Trying to write my next series on empowerment without mentioning the COVID-19 “Coronavirus” outbreak seems downright silly. Those who might read this blog in 2022 or 2024 may not remember exactly how intensely the world reacted to the virus. However, those of us living through the effects of it right now have never experienced such a dramatic shift in every day life because the world has not had a declared pandemic for over a century.

As I mentioned in my last entry, there are those people who clock in at 9 a.m., clock out at 5 p.m., and look at their job as little more than a way to make money. I understand that not everybody can or will follow their calling. Some will end up with employment that doesn’t touch their soul, but it doesn’t mean they can’t put in a little extra effort that might propel them forward. Going beyond what they’re required to do just might lead them to the career of their dreams.

The COVID-19 virus has claimed yet another week of mounting body counts and infection rates. While health care professionals work overtime to understand how the virus works and to find a treatment for it, other professionals are stepping up and going the extra mile to contribute. Doctors and nurses are getting the bulk of the attention, and rightfully so. They are putting their health and lives on the line to save the lives of strangers, just like the firefighters did during 9/11. It takes a special person to choose a professional life of protecting others — and then go beyond the call of duty. Who walks into a room with people infected with the virus wearing less than adequate protection to make sure the sick – many of whom will die – are at least a little more comfortable on their journey to the other side? A doctor or a nurse. And let’s not forget everybody else at the hospital, from the food preparers to the custodians to the security guards. They are all putting themselves in harm’s way for the greater good.

My new series of blogs about the work ethic starts this week and at a very challenging time for this country. The COVID-19 virus is just beginning to take hold in America in a significant way. As a frame of reference, the governors of many states have issued statewide stay-at-home edicts. We don’t know what’s to come, and it changes day-to-day. One thing I find incredible is how many people are stepping up and answering the call to help tackle the virus beyond staying at home or buying takeout food to support local restaurants.

I’m a bit worried about my most recent series of blogs about immigrants. In our increasingly divided world, few issues get stronger reactions than immigration. Even though we all can trace our roots to somewhere else, the concept of immigration has come to mean different things to different people. I’m well aware that there are people who come to America from other countries for the wrong reasons. Some come illegally or to take advantage of social welfare programs, but I’d be shocked to find any large, heterogeneous group of people that all do the right things for the right reasons.

One of the biggest incentives and influences for young people who live outside of the United States is knowing they can come here and be successful. They know that many immigrants who found success in the US would never have done so in their home country. As an example, Zaire is probably not the best place to become be a real estate tycoon. The opportunity to make famous movies is most likely a lot better in the US than in Finland. And Arnold Schwarzenegger—an immigrant from the beautiful country of Austria—became a world-famous bodybuilding champion, a box office superstar, and the governor of one of the largest and most-populated, non-country geographic regions. Where? In the United States.  

When Americans move to other countries to live out the rest of their lives, it’s usually for one of many reasons. Perhaps they chased love or got a terrific job offer. Maybe they thought it would be fun. They might have tried to escape the law. Regardless, I’ve yet to meet an American who left because they lacked opportunity in the US.

The first blog in this series discussed a bit about my roots as an immigrant. Still, to understand immigration better, , it helps to see the statistics as presented in June 2019 by the Pew Research Center:

If you’re an immigrant who is black, you’re likely going to end up playing professional sports or leading a life of petty crime. Asians who arrive here from elsewhere will either work in Asian food restaurants or do something with math, and Mexicans will do whatever they can because they just arrive to steal our jobs.

THESE ARE HORRIBLE STEREOTYPES AND NONE ARE TRUE. As a proud black immigrant from Haiti who is now a naturalized US citizen, I have faced many ignorant stereotypes from people and suspect I will for the rest of my life.

I can only imagine what people first thought of Orville and Wilbur Wright, who invented the precursor to the modern airplane in 1903. The duo, who owned a bicycle shop in their native North Carolina, were probably laughed at when they told people they were going to invent a machine that could fly. The mocking must have been ferocious.

Unfortunately, Wilbur only lived another decade after their invention, but Orville survived until 1948. By then, the airplane was a key to countries winning wars and had been a commercial alternative to traveling to Europe without taking the time a ship demanded.

I hope there were a few “told-you-so” moments along the way for Orville.

We’re all human, and we all make mistakes. There are also things out of our control that cause life not to turn out the way we wished or thought it would, such as the decisions of other people or Mother Nature. Ninety-nine percent of the time, however, when something goes wrong and not according to plan, it’s because we made an excuse about the plan, and we made another excuse to divert from the plan.