not include that it would be handed to us on a silver platter. They expected the American Dream to come through hard work, determination, and failure which could - not would - then lead on to success.
I believe the Pursuit of Happiness does not guarantee success. EVER. There are some who pursue through an entire lifetime and do not reach a high level of success, but because we have that right, there are countless rags-to-riches stories in American history. Some of our greatest inventors and business moguls started from the bottom, climbing the ladder only to be knocked down repeatedly. This, however, did not deter them, and thank goodness it didn't. Can you imagine life today without the use of an assembly line? How would our cars be produced? What would it be like if we didn't have great movies like Cinderella or The Lion King? What if Bill Gates had given up and we never had Microsoft? These men and women continued to pursue until success was achieved. They did not allow set-backs to hold them back. As an American it is a relief to know that no matter how many failures I have, I always retain the right to continue the pursuit of my happiness.
Many have failed before arriving at success. Henry Ford, famous for his assembly-line creation and automobiles, failed five times in business before finding success with the Ford Motor Company. R.H. Macy had similar experiences, failing at business endeavors seven times before launching the highly popular department store Macys. Albert Einstein, one of the greatest minds of the 20th century and Nobel Prize winner, didn't speak until after he turned four years old which led his parents and doctors to believe him to be mentally handicapped. Would you believe that Walt Disney was fired from his job at a newspaper because he lacked imagination and creativity? It's true. He even failed in several business ventures and went bankrupt before founding the Disney we all know and love. Creator of the extremely popular and huge money-maker Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling, was living off of welfare due to a divorce and severe depression before the success of her first novel. Even Bill Gates, one of the most successful people of our time, was considered a complete loser at one one. He failed out of Harvard, and his first business, Traf-O-Data, failed miserably. Now consider where is because he refused to quit the Pursuit of his Happiness.
When the Founding Fathers wrote to us that we had the right to the Pursuit of Happiness, they did not include that it would be handed to us on a silver platter. They expected the American Dream to come through hard work, determination, and failure which could - not would - then lead on to success.
I believe the Pursuit of Happiness does not guarantee success. EVER. There are some who pursue through an entire lifetime and do not reach a high level of success, but because we have that right, there are countless rags-to-riches stories in American history. Some of our greatest inventors and business moguls started from the bottom, climbing the ladder only to be knocked down repeatedly. This, however, did not deter them, and thank goodness it didn't. Can you imagine life today without the use of an assembly line? How would our cars be produced? What would it be like if we didn't have great movies like Cinderella or The Lion King? What if Bill Gates had given up and we never had Microsoft? These men and women continued to pursue until success was achieved. They did not allow set-backs to hold them back. As an American it is a relief to know that no matter how many failures I have, I always retain the right to continue the pursuit of my happiness.