Speaker encourages Danville to 'Reimagine' itself

With everything at risk, now is the time to act to shape the future of your children, grandchildren and future generations.

That’s what leading global thinker and adviser to presidents John Hope Bryant, author and founder of Operation HOPE, told more than 250 attendees of an informative breakfast hosted by the Danville Regional Foundation and the Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday.

“We’ve got to redefine success in our lives and in this city,” Bryant said.

The current crisis, although it is felt economically by families, is not an economic problem, the financial literacy advocate said. Rather, it is a crisis of values and a fear-driven culture where people seek money instead of pursuing ideas or “success.”

The free enterprise system or capitalism isn’t failing people. Pride, arrogance and greed fail people, Bryant said.

To drive this point, Bryant asked if great innovators like Henry Ford, Bill Gates or Steve Jobs were after money, or the power of idea. And yes, money can follow success in implementing ideas.

Danvillians need to not only “reimagine” who they are, but who the city is and what it’s going to do, the Bryant said. Establish goals, like the city will have a certain number of startups a year.

Additionally, to curb school dropout rates and encourage youth to pursue their dreams, education needs to be better connected to aspirations, he added. Often, young people aspire to become what they see modeled to them in their family and community, much like Bryant’s businessman father encouraged him to become an entrepreneur.

The key is not to wait for someone else to take care of you, he added.

For those people who can’t find jobs, create them, he said. If you don’t have capital, give human capital and volunteer or mentor.

“Everybody in here can be the change you expect to see in Danville,” Bryant said.

Attendee Marche Clarke, director of the Guilford County (N.C.) Homeownership Center, agreed that communities need to help themselves and that restoring financial dignity is important in the aftermath of the recession.

“We see people so broken down and feeling so destroyed by what’s happening to them financially, that it’s creating health problems, financial problems, divorce, family problems,” she said.

People need to learn how to live after losing their homes or jobs, she said. The homeownership center takes a holistic approach, not only helping people keep their homes but connecting people to resources like training to get jobs.

“You just have to rebuild,” Clarke said. “You can’t use a Band-Aid approach.”

Overheard

John Hope Bryant’s memorable quotes:

» Courage is nothing more than faith reaching through your fear displaying itself as action.

» Fear is a prosperity killer.

» This is not a recession. It’s a reset.

» Life is 10 percent what life does to you and 90 percent of how you choose to respond to it.

» The most dangerous person in the world is a person with no hope.

» Now we’ve got to make smart sexy again.

» I am my biggest asset and my biggest liability.

» So what do we fear? We fear ourselves.

» The new civil rights issue for the world is financial dignity.

» Life is about what you see. What is your vision?

» I didn’t have compound interest so I had to use compound hustle.

» No one in here got here by themselves. Somebody endorsed you.

» The poor are not your problem. The poor are an unleveraged asset.

I» f you can’t get a job, create a job.

» Don’t wait for somebody to take care of you. You’ve got to take care of yourself. You are not a victim.

» You’ve got to reimagine who you are, and when you do it is right now.