Matt Erickson: A Natural Born Leader

Matt Erickson was the best friend that I ever had. It would be impossible to use words to describe the friend that he was to me and the person he was in this world. Matt was an interesting person who had a lot of things going for him. On September 28, 2011, a day that will live in infamy for the rest of my life, Matt killed himself. I will never be able to truly understand why Matt did this, but I can only speculate as someone who knew him very well. However, speculation over this matter is unimportant to me. I want to remember my best friend, Matt, for the way he lived his life, not the way he chose to end it.

Matt was a natural-born leader. He was involved in many activities in high school, so many more than me. All I ever did was play tennis, and I even quit the team my senior year. I wasn’t very good, and I couldn’t take the competitive nature of it all. I was too afraid to fail. But Matt was never like that. Matt ran cross-country for 4 years, even though he wasn’t the best. He stuck with the things that were important to him, Also, Matt joined the Varsity Singers group at our high school, a group of students who sang and danced, and performed shows. Even though I was involved with the school choir as a freshmen, I quit because I was embarrassed that I liked to sing and I didn’t want to be judged for it. Matt played trumpet in the high school marching band, while I quit playing guitar and I quit playing piano. Matt performed in high school plays and improv shows, something that I always wanted to do but never acted upon. Matt was a Boy Scout, a member of a church, and had real interests, such as marine biology. If I had only half the dedication and involvement that Matt had, the world would have limitless possibilities for me. But I never even compared to the Involvement and Dedication that Matt had in everything he did. Nonetheless, I never stuck with the things that I set out to do, leaving me to ask myself, “Why did you do this Matt?” It should have been me, if anyone.

That is why I will never meet a better person, a better friend, a better leader than Matt Erickson. I will not remember him for how he left this world, I will only remember him for what he achieved and his unwavering loyalty to his interests and his family and friends. My friend, Matt, taught me more about being a leader than anyone ever could. His death changed my life forever, pushed me to the edge of everything I ever knew, and forced me to change who I was. I can never thank Matt for doing this for me, and that is, by far, the saddest thought I can ever have. As I sit here in tears, finishing this post, I don’t know what more needs to be said. He was great at everything he did, just because he showed up and didn’t quit.

I have changed my life so very much since losing my best friend, Matt. So many things changed and accomplished, all of which I wish I could tell my friend, because I know how much he would have cared. I don’t sit in the back row in my classes any more,  I sit in the front. I went from being a horrible student, to being top of my class. I went from being a complete waste of a person, to someone who can bring value to any situation. Oddly enough, it only happened because I lost my best friend. That is why I vow to be successful. I vow to achieve as much as I possibly can in life. I take each opportunity as a blessing, and treat the time I have on this earth as very valuable. It is because this horrible event happened to me, that I want to rise above it all. Lastly, it’s for Matt. Because someone needs to live a successful life for him.

I always think of my life’s dreams that I shared with Matt, and all the very in-depth conversations we had. After Matt died, I struggled with school work and tried to think of what would really motivate me to succeed. I told Matt of the vision I had of myself in the future, speaking at the Lincoln Memorial. I think he bought into what I was saying and his spirit continues to support me to this day. To remember my great friend, Matt, I am working with a scholarship fund in his name, “The Matthew Lee Erickson Scholarship Fund”. Please support this great cause. I guarantee Matt Erickson would have supported you.

http://www.gofundme.com/kmmiek

Benjamin Franklin Dillingham: Hawaiian Entrepreneur and Businessman

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin_Dillingham

Benjamin Franklin Dillingham was my Great-Great-Great Uncle, and was a larger than life figure in Hawaiian Industrial History in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. His legacy is remembered as one of the first industrial men who capitalized on growing Hawaii into what it is today. He had his hands in many different industries and battled through debt most of his adult life.

Benjamin Franklin Dillingham was born in 1844, in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where the Dillingham family had lived since coming over on the Mayflower in the 1600s. Massachusetts is all the Dillingham family ever knew, that and farming. BF Dillingham survived the Civil War as a merchant sailor and continued sailing after the war. It was one fateful day, on a stop in Hawaii in 1865, that the 21-year-old broke his leg, after being thrown from a horse, and was left behind by his crew. Dillingham was faced with creating a new life for himself in a new place.

