The best teachers are the ones that have failed the worst. The best teachers are the ones that have been through the darkness and learned how to come out better on the other side. The best teachers are the ones that can take their mistakes and offer them to others as lessons to be learned from and not repeated.  

Relationships are everywhere and the basis of everything. We need them in the workplace, we need them in our families, we need them in our communities, we need them in our lives, period.  

However, if you do not have a great relationship with yourself first, you cannot have a great relationship with anyone, ever.  

I teach relationship building because I have a passion to help others so they do not have to go through what I went through. I live those moments every single day but I do not live in them. I have learned to forgive myself and hope and pray that I am forgiven by those that I have hurt and truly love.  

Here is what I have learned.

The environment in your community creates the population or lack of population.   

Many organizations are working on what is in front of them and ignoring the cause. It is like going to the doctor and getting medicine for a symptom but ignoring what the cause may be. 

Implementing a proven system to engage your community just might be the cure for all of your community ills.   

You never know unless you try.

America’s entrepreneurs don’t ask for much. They embrace the future by building it themselves, working toward goals with the spirit and drive to overcome every hurdle in their paths.   

But too often and for too long, America’s policymakers have taken that spirit and drive for granted. Being “pro-business” has come to represent favoring big business in today’s politics.  

Making it easier for everyday Americans to start their own businesses is essential for creating economic growth that works for everyone.   After all, this is what the American Dream is all about: the belief that anyone, regardless of who they are or where they are from, has the opportunity to make a better life.   

Unless leaders move quickly to reduce unnecessary barriers and expand the circle of American entrepreneurs, the United States will no longer be the most innovative nation with the most dynamic economy on Earth.

You have a multitude of entrepreneurs in your community but you might not realize the impact they provide.  

The foundation of any community that is working towards building an entrepreneurial economy is community engagement.   

You have to start with the community support of entrepreneurs first. 

It is an understanding of what exactly is an entrepreneurial economy and what culture does it take to have one?

Why do workers leave companies?  

Why do teachers leave schools?   

Why do students leave schools?  

Why do volunteers leave your organization?  

Why do people leave your church?   

Why do people leave your community?   

Why?   

It is your lack of one action!

Have you ever looked at a business owner and wondered, "how did they become the owner of this business?"   

Entrepreneurs go through a process of identification. 

They know deep down a deep desire to be.   

It is a guarantee that failure will happen.  

It is a guarantee that success will happen. (Maybe not the way you define success however.)  

Is your community allowing that to happen?   

It all depends upon how this question is answered, "Is Your Community Welcoming?"

Do you really actively listen or do you just wait to talk?   

That is a question that you should be asking yourself in all of your communications. 

Understanding another's point of view and perception is the foundation of building a better economy.   

Your economy is all about people.   

When people talk together about common concerns, they begin to see themselves as public actors. 

They talk about what they can do, not just what others ought to do.

Do you walk your talk? How about your community? How about your church? How about any organization you belong? In Your Relationships?   

It is one thing to think and talk about what you do and what you believe, but the proof is in your actions.  

Walking your talk is one of the most important actions that you can take to build an entrepreneurial economy. Entrepreneurs, community and organization members, all  need to know that what you say is what they will experience.  

It is the foundation of trust.

Your workforce does not all live within your community. They will come from many different towns within your region. We call that the "commuting community."  

Are you paying attention to the economy of the towns your workforce and you retail trade comes from? If you do not, you are missing a huge opportunity to increase your economy.   

Tearing down the walls of former athletic competitions, school mergers, county seat charters, and the larger vs smaller town jealousy, is an eye opening experience.   

Our Community Builders Institute is a powerful, specialized, regional process that builds #collaboration​ in a Spring-Fall experience to build #entrepreneurship​, #education​ and getting to know your own #community​-we bet you find something you never knew!   

You'll experience a rise in volunteerism, new projects, and enthusiasm. In one five-county area implementing this Institute, more than 250 jobs and businesses were created during the three years of community participation

Are your youth staying or returning to your town?   

Some of the most interesting revelations we have working with communities is going into its schools and leading our unique discussion about their community and how they see themselves fitting into its future.   

A wise community takes time to understand, instruct, and support children with local opportunities and make room for them to lead.