How Can We Not Feel Pride in Texas?
“Optimism isn’t just a state of mind, it’s a practice. But seizing an opportunity to improve things can rarely be done alone. Texans work together every day to help their neighbors, respond to disaster, and build brighter futures.” – Texas Optimism Project, 2023
As a Texas Motivational Speaker who has had the opportunity to speak throughout the state, I have never failed to appreciate the optimism and pride that seems almost hard-wired into business. Where does this optimism originate and what does Texas have to teach all of us?
Texas may be the Bellwether state
Near the end of 2021, when the nation was emerging from pandemic, The New York Times ran an opinion piece entitled: Texas is the Future of America. The author makes several important points:
“Texas has a much more diverse, broader group of community and policy stakeholders than you’d find in California, where city, state and county officials and metropolitan planning organizations are hugely powerful. Texas is no longer just about big oil and cattle; we have one of the most diversified economies in the country.”
The diversity is not just about the mix of business, but much more about the mix of its population. Cites the article:
“For every new white resident that Texas welcomed over the past decade, there have been three Black residents, three Asians, three people with multiracial backgrounds and 11 Hispanics.”
Texas is misunderstood, and as a Texas Motivational Speaker, I have never failed to admire how Texans come together to solve their challenges. Liberal or Conservative and regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation, when problems need addressing, Texans work together to solve it.
In a February 2022 article, written by Margaret Spellings and A.J. Rodriguez, the writers discussed the concerns of 4 out of 5 Texans that education needed to be improved. They found that:
- 77% say state leaders must set goals for education and workforce that ensure Texans earn wages at least high enough to provide for themselves without government assistance.
- 71% of Texas voters said the state needs to care enough about how much all students are learning to measure their progress with standardized testing.
- And in Texas prior poll last August, nearly nine of 10 agreed Texas students should be able to take advanced coursework online when those courses are not available at their schools.
Despite political and demographic differences, Texans find a way.
Whether in education as above or business policy or healthcare this coming together leads to results. Such motivation can only come from a determination to win. The determination leads to optimism. When I speak in Houston or Dallas or San Antonio and I talk about having a positive mindset, they get it.
How Can We Not Feel Pride in Texas?
I asked above, what does Texas have to teach business leaders, healthcare professionals, engineers or educators? My conclusion is that Texans have vision. Texans rely on one another with a vision that if one person falls, others are there to pick them up. It is easy to feel pride when a group of people are determined to beat the odds. Life isn’t easy these days but Texans are finding a way to overcome the worst of whatever comes.
To reach Scott Burrows, Texas Motivational Keynote Speaker, contact Scott today by phone at: 520 – 548 – 1169 or through this website.
