Denice McClure
Dmclurehawk@aol.com
813-431-8033
Hi, Young People,
Congratulations on reading this newspaper! Reading is a lifelong habit that every successful person will agree is a must-have habit. When a young person tells me they love to read, I pause and smile as I think, “There is a future leader.” My friends are all readers. In fact, I can’t think of one friend who doesn’t love to read. I bet your friends are readers too!
Do you watch Shark Tank? Can you see yourself selling your idea to Mark Cuban? When I was your age, I was always coming up with wild ideas. It drove my parents crazy. I didn’t know it, but I must have had an entrepreneurial spirit as a kid. If you are still reading this, I bet you do too! The great news is age is not a limitation on making an idea come to life to turn into a profitable business.
Last year, 13 year-old Zollipop’s CEO Alina Morse made the cover of Entrepreneur. She got the idea for her company when she was 7. She asked her dad: “Why can’t we make a healthy lollipop that’s good for my teeth so that I can have candy and it wouldn’t be bad for me?” Today she is running a multimillion dollar business. Alina’s dad had the skills to help her.
Maybe you are like her yet, have no idea where to begin. No worries! The Proximity Principal by Ken Coleman says we can grow and learn from the people closest to us. I am sure you have heard your parents say that God had placed people in their lives exactly when they needed them. I can tell you that your parents are right.
Through the series Train Up, I’ll introduce you to some people close to me and books I have read that have taught me invaluable lessons of entrepreneurship. There are 22 skills that turned the idea of Florida Power Yoga and Art Slingers into actual places where our vision is alive and felt by our clients every time they walk through our doors. I can pinpoint a person who is the very essence of each skill and became my mentor and they all live within 30 miles of me. It’s the stories from these people I want to share with you so that we can cultivate and polish the entrepreneurial spirit within you. Next month, we’ll learn about how Jeanine McLeod, owner of Cloud Nine Studios in Wesley Chapel, jumped from mechanical engineer to Tampa’s most accomplished child photographer.
Your challenge for July: Read Make Your Bed by General William H. McRaven. Ask your parents how you can earn enough money to buy the book. It’s $11.00 on Amazon. The key word is EARN. Print out a calendar for July and mark an “X” every day that you make your bed. On July 31, celebrate your success by enjoying how good it feels to complete such a small task every day!