BF Dillingham started working as a clerk in a general store soon after his injury. Within two years, he was a co-owner of that general store. This young man fought his way to a position of leadership in Hawaii. Although he lived most of his adult life on the brink of financial ruin, he managed to come out a successful man. He borrowed money as a young man and remained in debt until he was 68. He held onto his business ventures through natural disasters, depressions, revolutions, and failures. He passed his enterprises on to his sons Walter and Harold, who grew the business substantially.

BF Dillingham used his good connections and personality to live a successful life in Hawaii. His daughter married the future Governor of Hawaii Territory, and his sons succeeded in Hawaiian business and politics. He played a leading role in building Hawaii into what it is today. He started 5 sugar plantations, built the Hilo Railroad, and helped modernize Hawaii into the 20th century. Dillingham’s strongest trait is listed as having “Unfailing Optimism”.

I would hope that I inherited a small amount of the traits that made Benjamin Franklin Dillingham successful. It would seem to me that I am a very optimistic person, and that I truly might have inherited this from this great man. The most amazing part of the story to me is that he could have just given up when he broke his leg. He was in a place where he knew no one and didn’t understand the way things were done. He could have easily justified not caring about where he was, or left Hawaii after his broken leg was healed, but he did NOT. He stayed in Hawaii because he saw it as the opportunity of a lifetime. I think that I share this in common with my relative as well. Although he and I could have given up easily, faced with the things that we have faced, we both made the decision to make the best out of our situation. I cannot think of a more valuable trait to have because even in times of failure, we try to make the best of it.

Anton Maciejewski U.S. House of Representatives 1939-1942

Anton Maciejewski was my Great-Great-Uncle. I never had the chance to meet him, as he died in 1949. He was born in 1893 to immigrant parents from Poland. He was a first generation American who understood the American Dream. In 1938, Anton was elected to the 76th U.S. Congress and in 1940 he was elected to the 77th U.S. Congress.

I am so amazingly proud of this ancestor of mine because he didn’t have much when he was born. I could only imagine the difficulties he and his parents had when assimilating into U.S. customs and culture. Anton was born in Anderson, Texas, but his family moved to the Chicago area when he was a young boy. His mother died at a very young age, and his father remarried and started work on a second family. Anton had a large number of half brothers and sisters. Not only did he stand out among his large family, he stood out in the community as well.  I could only imagine what motivated him to be involved in the Cicero community and eventually run for U.S. Congress. Around the time, Al Capone had a strangle hold on Cicero and used the community as his home base. Anton wanted to clean up the neighborhood of the crooks, and his life was threatened many times. A few times, he came close to being killed by the mob but narrowly escaped.

Anton went on to serve two terms in U.S. Congress from 1939 to 1942. After being in congress, Anton returned home to Cicero and was elected to the Board of Trustees for the Sanitary District of Chicago, and soon after was elected President of the Board. Anton worked his way up through the community and went back to the community that meant so much to him. Anton died in 1949 and I never had the chance to meet him. My grandfather Harry, whom I am named after, was Anton’s favorite nephew and was like a son to him. However, my Grandpa Harry died when I was just a baby. Now, all I have left of Anton are a congressional picture and portrait of him. I have done the research that I can, but many details about him were not online. I was lucky enough to talk with my Great-Aunts about the impact Anton had on their lives and it was truly remarkable. Anton had paid for my Great-Aunt’s entire 8th grade class to make a field trip to Washington, D.C. while he was still a congressman. I could only imagine the impact he had on all of those young children’s lives. He represented a poor area of  the Chicago area that was run by the mob, and mostly populated by first generation American citizens. I would bet that those kids truly believed that they could do anything after seeing Anton achieve such a high position in Government.

I wish that I could have the opportunity to talk to my Great-Great-Uncle Anton just for a few minutes. I think that he and I would have a great deal in common. The bottom line is that what he did was truly remarkable. He was a first generation American citizen who achieved a great deal of success without ever attending college or university. I wonder how proud his parents were of him, knowing that they came to a new country for the future benefits of their own children. Anton Maciejewski went from nothing to something great, and I think he made a big difference.  I am proud that I can call this man a relative of mine and I can only hope I inherited some of the skills that he had.

What is the American Dream? Is it dead or alive?

The American Dream is an interesting subject. Some might argue that the American Dream concept is dead. However, I do not believe it is dead. I believe most people aren’t willing to put in the work to ever achieve their dreams, and that needs to change. Throughout my life, I seek out people who are motivated and who act like they care. However, in the millennial generation, they are few and far between. Everyone has dreams, but are they really willing to work for them?

