Limelight America

In 1923, a small group of the world’s wealthiest and loneliest men gathered at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago MORE

At the time, they collectively had more money than the U.S. Treasury. Listen to what eventually happened to them. Charles Schwab, head of America’s largest steel company died broke. So did wheat speculator Arthur Cutten. Richard Whitney, president of the New York Stock Exchange died in prison. Jess Livermore, Leon Fraser and Ivar Krueger, all Wall Street barons committed suicide. The moral? Don’t confuse wealth with happiness. Always make things more enduring than money your first priority.

Can you name the five wealthiest people in the world? Or the last three Heisman trophy winners? MORE 

Or two Nobel prize winners? Though they’re the best in their fields, few of us remember the headliners of yesterday. Now, name a teacher who had a positive influence when you were in school, or a friend who helped you through a difficult time. An important part of an entrepreneur’s spirit is a willingness to help others, even in small ways that, at the time don’t seem like much. One of my favorite quotes comes from Anita Roddick, the founder of a global cosmetics business called The Body Shop, Limited. “If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito.”

“The Most Inspiring 60 Seconds in Radio” THE DREAM  WARRIORS ON AMERICA'S GREAT STATIONS MORE  

KDKA AM 1020 PITTSBURGH – WCBS AM 880 NEW YORK – WBBM AM 780 CHICAGO - KMOX AM 1120 ST. LOUIS – KRLD AM 1080 DALLAS – KOA AM 850 DENVER - KFWB AM 980 LOS ANGELES – KCBS AM 740 SAN FRANCISCO – KIRO AM 710 SEATTLE KSL AM 1160 SALT LAKE 

Limelight America presents THE DREAM WARRIORS - fascinating stories about the radical and visionary entrepreneurs who revolutionized the 20th Century MORE >

and set the stage for 21st Century DREAMERS - Mavericks & Rebels, Innovators & Inventors, Trailblazers & Pioneers - a remarkable collection narrated by Michael (Drew) Shaw, plus a growing library of audiobooks, inspiring music and little-known facts about unforgettable people, places and events.

In this episode, Ron Popeil the Vega-Matic King. Not many companies survive for 145 years. Among this elite group is one that started as a humble hardware store in 1855.   

You don’t make it through almost a century and a half without some turmoil and challenge, the biggest of which came in the 1980’s when the principle owner retired and left 250 employees with a choice. Sell the business to another company or buy it themselves. It’s amazing what people can do when they work together … when they pool their spirits and their resources. We salute the employee-owners of the Bostwick-Braun Company.

Bernie Marcus & Arthur Blank, co-founders of Home Depot. Jim Henson was a warrior who refused to stick with the status quo. Rejected by American television, he syndicated his work via Britain’s ACC group. His innovations connected new technology with the ancient art of puppetry and attracted a weekly audience of 235 million viewers at its peak. The biggest names in show business vied for guest appearances. Stars like Bob Hope, Steve Martin and Rudolf Nureyev who danced Swine Lake with Miss Piggy. U.S. network executives had said The Muppet Show was too-child oriented when they had turned Henson away. The moral to the story is never give up. Believe in yourself no matter what the experts say.

"Stop the world I want to get off"-Leo Butterburger  

We’d like to take a moment to thank the National Association for the Self-Employed for their help in a national effort to encourage and support young Dream Warriors. The Future Entrepreneur of the Year award is presented to a young man or woman who demonstrates leadership, academic excellence, ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit

"Love settles for less than perfection, and makes allowances for human weakness" MORE>

In this episode we will hear a Hopkins excerpt encore - After years of emotional abuse, Reuben Petteway is a lonely and angry young man. With an IQ in the top 2%, he is also a near-genius. When he is pulled aside, detained and searched while waiting to board a flight at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Reuben goes over the edge, and his anger turns to rage. Add a synthetic drug known as Spice to the mix and the result is a violent and unpredictable psychotic who will stop at nothing to get his revenge.

If ignorance is bliss, I fear my limited knowledge before crossing over was a better way to be for me. Sweet Gum excerpt from Unsuspecting Friends MORE >

In this episode we will hear the conclusion of Hopkins ... now available at Barnes & Nobel, audible.com and Amazon.com

Richard Branson: bold with a bag of crazy, often illegal stunts. Henry Ford never let a wrong turn stop him. His first venture failed miserably, at least for him. He was forced out of his own company by two partners who went on to build another model called Cadillac. Seven years later, a dozen investors put up $2500 each and the Ford Motor Company was born. That 2500 turned into $30 million by 1910. Henry Ford had other failures including unsuccessful bids for the senate and the presidency, and then there was the Edsel, but that one wasn’t his fault. If you have an idea, don’t let a few setbacks or indecision get in your way. Like Yogi Berra once said, when you come to a fork in the road, take it.