Regardless who you are, if you were born in America, you owe your heritage to a brave family member willing to cross oceans at the prospect of a better life.

This common thread shared by our ancestors was a sort of pre-qualification for a desire to succeed and achieve great things. America is so successful, in part, because the country?s population was one of the first to be defined by personality characteristics instead of race.

The result is a vibrant, diverse nation with the highest standard of living anywhere in the world. Of course, being ?hand picked" does not exempt America from facing the same obstacles any growing nation encounters ? economic durability, population growth, and a number of additional, equally open-ended issues.

Of course, the biggest challenge America faces today is scarcity. As our population increases and lives longer, as our standard of living evolves, America must consider how best to accommodate a strong, sophisticated nation.

The effects of a major terror attack, multiple natural disasters, and war leave many people asking: How is America going to evolve in a positive direction?

America is going to evolve by abandoning scarcity for innovation. The scarcity mindset encourages a decision making process founded on limitation, thereby allowing fear to override the logical mind.

Scarcity can be abandoned only when it is exchanged for a mindset of innovation, which is the foundation of a mindset focused on maximizing the range and quality of proactive options available.

The economic hardships experienced as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Charlie are two prominent examples. In the south, many entrepreneurs were uprooted by the devastating effects of both storms.

To stay open, business owners had to modify their goods and services to meet the needs of a market impacted by unique market forces. Entrepreneurs had to choose to embrace innovation over fear. The result continues to be an active, innovative progression toward healthy economic balance.

After 9/11, many businesses were impacted by the unavoidable immediate recession. Terror has become a relatively prominent market influence throughout the world.

Many businesses suffered extensive hardships, however as the market adapted to uncertain conditions, so did entrepreneurs. It was necessary to find innovative ways to market products and services to a market impacted by terrorism. If entrepreneurs had not adapted to the needs of the market, they would have went out of business. Many did.

So what continues to be hindering America?s economy? Scarcity. It remains a prominent factor in the minds of many Americans, for buyers and sellers alike (?How can I afford to pay the mortgage?", ?How can I afford to hire additional staff?")

For many years, businesses realized success based on their product and service quality. Since 9/11, many Americans have experienced a reduction in their discretionary income as a result of immediate and ongoing inflation in durable goods. As a relatively new market force, terrorism required many entrepreneurs to redefine their products and services, to return sales to pre-9/11 figures. Innovation fueled the improvement of the economy, when scarcity was no longer the mindset.

To proactively adopt the innovation mindset, either personally or as an organization, is to effectively harness market share as relevant to the core industry. This has been proven the case many times throughout history, with major brands such as Wal-Mart, Burger King, and Macy?s.

What does adopting the innovation mindset mean? It?s really more of an ?intentional second look" at the rationality behind choices made on a daily basis.

Maximize the value of your next decision, big or small, by reflecting on these three basic principles:

How can this decision help me achieve another goal?

Does this decision maximize the outcome for all parties involved?

Are there other ways to achieve an equal or greater outcome?

Implementing the innovation mindset in the daily decision making process will increase the mind?s field of options, and subconsciously encourage decisions that lead to more productive outcomes for all parties involved.

By steering away from the scarcity mindset, you?ll begin to find more ways to accomplish your goals, and identify goals that define themselves based on their relevancy to your ultimate objectives. Innovation is a very powerful mindset.

America deserves a future based on innovation, not scarcity. On every level, it?s all too common for Americans these days to be worrying about expenses, instead of how to increase and fortify their families, employers, and communities.

It will take an active effort to encourage innovation in a country impacted by war, terrorism, and natural disasters. To make it happen, I encourage you to make a personal commitment to embracing innovation in your organization or family, and make it a point to share the positive results of the innovation mindset with a friend or co-worker.

Innovation defeats all forms of scarcity, personal and societal. In seeking to abandon scarcity for innovation, America will achieve a new level of security and prosperity.

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