[00:00:00] Dr. Nate Salah
When my parents immigrated here many years ago, they came here to the United States because they sought a better life. They sought a life that they could have prosperity, they could have security, they could have freedom to pursue the opportunity in life. And they worked hard. They toiled. They didn't eke out more than a meager living their entire lives. They laid a foundation for their children to continue and find the possibilities for not only financial prosperity but that their kids could lay their head on a pillow and their kids' kids in peace and friend, today is a day to discuss and celebrate that opportunity for me, I've been so blessed and so fortunate to have the pathway to achieve I came from very meager, meager means. We had nothing. We had very little to eat, very little to have to help us to grow, but we had the opportunity. You know, I don't necessarily believe in equal outcomes.
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I do believe in equal opportunity. We should provide opportunity within the boundaries and the freedoms of this great nation. And this is not a perfect nation. This is not a nation that we can check the box and say, We do it all right. We don't, I don't even think there's a nation on the planet that gets it all right, because there's pluralism in nations, especially in what we call a democracy in the United States, we are a democracy. We are formed as a republic. But there's a democratic methodology. In other words, we have a way that each person gets one vote within their state, and that vote has an impact on the election cycle and who's in power and different viewpoints at different times, elect different people, and we're getting into an election cycle now, and that is revving itself up, and so I think it was George Washington and said it's not a perfect system, but it's the best we have, and we continue to improve upon it. I'm confident and faithful that we will continue to find new ways to progress as a nation, even though there's so much division in ideas and ideology, in what's happening around the world, whether it be Ukraine or the Middle East, Palestine, Israel, Sudan right here in our own back door, in our own backyard.
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What's happening with borders and what's happening with how we take care of our veterans and our rising costs healthcare and food and housing and all of those pieces are actively sought to find new solutions. But don't give up. I don't want to give up on the possibility as a person in this nation? Yeah. You say, Well, Nate, Do I really have a say out of hundreds of millions of people? Yes, you do, because A cord of three strands is not easily broken, in other words, and when we bind together, we can make a change. You say, Nate, but there's so many people that have different views, that's okay, you know what? Maybe someone else's view is better than mine. Maybe I can learn. Maybe we can integrate some aspects of different aspects of our views. Maybe we can be a little more pliable. You say, Nate, these are non negotiables. This is part of my core. I understand that maybe there are aspects of our core that are non negotiable. Maybe there are areas that are outside of that, that we can maybe find some common ground. When's the last time we had meaningful, respectful dialog when it comes to differing opinions, when it comes to differing beliefs? When's the last time on social media, instead of ripping each other apart, we actually said, I understand. Thank you for sharing that. Here's how I understand this. When have we been able to do that, and if we are able to do that, how much further can we take this conversation in life?
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How much further can we take this conversation that the blood of so many people have been spilled defending the independence of this great nation over the years. Independence, what an amazing word. Independence. It signifies freedom. They say, Nate, no one's really, truly free. You pay all these taxes, you have all these restrictions. All these rules. It's true this, freedoms are limited because we have regulation. Why do we have regulation? Well, partly because it maintains order, partly other things besides regulation. We have taxes. Can't get around them. I own an income tax accounting and advisory firm 30 years. You can't get away from taxes unless perhaps you're not working. But even then, if you go buy a good you're going to pay tax. You go fill up your fuel, you're going to pay tax. If you have electricity in your home, you say, Nate, I've got an electric car your electricity. There's a tax on that too. Taxes fund and fuel a nation's resources. You may say, I don't like what we spend our money on as a nation. It's frivolous spending. There's so much earmarking and things like that.
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Oh, well, speak up. Speak up. I don't have a say. Yes, you do. Yes you do. At the end of the day, what I'm talking about is really having not only the joy of being able to contribute, but knowing that in other places in the world, perhaps you don't have that. Listen, if you've ever lived abroad, go to a country that doesn't have the ability to where you can speak out. Some countries, if you even speak out against your leaders, you go to prison, and worse, you can be killed. And not only you, your family, you say, Nate, that's just propaganda. Check it out for yourself. I'm not going to go through the list of nations. I'm not going to do all that, but check it out for yourself. Go to source data, not just the secondary, tertiary data. Go to the source, you'll find that you're able to speak out. I spoke with someone not too long ago from another country. I said, Nate, I can't believe when I came to the United States, I couldn't believe that I could say what I wanted to say, and I was not going to be imprisoned. I was not going to be ostracized. I could actually have a voice.
