Heat Wave

Heat Wave

As many of us shoveled snow during the winter months in the northern part of the U.S. we yearned for warm weather.  Now, that much of America is in the midst of what could be a record breaking heat wave – we are complaining, sweating, grumpy and just plain blah feeling.

Why is that?

By nature people gravitate toward the negative.  Rather than accept that something works, many people try and shoot holes in it.  Its as though they do not want to see  something succeed.

Instead of accepting a change in life, the way something works or in operating procedures – people will resist.

Rather than rejoice with a “news sharer” they will add their 2 cents worth of negativity and caution….even if it is on a subject they know nothing about.

Why is that?

Well, resting in your comfort zone is much easier that actively implementing a change.  Killing an idea is much easier than learning about it and how to put it in to practice.

How do you handle the heat?  Or better put, how do you handle a hot idea?

I suggest ONLY share it with a trusted friend or someone who will help put those wheels in motion.  Only share it with your inner circle of implementers who can make a positive impact on that dream becoming a reality.

Once the idea, concept, dream, whatever is ready for launch you can share it.

Then sit back and watch as nay sayers become “I told you soers”.

Look outside your home or office.  It’s hot out there.  Most people are complaining about the heat.  Only a few people – when smacked in the face with that heat saw it as an opportunity to invent a fan, to invent an air conditioner.  Just a few saw that heat wave as a chance to launch their idea.  Only some saw it as a opportunity to make a difference.

We could switch the situation from heat wave to the economy, to joblessness, to a shift in America’s paradigm of what is.  They saw it as a chance.  They saw it as a gateway.  They saw it as an open window of opportunity.

Back during the depression Frank Lloyd Wright built a million dollar home for the Kaufman family.  The Kaufman’s were the retail store Kaufman’s.  While people were struggling, while they were moping around, while they were eeking out an existence  - Frank Lloyd Wright was working on a project for the Kaufman’s that would become famous – Falling Water.




So, how will you handle the heat wave? 

Have a great week

Ron  

To schedule Ron to speak to your business, civic group or organization, contact him at:

ron@ronorendi.com

717-802-0483

The Signers of the Declaration of Independence

This week, America is celebrating Independence Day.  Rather than write a blog this week, I thought it appropriate to share the story of what happened to the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

What Happened to the Signers of the Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British and brutally tortured as traitors. Nine fought in the War for Independence and died from wounds or from hardships they suffered. Two lost their sons in the Continental Army. Another two had sons captured. At least a dozen of the fifty-six had their homes pillaged and burned.

What kind of men were they? Twenty-five were lawyers or jurists. Eleven were merchants. Nine were farmers or large plantation owners. One was a teacher, one a musician, and one a printer. These were
men of means and education, yet they signed the Declaration of Independence, knowing full well that
the penalty could be death if they were captured.

In the face of the advancing British Army, the Continental Congress fled from Philadelphia to Baltimore on December 12, 1776. It was an especially anxious time for John Hancock, the President, as his wife had just given birth to a baby girl. Due to the complications stemming from the trip to Baltimore, the child lived only a few months.

William Ellery's signing at the risk of his fortune proved only too realistic. In December 1776, during three days of British occupation of Newport, Rhode Island, Ellery's house was burned, and all his property destroyed.

Richard Stockton, a New Jersey State Supreme Court Justice, had rushed back to his estate near Princeton after signing the Declaration of Independence to find that his wife and children were living like refugees with friends. They had been betrayed by a Tory sympathizer who also revealed Stockton's own whereabouts. British troops pulled him from his bed one night, beat him and threw him in jail where he almost starved to death. When he was finally released, he went home to find his estate had been looted,
his possessions burned, and his horses stolen. Judge Stockton had been so badly treated in prison that his health was ruined and he died before the war's end. His surviving family had to live the remainder of their lives off charity.

Carter Braxton was a wealthy planter and trader. One by one his ships were captured by the British navy. He loaned a large sum of money to the American cause; it was never paid back. He was forced to sell his plantations and mortgage his other properties to pay his debts.

Thomas McKean was so hounded by the British that he had to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Continental Congress without pay, and kept his family in hiding.

Vandals or soldiers or both looted the properties of Clymer, Hall, Harrison, Hopkinson and Livingston. Seventeen lost everything they owned.

Thomas Heyward, Jr., Edward Rutledge and Arthur Middleton, all of South Carolina, were captured by the British during the Charleston Campaign in 1780. They were kept in dungeons at the St. Augustine Prison until exchanged a year later.

At the Battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr. noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the family home for his headquarters. Nelson urged General George Washington to open fire on his own home. This was done, and the home was destroyed. Nelson later died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis also had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife for two months, and that and other hardships from the war so affected her health that she died only two years later.

"Honest John" Hart, a New Jersey farmer, was driven from his wife's bedside when she was near death. Their thirteen children fled for their lives. Hart's fields and his grist mill were laid waste. For over a year he eluded capture by hiding in nearby forests. He never knew where his bed would be the next night and often slept in caves.

When he finally returned home, he found that his wife had died, his children disappeared, and his farm and stock were completely destroyed. Hart himself died in 1779 without ever seeing any of his family again.

Such were the stories and sacrifices typical of those who risked everything to sign the Declaration of Independence. These men were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged:

"For the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of the Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

Are there any among us who would do likewise?

Author Unknown

Have a great week

Ron  

To schedule Ron to speak to your business, civic group
or organization, contact him at:
ron@ronorendi.com
717-802-0483