Freedom to Achieve

27 May 2011

Having just watched a rather inspiring speech made to our parliament by Barack Obama, I kind of feel inspired to chat for a minute on some of the themes which came up. Funnily enough, I think it relates to the sort of life we lead as builders and tradespeople.

I am not the sort to get involved in political posturing. I mean I am not really into royalty or even very patriotic. But one thing has to be said for Americans. They really believe in what they say and what they do. They have this belief that no matter what they face, they can achieve their dreams.

Obama spoke about the importance of democracy in shaping the sort of world where we can all do things like start businesses, get good educations, make money and essentially reach our long term goals. People in other parts of the world are not afforded those freedoms and it is our responsibility to help them achieve that if they wish.

While I can't say I agree with all of that, what I can say is that when I set out to become a builder, I didn't have to ask permission or consider my options. I had enough money to feed my family, enough education to choose the path I wanted and a system of laws and beliefs in this country which helped me achieve anything I wanted to.

If I then went on and failed in that venture it was no one’s fault but my own. I cannot say that I haven't had all the opportunities possible to help me to be in the position I am now in. If I lived anywhere else in the world I can't be sure that I would have any of the fulfilment that I currently have in my life.

Despite the terrible couple of weeks we have had with our little house and the break-in, I am still here thankful for what I have and pleased that I can still go ahead and reach my goal. A little setback like some idiot burglars is not going to stop me from forging ahead. I am capable of so much more and thankfully I live in a part of the world where I have the opportunity to prove it.

In a 20 minute speech Obama was able to say what our politicians seem to be struggling to even understand. To be able to get those ideas across so eloquently and with such passion is beyond our parliamentarians. Whatever happened to the importance of charisma when it comes to leadership? Our politicians need to take some notes on how to capture an audience and how to get a message across. Because they are pretty poor at inspiring any of us.

Sorry to go so completely off-track today. But sometimes we need to step back from our lives and look at the big picture. If a politician from another part of the world is able to make someone like me feel good about living in the UK, then I guess he has magical powers. Because this week, I wouldn't have believed anyone could.