Help is on the way! Or maybe not…
There are folks waiting to be saved. When will the posse arrive? Is help on the way? Or just maybe, what we really need is to save ourselves.
An off-schedule post
Periodically, I’ll come across something that I think you'll find interesting, which doesn't fit into my regular Tuesday morning post schedule, and I’ll post it off-schedule. This discussion of help is on the way is one of those times. If you find yourself short of time, at least click on the link in Note 4 to watch the video. It will make the point.
When things come to a head
Have you ever been just going about your business and something happened that made you take note? Then something else similar happened that tied the two together. Then it happened again, and perhaps a fourth time. Suddenly, you said, “It’s a sign!” and you decided you needed to act. You know, like the movie Sleepless in Seattle, where Meg Ryan kept seeing things happen to facilitate a meet-up with Tom Hanks. “It’s a sign!” she kept saying. And that’s what caused me to author this post today.
A lot is going on that I want to talk about, but I need your help first
Before I start today’s discussion, I’m going to take my hat off, put it in my hand, and ask you for a favor. When I developed the Afterburner Success Partners (ASP) course in 2019, I recognized a need for what I was offering. That is to help those who need to find a way to achieve their dreams and live their best lives. Folks who may not be in a position, at the moment, to make that happen or need some help figuring it out. There are a lot of those folks. The fact is, many people will never hear about ASP and how, by taking the necessary steps, they can indeed overcome whatever they need to so they can live their best lives.
So here is my ask. Many of my readers have been able to figure it out on their own, and while they may enjoy reading my posts, they don’t really need to take the course. However, dear reader, you may know someone who can utilize the information in the course to kick-start their life or get back on track. People who may not know, who may not listen to you, but just might listen to someone else. Are you a parent? If you have teenage children, they often don’t listen to you, as if you don’t know anything. Yeah, many of us know that feeling, don’t we? But sometimes they listen to someone else, a stranger, perhaps. Someone like me. Could you please forward this post to that person? Or those persons? As we like to say in the course, there is enough in this world for everyone, and many of us have been helped by someone along the way, and it’s our turn to help someone else. Could you please do that for me? I thank you. Now, on to the post!
This is not a political discussion
I like to think I’m a pretty smart guy. Or, at least, like I say, “I’m not as dumb as I look.” So I know that if I ever get into discussing politics, I will immediately anger half the people. That’s how divided our country is now. So, I won’t get into politics. Not now, not ever. We have too much in common as a nation, and I wish we would focus on what binds us rather than what divides us. We are stronger together. Please keep this in mind as you read on.
It’s a sign
Now that I have that out of the way, I can turn to the topic at hand. I mentioned earlier that a series of events has recently come together, causing me to write today’s post, and that you’ve probably experienced something similar. Here’s how it came about.
We recently visited Europe, exploring many new places and seeing a lot of new things. The first event that struck me was that, wherever we went, mostly in large cities, people spoke English, in addition to their native language. We were in a grocery store outside of Stockholm, Sweden, and as I stood in line to check out, I noticed the young cashier, about 18 years old, seamlessly go from speaking Swedish to the locals to English for the tourists that accompanied us. It was nothing to her. And her English was excellent. In the US, we have missed the boat in teaching foreign languages to our youth. Ponder this: Do European youth learn English to speak to those from the UK, or because of the influence of the USA? And it was not just in Sweden. This year, we’ve visited France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway, and we've spoken English to locals who spoke it as if it were their native tongue. It’s incredible to me, but it makes me a little ashamed that I barely know a few words and phrases in Italian and Spanish. Why do so many people in the world speak English if it’s not their native tongue?
The second event was that our German tour guide was aware that America’s 250th birthday is coming up next year. You know that fact, right? How would a German know that? Perhaps it is that he is an English-speaking tour guide who caters to Americans and other English speakers. Why do those in other countries know about the 250th birthday of America in 2026?
The third event was that in two restaurants, one in Stockholm and another in Oslo, we saw decorations for Route 66. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Route 66, I invite you to click on the link in Note 1 from the National Park Service to learn more. Besides being popular with Americans, many foreigners are also intrigued by “The Mother Road”, and many people choose to drive the entire length from Chicago, south through Oklahoma, and west to Los Angeles. I was with my father-in-law a while back, eating Chili at Ike’s Chili House, an over 100-year-old restaurant in Tulsa. A couple was driving Route 66 and stopped for lunch at Ike’s. As they spoke to the owner, I heard him tell them that a lot of his customers stop by during their drive on Route 66. Why are so many outside the US intrigued by a highway and the lifestyle that accompanies it?
