Common Knowledge

Success is the Soil from which Opportunity Springs

“Success in business requires training and discipline and hard work. But if you're not frightened by these things, the opportunities are just as great today as they ever were.”

--David Rockefeller--

“If you wish success in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother and hope your guardian genius.”

--Joseph Addison--

“A minute's success pays the failure of years.”

--Robert Browning--

“Success has a hundred fathers; failure is an orphan.”
--JFK--

The Sunday before last history was made. The first and then a couple of hours later, the second African-American head coach in the National Football League (“NFL”) won their conference to go to the Super Bowl! I am proud to say that I was at Soldier Field to watch history. Yet, I do not want to miss this opportunity to point out a couple of lessons that those two head coaches have provided without even realizing it.

First, Tony Dungy the Head Coach of the Colts did what I have written about. He built and continues to cultivate his network. Many people believe that a network is either a reason to go to parties in order to pick up the finest sister or it is a gift that is bestowed on them as a consequence of “earning” a spot in an elite university. It is neither. The network that I am referring to is a group of people that are connected by family, university, community, cultural, or emotional ties. One of the reasons for the network is that each person’s success adds to everyone’s success (this concept is a topic for an entire article so I will not expand upon it too much). Suffice it to say that a good network is the roots from which opportunity sprouts.

Several African-American coaches owe the beginning of their success to Coach Dungy. Tony Dungy appears to understand that by giving other African-Americans opportunities to coach he is not doing them a favor. He is in fact helping himself. He is helping himself by first taking advantage of potentially overlooked talent that allows him to better compete, but he is also helping himself by creating a network of other potential head coaches, analysts, and maybe even general managers around the NFL. All of Coach Dungy’s assistant coaches have not been African-American, which means that he also has a diverse network. One finger will never be as strong a one hand or one fist. Tony Dungy has created a number of fingers to reach deeply into the entire fabric of the NFL. There is no way to tell how extensive this network will be in the future, but what is known is that the more successful Coach Dungy’s network becomes, the more opportunities he may have. One of those fingers will be standing across the field from him in Super Bowl XLI.

The second lesson is that there is no substitute for success in the struggle for equal opportunity in this country. No law, no state or federal policy, and no mandate will ever do as much to break down unfair barriers than success. Coach Lovie Smith’s and Coach Tony Dungy’s ascension to the ranks of head coaches that have made it to the Super Bowl could mean a great deal of opportunity for both of them in the future. And it may mean more opportunity for African-American head coaches in the NFL. This would be appropriate since only about 20% of head coaches in the NFL are African-American although nearly 70% of the players are African American.

Coach Smith has been the lowest paid coach in the NFL for the past three years. This is so even though Coach Smith has delivered on the two promises that he made when he became the Bears head coach. He promised to first beat Green Bay and to make the Bears into a playoff team. He has done both. He is the first head coach of the Bears to win back to back division championships since Mike Ditka. He is also the first head coach of the Bears since Coach Ditka to have a winning record against the hated Green Bay Packers. Yet, he is the lowest paid coach in the NFL. That will change soon. I hope that will not be the only change in the NFL.

Fortune Favors the Bold

“Fortune favors the bold.”
--Virgil--

“Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air.”

--John Quincy Adams--

“The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don't define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them.”

--Denis Watley--

Last week Senator Barack Obama announced the formation of an exploratory commission for his candidacy as the Democratic candidate for the President of the United States of America. While this announcement is technically not an official announcement by Senator Obama to run for President, it is as close to an official announcement as possible. After his announcement, his pending candidacy was discussed on talk radio stations across the country. Most people from the African-American community and from the Chicago land area were very supportive of his candidacy. I am one of them.

Two months before Senator Obama announced his intention to run; I called into the African-American talk radio station in Chicago and stated that I thought it would be a smart move for Senator Obama to run for President. I stated that there was nothing but an upside for Senator Obama to run for President in 2008.

Senator Obama is the first African-American candidate for President that is not a preacher. I do not mean that statement to be an insult to Mr. Jackson or Mr. Sharpton, but it is a fact that Senator Obama represents a new breed of African-American politician. A new breed that can better withstand being type cast as a single issue politician. He represents a new breed of politician that can appeal to a broad constituency. That can be a great thing.

There are people in the African-American community that feel that Senator Obama should not run this presidential cycle. They feel that it is a risky move and that he may regret it. I disagree with that view. There is nothing but good things that could happen to Senator Obama by running. If Senator Obama is embarrassed during the campaign and loses; so what. He still has two years left on his term beyond 2008. There is still plenty of time for him to regroup and put together a strong reelection campaign. If he does well but still fails to get the nomination, he would have established himself as a major player on the national stage. And if he gets the nomination or is on the Democratic ticket, well the sky is the limit.

The bottom line is that history is rarely made by the timid. We all stand upon the shoulders of those that have come before us. The old saying of “nothing ventured, nothing gained” is true. It is great to see African-Americans like Senator Obama, Congressman Ford, and Deval Patrick reach for accomplishments beyond our fore fathers. Now if only our community could take that step with them by getting away from strict party loyalty and voting solely based on issues, but alas that is an article for another day.