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So yeah, that's one of the central tenets of this nation, is that you can speak freely Now, granted, some speech is prohibited, considering hate speech and things of that nature, however, within the confines of what is permitted in terms of your freedoms, there's a wide a wide mirror. You say, Nate, that's just not enough. Well, look for legislation. Be a part of the difference. If you believe that there's not enough freedom, then seek additional freedom. Bind with those who seek the same freedom that perhaps a larger voice than you, that's a lot of what leadership is. Leadership is partly having the vernacular or the tone or the language to speak out what others either have not been able to articulate or have not had the influence and the voice to say to the same broader audience, the same group of people that you have so you bind with others. Say, Well, you know what? Just think about. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, I bring him up on the program, often because of his ability to bind others around a common vision or common cause that was manifested through communication. And so so much of our leadership, we manifest our leadership through communication, through what we say, how we say, through the imagery that we create. And that imagery then leads others to see a state that is better than the current state.
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They leads others to see an ability to reach that state that is very attractive. It's very worthwhile, and they can see it happening. It's achievable. You say, wow, you know what? You've said, something that resonates with me. You've said something that I believe that collectively we can achieve. Let's go. That's leadership in action. You know? It's taking the power that produces the influence that manifests itself in action. So much of that is what we call leadership. Now, there's all different aspects of it, but this is the plight for freedom. This is the plight for independence. This is the plight that happened back in the 1700s July 4, 1776 a Declaration of Independence. If you remember, that document never been to Washington, DC, United States, and you're visiting, check it out. It is amazing to think about the sacrifices each person who signed that declaration was signing. In essence, if they were to be caught by the British at the time, they would be executed. This was think about, think about in your own life, think about, I try to think about this in my own life, because we gloss over it cursively and say, Oh yeah, the Declaration of Independence. But think about it. If there was a document that you signed today that if those who you opposed
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were to be victorious over. You, it would ensure certain death or a lifetime of pain. Would you do it? This is the prospect of freedom. And perhaps it's not that. Perhaps it's something else. Perhaps it's you. Those of our service people are men and women in the armed services who when they sign that allegiance to protect our nation, if they're in combat, if they're in a situation where those who we are fighting against were to capture them, perhaps it would lead to death. It has led to death for hundreds of years. For our service people, the cost of freedom. Freedom's not free, and I want to say that I am thankful, deeply thankful, for the sacrifice of every person who has given their life, pledged their life, for the independence, for the freedoms that we have. We're not a perfect nation by a long, long way, but we are a nation that has the ability and the opportunity to provide a pathway. What did the Founding Fathers say for life, for liberty, for the pursuit of happiness? No guarantee it's a pursuit. I would say, pursue joy.
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Happiness comes and goes. But pursuing joy for me is internal. Happiness is often external. We look at the external, but the internal, the fire that burns within me. And so as I move into a season of celebration, I want to wake up every morning and thank God that I have the freedom now I could live somewhere else. Yes, this is home. I was just talking to a relative. Was visiting from overseas and talking about how this my cousin missed the culture of home here in the United States, just visiting, missed the culture of home because of all the friends and the events and all of the activity, even in some aspect of war in that region of the world. But this is my home. I love my home. I'm thankful. I'm thankful for everyone who participates and who gives to ensure our freedoms. I'm thankful to be a part of that journey. I'm thankful my parents came here. I'm thankful that I have every morning, every day, an opportunity to participate in that freedom, no matter how stressful, no matter how difficult life is, no matter Listen friend, if you've been living long enough on this planet, no matter how much money you make, no matter how much success and prosperity you have.
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There's always going to be something in life that challenges you and is stressful, but at the same time, I am thankful that I get opportunities to meet that head on. And I can do this. You can do this. You have what it takes to overcome because you have resources. Listen, you know what resources are, it's resourcefulness. I would take resourcefulness over massive amounts of resources any day. But the resource, the most viable resource, the most viable resource in your arsenal, in my arsenal, is resourcefulness. Why? Because resourcefulness creates resources, it creates something from nothing. I would rather have an ability to create resources from nothing than to be given resources and never be able to create on my own. That's the difference. And so within the bounds of the freedoms that we have be resourceful. Wake up in the morning or in the afternoon or in the evening, whatever time you wake up, and take a moment to simply reflect on the opportunity, not the outcome, like I said, not everyone has equal outcomes, but the fact that we can have an opportunity. Nate, I grew up in this environment, or this is oppressing me, or these are my issues.
