Improving Our Human Condition

"I was just looking for better Internet service."

• Chuck McCown
  

Improving Our Human Condition

My friend Chuck McCown is a good friend and neighbor. He is also a successful entrepreneur and I've long admired his work and accomplishments, so as I was talking with him the other day I asked him what led him to the creation of his companies.

"I was just looking better Internet service." Chuck said to me.

This simple answer caught me a little off guard at first. But its implication seemed to pierce deep into my mind and caused my thoughts to race. "This is entrepreneurship at its core!" I said to myself. It serves as the platform for so many life improving opportunities.

Most of us view entrepreneurship as the creation of a business or company. But, Chuck's statement reveals that it's really the search and implementation of all creative acts aimed at improving our human condition!

Since improving our human condition is the true purpose of entrepreneurship, the question one must ask is, "what can I do to make my life and the lives or others better?" Notice that the concept of doing something simply because it will make a "boat load" of money has no place in the entrepreneurship core. Making money may be a side effect of fulfilling a need, but it is only one of many possible rewards for such activity. The greatest results and the greatest companies are built around benefiting humanity.

Chuck's company is the perfect example of this concept. My family and I are the direct recipients of the services his company provides on a daily basis. Our lives have been improved, conveniences expanded, and our costs reduced. Perhaps most importantly, I'm able to spend more time with my family than I otherwise would be able to. And, it all happens within my own small community.

Other opportunities surround all of us each day. For example, perhaps there is some unused land in your neighborhood that the owner would allow you to use as a community garden. It takes an entrepreneur to organize a community to help put affordable food into the homes of neighbors.

Children in your neighborhood may also benefit from a community tutoring program. Perhaps you could use your academic experience to assist your neighbors to increase their literacy without cost. Such an activity may free up time and money for a family that needs to use all their resources for food and shelter.

The truth is that entrepreneurship provides all of us with food and shelter. We are a nation of entrepreneurs and now is the time to redouble our efforts to improve our communities and the lives of our neighbors. You can use your talents and passion in many ways. I know you can make a difference. Become more of an entrepreneur today. We're counting on you. You are the only one that can improve the human condition in your own unique way, where you are right now.