D.C. Voting Rights Act

“If you want to be free, there is but one way; it is to guarantee an equally full measure of liberty to all your neighbors. There is no other.”

--Carl Schurz--

“If liberty and equality, as is thought by some are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost.”

--Aristotle--

“There's the country of America, which you have to defend, but there's also the idea of America. America is more than just a country, it's an idea. An idea that's supposed to be contagious.”

--Bono--

“America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens.”

--George W. Bush--

The quote by President Bush sums up what it means to be an American. To me it means a belief in an idea that government is formed for the benefit of its citizens and not the other way around. To me it means a fundamental understanding that the greatest benefit a nation can bestow upon its citizens is freedom. Freedom. That is a word that is often used but never really explored. Well, I am going to explore it in this article.

To me freedom comes from choice. There are a great number of choices to be made during a person’s life. A person must choose what profession to follow. A person must choose what, if any, person to bond with in order to raise a family. Those are all very important choices, but no citizen of a nation is free without the ability to choose that nation’s leadership. Yes. I am referring to the right to vote. Any citizen of a nation that does not have the ability to vote for the very government that claims authority over him/her is not free. As Americans we are a nation of fifty free states and a capital that has been held mute for far too long.

Yesterday, January 9, 2007, the DC Voting Rights Act was reintroduced to Congress by Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va). If passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate and signed into law by the President, the District of Columbia would receive a vote in the House of Representatives for the first time in the history of this country. The bill would also give Utah another representative in the House, which would mean that the partisan balance of power would be unaffected. Please call your Congressman or Congresswoman and your Senators and ask them to support this bill.

This bill represents a step towards freedom for over a half a million Americans that are trapped without a voice and a vote simply because they live within a ten square mile loop hole on American soil. The residents of the District of Columbia have been kept without a vote because of arrogance, ignorance and now partisanship. None of those reasons can past the muster of a belief in freedom. The bottom line is that for all the lip service that many of us Americans give to being patriotic now is our time to demonstrate our patriotism. Now is our time to demonstrate our love for what makes America great. In order to really love America then you must be in love with its principles, its ideas, its beliefs. There is no more fundamental American belief than a belief in freedom; a belief in one man or woman, one vote.

Right now Congress has the last say on every matter in the District of Columbia, regardless of whether it is a national or local matter. Yet the people of the District of Columbia have no vote in Congress. No vote means no voice in Congress. If you believe in freedom do the patriotic thing. Pick up your phone or sit down at your desk, and call, write, or email your representative and senators and tell them to stand up for our principles as Americans and FREE THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA! They can start by voting for the D.C. Voting Rights Act.

Have Faith

“I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20 (New International Version)

--Jesus--

“Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.”

--J. R. R. Tolkien--

Happy New Year! I hope everyone that reads this article had a happy, safe, and fun New Year’s celebration. Last year a good number of my thoughts that were put to paper were critical of something or someone. Well I would like to start the New Year by writing about something positive. This article is about faith.

This article is not about religion. It is about advice. We need more faith in our schools, our work, and lives. We need faith in our futures. If I had the honor of speaking to a group of young brothers and sisters about life and what to do to put themselves in the best position to be successful, the first thing I would tell them was to have faith. I would tell them that in order to achieve something in life they must first have a dream and second they must believe in their ability to achieve that dream. I know that sounds overly simplistic, but sometimes the seemingly simplest truths are the most profound.

I used to teach school before I became a lawyer. When I taught in a junior high school in the Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago, I had a unique opportunity to interact with pre-teenage and teenage children. I noticed that the children that tended to go onto become successful people years after they graduated tended to have faith in their ability to achieve their goals. I don’t think that was an accident. I think it was directly related.

The truth is that if you believe that you can achieve something then you will act like it. I think the number one reason that too many people get caught up in circumstances that lead to crime, poverty, and despair is due to lack of faith in their future. Why would a brother that feels that he must protect his reputation today hold back from doing something that will land him in jail tomorrow when he does not value tomorrow? Why would a brother or sister delay instant gratification to invest in a future that they do not believe in? The truth is they probably will not.

I am a firm believer that life is a journey. And there are many steps along that journey. Those steps can lead to success, satisfaction, and even happiness. But in order for the average person to get there they must over come many obstacles along the way. That is where faith comes in.

Last weekend I went to see the movie The Pursuit of Happyness. I enjoyed it. The movie was inspiring. It was uplifting. And it was a great example of how a person’s faith in their ability to succeed can lead them past nearly any obstacle that life will throw in their way.

Faith is the vision that gets a person to keep going up the hill when what they are looking for is on the other side. Faith is the energy in your muscles to go the next mile when you were certain that you were too tired to finish the previous block. Faith provides that window in the future for someone that is toiling in the garden today to see, smell, and taste the fruits of their labor tomorrow. If creativity, hard work, and dedication are the components of the engine to success, then faith is its fuel. Maybe we need just a little more faith in our community.