Bestselling business leadership author and philanthropic entrepreneur
If you are middle class today there is a good chance that you actually 'feel' poor in this economy -- meaning 'there is too much month at the end of your money.' Seventy percent of all Americans are struggling to make ends meet, living from paycheck to paycheck. But there is hope.
Thanks to the increasing popularity of mobile banking and other 21st century lifestyle changes, there are 100,000 existing and mostly under-utilized bank branches all across America today. Branches that can be retooled to serve as a powerful (and positive) catalyst for transformational community change. Think about a national platform for banks to 'do good' for others, even while they are doing well for themselves. "Rainbows after storms -- you cannot have a rainbow, without a storm first."
American branch banking needs a renewed and relevant future.
Think of an innovative solution which re-imagines each, and marries both. Imagine returning the word 'community' -- back into the storyline of American banking.
It's hard to evaluate the impact of a commencement speech.
George Marshall (1944) announced the Marshall Plan at Harvard University and changed the world in 20 minutes.
Tom Mboya, as a 29 year-old young African (Kenyan) leader in 1959, at Howard University helped inspire the American sit-ins by his presence alone. Walter Young was in that graduating class from Howard University's dental school.
Jimmy Carter gave the Morehouse commencement as governor of Georgia, and said as he received his honorary degree in 1975, that he expected he would be the first Morehouse man as president (of the United States), but "I promise you I will not be the last."
Obama by his own appearance, as President of the United States, in front of 10,000 graduates, family and alumni on a rainy day in Georgia fulfilled that promise, but may have also inspired a new generation of leaders to return to, and to rebuild their own communities; and their own families too. The president did a good job connecting to this new generation of young people.
In today's complicated political and economic environment, nothing truly significant can happen in just one generation. Obama lit a fire for generations to come.
Bestselling business leadership author and philanthropic entrepreneur
The thing I am most proud of in my professional career is that I meet a payroll every two weeks, and have been doing this successfully for more than 20 years now through Operation HOPE alone. In 20 years, I have never bounced a payroll check, and never had an employee arrive at a hospital emergency room only to be told that their benefits were no good. I am proud of that.
The Power of Role Modeling
But I didn't just 'become' a guy who could do this out of no where. I meet a payroll, because my father did. I saw my father meet payroll when I was a small child, typically on Friday nights, out the front door of our modest home in South Los Angeles. My entrepreneurship DNA was planted at an early age. Thank God my parents instilled in me a powerful sense of "who I am," and "yes I can." Being a victim just wasn't an option in my household. Creating something, making something, developing something, adding to something, becoming something -- was the only option my mom and dad gave me. And yes, I was also fortunate to have a mom and dad at home. This is not a foregone conclusion in an inner-city home.
Today, I am who I am, because my father was who he was. And I am thankful.
Those who make payroll possible once or twice a month in this country are a very unique breed, and as far as I am concerned, represent true American royalty. Why? Because they create the thing that drives most all other good things -- JOBS.
Operation HOPE Hosts Top Medical Leaders for Discussion about Preventive Health and Affordable Health Care
ATLANTA, May 17, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Recognizing National Women's Health Week, Operation HOPE (HOPE) hosted U.S. Surgeon GeneralDr. Regina Benjamin, MD, MBA for a discussion on the relationship between physical and fiscal health in America. The Surgeon General was joined by Chief Medical Officer of Centene Corporation Dr. Mary Mason and Chief Medical Officer of Peach State Health Care Dr. Dean Greeson. Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, dean and executive vice president of the Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) moderated the discussion at the Operation HOPE Financial Dignity Center at Ebenezer in Atlanta.
As the fourth installment in the HOPE Forum series, the event covered the important topic of "Investing in Your Health." The in-depth discussion explored the impact of health care on the economy and how individuals can invest wisely in personal health to improve the nation's overall well-being.
Dr. Benjamin, who has served as the U.S. Surgeon General since 2009, spoke in great detail about the significance of preventive health measures and promoted her pet project, "Walking to Fitness," a new campaign she is helping to lead.
Operation HOPE Founder and CEO, John Hope Bryant underscored the linkage between physical and fiscal health for individuals and families, especially those in underserved communities.