The fourth and final event that prompted me to write this post is the ongoing events in New York, particularly the mayor’s race. You may have heard that a young 33-year-old outsider named Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic mayoral primary and has set the country ablaze talking about it. It’s not that an outsider, whether a Democrat or a Republican, is a leading candidate for mayor of New York, one of the most important and iconic American cities. No, it’s his platform that’s the problem, and that's what I want to discuss. All of these events, “signs” coming together at this particular time, are, to me, a sign that I need to talk about a few things! Why is the gentleman’s entry into the mayor’s race causing such controversy? Why are others from outside of the USA intrigued with the USA? Why do they speak English? What are the common bonds?
A free lunch?
The wonderful thing about America, and in broad discussion as we prepare to celebrate our 250th birthday, is the concept “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Note 1). The important concept here is not that someone must provide for us to make us happy, but each of us, as an American, native or immigrant, has the right to choose how to live. Nowhere does it say that someone (the government or otherwise) will provide it for us. We are not guaranteed success, happiness or a free lunch, but the opportunity to earn these things of our own volition.
This concept is recognized and admired worldwide, and it is the reason millions of people want to come to the USA to experience it. We see signs of admiration for America everywhere in the world. It could be signs in a restaurant in Norway, Japanese who come here to drive Route 66, or those who learn English as a second language. To pursue the American dream, not have it handed to them. We are richly blessed in this country, and the blessing (indeed the gift) of work, and the ability to choose how and when to work, is as American as apple pie.
Afterburner Success Partners and the associated course were developed to help those who find themselves in need of the knowledge of how to help themselves. There is a small cost associated with the course, but if someone needs assistance with a hand up and is willing to invest, help is available to them. One simply needs to take the initiative and pull oneself up by one's bootstraps, like millions of us have. Most of us don’t want a handout, but many of us have benefited from a hand up. Yes, see the difference there?
Back in New York…Help is on the way
So what’s being offered by our friend, the mayoral candidate in New York? Let’s see (Notes 3, 5):
Free public transit
Free college tuition
More public housing
Sweeping debt cancellation
System overhauls
”Seizing the means of production”
Government-run grocery stores
Rent control
“I don’t think we should have billionaires.”
Paid for by tax increases on the wealthy
I guess there are enough people in New York who believe a mayor can not only promise these things but deliver on them. Where were you in 2004? Do you recall presidential candidate John Kerry’s DNC nomination acceptance speech? Click on the link in Note 4 to listen. These individuals are not the first political candidates to offer government assistance or to portray the government as our savior. As if we need them to save us. Are some really waiting on the government to save them?
It’s all up to us
I’ve received a few things from the government over the years. Most likely, you have too. I received a small Pell grant once. Of course, I was a junior enlisted military member, and my pay was such that I qualified for food stamps (I never applied for them). I received unemployment once after separating from the Air Force for a few weeks. I never thought these things were free, and I was a bit uncomfortable receiving them. Someone paid for those things with their taxes. I did not earn them.
The government is not going to save us. The cavalry is not coming. And if you think about it, do we really want to have an income low enough to qualify for what these folks are selling anyway? What kind of dream is that? What makes America great and why so many people want to come here is for the opportunity that we enjoy in this country. The thought that your hard work, your new invention, your new products or services you sweat and toil over to develop will pay off for you. Not that you will be provided with something for free.
And that’s the message today. I know you, my readers, don’t really need to hear this; you already know it. However, because the idea of something free is still prevalent, it needs to be discussed. Individual effort needs to be encouraged. Because if we get up, do what we need to do, then we can surely achieve our dreams and live our best lives. Many of you already have. We can live and be the American Dream! Please pass this message of living the American Dream to someone who may need to hear it today, won’t you?
That’s all for today!
Route 66 sign in a restaurant in Sweden
What’s in it for Me
Are you happy in your chosen profession? Are you living the American Dream? If not, and you are not satisfied, then admit it and make the necessary changes. That decision alone will get you started so that you can be all you can be!
Call to Action
Think long and hard about what the American Dream means to you. Take action if you need to. I might suggest that the Afterburner Success Partners course is an excellent place to start. Be sure to sign up to receive these posts. Share them with your friends and family. Be the American Dream.
Recommended Resources
Today’s post was inspired by two articles in the Wall Street Journal (Note 6). The WSJ is a recommended resource on my website, as the information contained in this newspaper is invaluable to anyone seeking to be informed and get ahead. Be sure to subscribe and read this paper, either physically or digitally.
Up Next
Back to our regular post schedule.
Notes
Please note that as an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission on the sale of any of these recommended resources.
The history of Route 66: https://www.nps.gov/articles/route-66-overview.htm
The Declaration of Independence: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
A Wake Up Call-and a Bad Example, Tom Suozzi, The Wall Street Journal July 3, 2025
John Kerry, Help is on the Way: https://www.c-span.org/clip/public-affairs-event/user-clip-2004-dnc-john-kerry-help-is-on-the-way/4949065
Mamdani Brings Third World Prejudices to New York, East is East, Sadanand Dhune, The Wall Street Journal, July 3, 2025
The Wall Street Journal: WSJ.com