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Okay, you know what? Hit reset. What do you have right now? What do you have to work with? When I was growing up, I had very little to work with. Listen, I had like a 2.1 grade average in high school. I just about flunked out of high school. I mean, it was miserable. I had terrible freshman year, all kinds of F's. My mom was going through a lot of challenges. She moved overseas. I was living with my uncle. Then I moved my dad back to Chicago, and he didn't know how to, you know, I mean, just he inherited a 1415, year old with a massive chip on his shoulder, he didn't know how to deal with that. God bless him. I feel so bad today because I had just like so angry. So sophomore year, I'm in Chicago, you know? And I was in Missouri for a little bit, and then I went to Chicago and had issues in school because. I was getting bullied by these gang members, and it was a rough, rough environment. And so flunk it out of that school. And then my mom moved back, and I was like, hey, I want to come live with you. And so back to St Louis. I went to five, six high schools. I went to six high schools. Just constant change. I was in massive turmoil, mentally, emotionally, physically, get done with that. I mean, the A, C, T was a joke. The s, a t tests were a joke. I wasn't getting into college.
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What did I do? I went to community college. I took a few courses here and there. I took two two-year associate's degree. Took me three and a half years, but I got through it. I started a business. Eked out a living. I didn't know what I was doing. I checked cashing, money orders, lotto, tax preparation, very, just barely, just a tiny bit I did. I just, I was trying to figure it all out. I was in a rough neighborhood. And slowly, slowly, slowly, I began to change the narrative of my life and my trajectory. I started listening and learning from leaders who had gone to where I desire to be. I started changing from running hustles I could have been locked up so many times I did get locked up a lot to doing things with ethics and moral fiber, doing things the right way, because I was learning from others who were not in folly, they were in wisdom. And it began to change my outcomes. I had very little opportunity, but the little opportunity I did have, I maximized every single day. I'm not a self-made man.
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Say, Oh, he's a self-made man. Self-Made No, I'm not man. I am. I am made from the fiber of all of those who have bonded around me again, those who are close to me, mentors from nearby and mentors from afar, and they help me. And today, 3035, 40 years later, I continue to down that path, and now I want to share that opportunity with others and help them to grow, help them take the road that leads to life. And I know, I know sometimes it's difficult. I know sometimes maybe you don't even feel like getting up in the morning, getting out of bed, take a moment breathe, look around, and if you can look around, that's another thing to take a moment to just have affirmation. Have a moment where we are thankful. In the moment gratitude sitting on an airplane just the other day, the gentleman next to me, I had no idea, was blind, not until we got off the plane and opened the walking stick and I realized, man Nate, how often do you open your eyes and simply act in gratitude that you can see all of these wonderful colors of people, of imagery of the world around me as I'm doing right at this moment.
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How often do I live in gratitude that my eyes have the freedom to envision what is around me and the eyes, likely, of your heart, of your mind, are able to do that very same thing, of what the opportunity the future will hold because of the freedoms that you have. Sometimes freedoms are external, sometimes they're internal. We have the freedom to choose what we're going to do. We have the freedom to choose our attitude when your life doesn't go the way you desire, when perhaps you didn't succeed in one area or another, perhaps when you thought one situation would go one way, your expectation didn't match reality. What do you do when life gives you lemons? What do I do? I add some sugar. Find some sugar. My mom used to say, just let's find some sugar. Sweeten it up. Sweeten it up. What does sugar look like? Sugar looks like how we approach our lives and to remember that there's sugar all through our lives. If something is sour in your life, we can sweeten it. We can sweeten it with our attitude. We can sweeten it with love. We can sweeten it with the prospect that tomorrow can be a better day if I only continue to press on, we can sweeten it, because we have the freedom to choose.
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I am thankful for every person on this planet who embraces that freedom. I'm thankful for every person that's given for this nation, for our independence, from my independence, from my families and my legacies, independence and our ability to continue that on. I'm thankful for you. Well, my friend, thank you for joining me on this episode of A Call to Leadership. If you've been listening, you've probably heard me talk about our accounting and advisory business, and this show was actually born out of that business, those relationships, I found that entrepreneurs and professionals were missing aspects of their leadership that fed into their bottom line and helped their businesses be successful. So I'm so thankful that I've had all those years in that area to feed into this.
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And, the truth is that so many people still need Accounting and Advisory help, and they don't know where to go if you're in that place where you feel, oh my goodness, my tax person or my accountant, I can't find them, or maybe the service wasn't up to my expectations. Did not despair. I'll leave how you can find us in the show notes, and one of my team members can do some discovery and help you along your journey. You're not alone, my friend, you always have help. I'm Dr Nate Salah. Can't wait to see you on the next show. A Call to Leadership.