Ingenious America

Necessary ingenuity: Early immigrants to what became the U.S. were forced to be ingenious because they were doing new things in a new way and in a new territory.

Raising productivity: Ingenuity, like entrepreneurism, is taking a resource from a lower level of productivity to a higher level of productivity. There are millions of ways to do this.

Economic opportunity: Early Americans had the chance to perform economic activity that had previously only been reserved for people who’d been granted government monopolies.

Rewarding the ingenious: America has always rewarded people with new organizing principles, new ways of getting things done, and new ways of employing people.

Positive focus: Instead of focusing on what’s bad, focus on the solution that’s going to make the bad situation better. Instead of focusing on the unfairness of opportunity, take the opportunity to a place where it benefits a lot more people.

The secret: Being ingenious yourself and then spreading the benefits of that outward is the secret of American exceptionalism.

Multiplying ingenuity: You don’t have just one great idea. When you turn ingenuity loose, it continues to multiply.

Freedom a must: You don’t find ingenuity where you don’t find freedom.

Immediately accessible: The best kind of ingenuity is the kind that’s personally valuable and accessible right away.