Recently my Operation HOPE, Washington, DC and Operation HOPE, Maryland teams came together and had a very successful Banking on our Future volunteer event at Francis Scott Key Middle School in Silver Spring, MD. There were over 100 HOPE Corps volunteers present and involved, and included employees from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Women in Housing and Finance, Capital One, Fannie Mae, M&T Bank, Bank of India, BB&T Bank, Sandy Spring Bank, Bank of America, First Mariner Bank, FDIC, City First Bank, ETrade Bank, Wells Fargo, Bank of Georgetown, and FINRA.
A special thank you to my friend and financial dignity supporter, Maryland State Comptroller Peter Franchot, who teamed up with US Comptroller of the Currency Barry Wides to teach a Banking on Our Future financial literacy class. Maryland Comptroller Franchot and US Deputy Comptroller Wides also spoke to the volunteers about Franchot's mission to get each county in Maryland to adopt a graduation requirement for a financial literacy class in the senior year. Severak counties have already signed on to support this financial dignity leadership initiative of Comptroller Franchot. Operation HOPE certainly supports him.
A special acknowledgement to Jackie Starr, who is our Operation HOPE market president for the Washington, D.C. and Maryland.
Operation HOPE, Washington, DC and Operation HOPE, Maryland are part of the larger mission of Operation HOPE, which is now a leading global provider of financial literacy to financial dignity empowerment services for the underserved, the working poor and the struggling middle class.
With 2 million clients served, 20,000 HOPE Corps volunteers, and more than $1.5 billion in private capital directed into America's low wealth and underserved communities, creating thousands of homeowners, small business owners and entrepreneurs over the past 20 years, Operation HOPE is making a difference. But we cannot achieve our mission alone. We cannot seek to advance the final work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., eradicating poverty and achieving a measure of economic justice for all, alone.
Operation HOPE operates the HOPE Financial Dignity Center Atlanta at Ebenezer Church, located on the campus of the King Center and as the anchor tenant of the Martin Luther King, Sr. Community Resource Complex. Martin Luther King, Sr, or "Daddy King" as he was called, co-pastored Ebenezer Church with his son Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the civil rights movement, and served on the board of a bank for 40-years; a little known fact. Daddy King was also focused on making free enterprise work for all, as his son was focused in the last years of his life on poverty eradication and economic justice.
The mission of Operation HOPE is civil rights to silver rights, or making free enterprise work for all.
WASHINGTON, April 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --The National Urban League's (www.nul.org) State of Black America report released today concludes that despite social and economic gains, the African-American equality gap with whites has changed little since 1963—the year of the Great March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and the height of the civil rights movement.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Great March, this year's State of Black America—Redeem the Dream: Jobs Rebuild America includes a 50-year retrospective analysis conducted through the lens of The Equality Index®. The report shows that while the African-American condition has improved, including achievements in educational attainment and employment, this progress has occurred largely within the Black community. Double-digit gains in education, employment and wealth contrast sharply with the single-digit gains made in those same areas compared to whites.
Report more from the National Urban League on the 2013 Report release here.
Bestselling business leadership author and philanthropic entrepreneur
Real success does not have to be complicated when a commitment to work is present.
This week I met Mr. Eric McLean, a mobile notary public here in Atlanta, Ga. who came by my office to have me sign some documents. As we signed documents I asked a fairly simply question -- "Eric, how did you become a notary?" I just assumed that this was a part time source of income for Eric. That's what I get for assuming.
Eric told me that he sort of stumbled into the business, paying $36 for a notary stamp to the City. He committed himself to working hard, and his first month he told me he made over $1,000.00 in extra income. By his 8th month in business, he was making $17,000.00 --- per month! At moments like this I am reminded that often times the blue collar worker driving the beat up plumber's van often makes more money and a better living than the so-called professional in the Mercedes Benz next to him on the highway.
Eric the notary went on to tell me that he had 10 other mobile notaries working for him in around Atlanta, another 35 mobile notaries in the state, and more than 150 mobile notaries in what he called his "national network." His national what?
Medical leaders to discuss national healthcare plan and responsible investments in health
ATLANTA – May 2, 2013 – Operation HOPE (HOPE), the financial literacy and empowerment nonprofit, will host U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjaminfor “Investing in Your Health,” a HOPE Forum exploring the impact of healthcare on the economy and solutions to improve the nation’s overall wellbeing. Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, dean and executive vice president of the Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) will moderate the event on May 17 at the Operation HOPE Financial Dignity Center at Ebenezer in Atlanta.