Failure is an important aspect in my life because I have failed before. Undesired outcomes have a way of pushing me forward, but that may only be because I am very competitive and don’t like to lose. How do other people motivate themselves after losing or failing or reaching an undesired outcome? That sad truth is that they don’t. They give up, at least on that dream, and settle for the next best thing. While settling for the next best thing is always an option, will it ever lead to success in the long-term? Most likely not.

I would argue that you have to fight for the things you want in life. Plain and simple, it is not going to be easy. Whatever you don’t want to happen, will happen. Beyond that, things may happen that will devastate you and push you to your limits. However, the night is most dark before the dawn. The people who put in the hard work at the difficult times, often come out stronger and more successful than ever before. However, how do we get more younger people to truly believe this and not just settle for the next best option?

For me, it has always been about the end game. One of Steven Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” is to think with the end in mind. I have life goals; I know where I want to end up. They are big goals, that I may never end up achieving. However, I would rather push myself to do something great than to sit back and be told I am great. Young people today look at successful people, such as athletes and other celebrities, and think it easy to be rich and successful. Worse, young people act like these celebrities and are ruining future chances of success with today’s actions. To make a mistake and learn from it is one thing, but to act in a manner that is truly childish isn’t smart. Why are there pictures of drugs and alcohol on your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts? Don’t you know there will always be a record of that?

I would suggest that younger people need to think with the end in mind more often. Thinking with the end in mind has lead me to be much more successful just because I am working towards something that I know is very hard to achieve. Younger people need to stop idolizing dumb celebrities and start idolizing true successful people. If a young man idolizes a gangster rapper, how do you think he is going to act in real life? The answer is he will act like a gangster rapper. But what if that young man idolized a CEO or President of a large corporation? He would act completely different and he would be working towards something achievable.

Looking forward into the next decade or two, I see a large problem spreading its’ roots. That problem is that young people are making mistakes, not learning from those mistakes, and not realizing how open they are being with their lives, through the use of social media. At some point in time, more young people will be arrested for underage drinking and possession of drugs, and these offenses can greatly affect their futures. I see this problem growing out of control, and a solution will need to be implemented at some point. The American Dream is not dead, but determination in young people is dying.

Is Failure the American Success Story?

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-the-best-success-stories-often-begin-with-failure-3851517/?no-ist

Why is it that the best success stories often begin with failure? Behind some of the greatest success stories in American history are people who were willing and able to put in the work to be great. Why were they putting in the work? What motivated these people to be great?

In any story, or in any life, one will stumble before they can gracefully move forward, most times at an early stage in life. However, when the average person sees someone who has become successful, why is it that we think that something was different for them? Why is it that we think that everything went their way, all of the time? My best guess is that things didn’t go their way at first, and they kept working through their difficulties or setbacks. Bob Dylan and his band lost a high school talent competition to a no name tap dancer. To truly understand the impact that these failures or undesired outcomes, one must only look into their own mind.

The most competitive people in the world know that failures, or undesired outcomes, are the best way to learn and move forward. The most competitive people use that failure as motivation. While some people dwell on their past failures, the people who can admit their mistakes and admit what they learned from those mistakes will often be better off then someone who always got what they wanted. A favorite quote of mine, from Michael Jordan, goes like this, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games.
26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and I missed. I’ve Failed Over and Over and Over again in My Life. And that is why I Succeed.” If using failure to motivate future success is what one of the greatest competitors of all time used, then I want to be “Like Mike”.

Failure is the American way, not in a bad way. The American Dream is to succeed at whatever goals you might have, and failure is bound to happen to the best of us. However, if you are willing to stand up after you’ve been knocked down, there is simply nothing more American than that. Michael Jordan won 6 NBA championships in 8 years, and may have won 8 championships in 8 years if he hadn’t been retired for 2 years in the middle. However, people forget that Michael Jordan was in the NBA for 7 seasons before his first championship. The best things in life are there for the taking. All it takes is for you to not give up, for you to not give in to the outside forces wanting you to fail, and for you to not give in when the going gets tough. The most successful people in the world are so successful because they failed. They failed over and over again, and kept doing what they thought was right. I would argue that failure is the most valuable motivation tactic.That is the life that I want to live, one where I move past the failures and undesired outcomes and onto success and desired outcomes. It may never happen for me, but at least I will never give up. You can’t kill this spirit.