The third installment on the HOPE Forum series in Atlanta, “Investing in Your Health,” will discuss the relationship between physical and fiscal health in America and how to invest wisely in personal health. The Forum will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, May 17 at the HOPE Financial Dignity Center, Ebenezer, located at the Martin Luther King, Sr. Community Resource Complex at 101 Jackson Street, NE. Operation HOPE Founder, Chairman and CEO, John Hope Bryant will also participate in the Forum.
Dr. Benjamin has served as surgeon general since 2010. She is the former associate dean for Rural Health at the University Of South Alabama College Of Medicine in Mobile and past chair of the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States. In 1995, she was the first physician under age 40 and the first African-American woman elected to the American Medical Association Board of Trustees. She has served as president of the American Medical Association Education and Research Foundation and chair of the AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs.
HCA has more than 1,000 professionals committed to provide volunteer financial case management and counseling, along with my team, for those impacted. The lead volunteer partner for Sandy work is JP Morgan Chase, which has been incredible with more than 600 committed HOPE Corps volunteers leaning into this important work.
HCA is a national partner with FEMA for emergency financial and economic preparedness, response and recovery for the nation. For more information on our Hurricane Sandy response work, how you can get involved, or get help, contact Fred Smith, division president for HCA. Also important to the process is Mary Hagerty, CEO of Operation HOPE NYC and my NE leadership officer.
A special tank you to Michael Arougheti, principal of Ares Management of Manhattan, and a national member of the Operation HOPE board of directors. It was Mr. Arougheti who spearheaded the corporate effort to get corporate leaders engaged and involved in our Sandy recovery efforts in the weeks following the disaster. His leadership will be forever remembered, and much appreciated.
Washington, D.C. and our nation need strong and effective leadership today more than ever. Congressman Mel Watts seems to fit that description to me. Important to me, one of my key employee's family was a constituent of the then Congressman in Charlotte, North Carolina, and they uniformly endorse him. I am told that while Congressman, Mr. Watt encouraged the local adoption of our Banking On Our Future, College Edition Program, where we educated college students in North Carolina on financial literacy. This suggests a man who doesn't just talk about things, but seeks to do thing too.
Congressman Watt has over 20 years of congressional experience on the Financial Services Committee, where he sponsored and/or co-sponsored economic empowerment legislation around homeownership, consumer protection, entrepreneurship, small business, and financial literacy. He understands the needs of prospective homeowners, the practical interests of the private sector, and the necessary role of the federal government.
Huffington Post: Obama Speaks as Father-In-Chief at Morehouse College Commencement
By Ambassador Andrew J. Young, chairman, Andrew J. Young Foundation, and John Hope Bryant, chairman, Operation HOPE
It's hard to evaluate the impact of a commencement speech.
George Marshall (1944) announced the Marshall Plan at Harvard University and changed the world in 20 minutes.
Tom Mboya, as a 29 year-old young African (Kenyan) leader in 1959, at Howard University helped inspire the American sit-ins by his presence alone. Walter Young was in that graduating class from Howard University's dental school.
Jimmy Carter gave the Morehouse commencement as governor of Georgia, and said as he received his honorary degree in 1975, that he expected he would be the first Morehouse man as president (of the United States), but "I promise you I will not be the last."
Obama by his own appearance, as President of the United States, in front of 10,000 graduates, family and alumni on a rainy day in Georgia fulfilled that promise, but may have also inspired a new generation of leaders to return to, and to rebuild their own communities; and their own families too. The president did a good job connecting to this new generation of young people.
In today's complicated political and economic environment, nothing truly significant can happen in just one generation. Obama lit a fire for generations to come.
Read, share and comment on the complete article on the Huffington Post here.Posted at 06:02 PM in 21st Century African-American Agenda, 21st Century Mainstream Agenda, 21st century Middle Class agenda, Bryant as Testimony, Bryant Blogging for the People, Bryant International Agenda, Bryant on Ambassador Andrew Young, Bryant on Bi-Partisan Public Policy, Bryant on Civil Rights, Bryant on Current Affairs, Bryant on Dr. Martin L. King, Jr., Bryant on Leadership, Bryant on Life, Bryant on Something to Think About, Bryant Opinion and Commentary, HOPE and Bryant Media, HOPE and Friends, HOPE and the Silver Rights Movement, John Hope Bryant Authored | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
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