Your Donations to Lemonade Day via Facebook TODAY, on Giving Tuesday, Will be Matched by Gates Foundation

By Steven Gordon, Lemonade Day National President

 

“Bill Gates was only 13 years old when he started working with computers. When you start something at an early point in your life, you become molded around it. Not only will you have a chance of becoming successful sooner than most people, but you would also be less likely to want to give up.

If you’ve had a dream that you start working towards when you’re young, you will be more immune to people telling you what you can or can’t do. By the time you’re an adult and people start to take more notice of what you’re working towards, you will be stubborn enough to just ignore them.

The time that you’re most influenced by others is when you’re younger, so if you’ve seen things on T.V or on the internet where others have become successful, this will be imprinted in your mind and you won’t have doubt about what you can or can’t do.”

10 Bill Gates Tips to Becoming Successful & Wealthy, excerpt of article published on July 24, 2017, by REAL Entrepreneur

Bill Gates

 

Like many others, I am inspired by Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Richard Branson, Michael Dell, Oprah Winfrey and other iconic entrepreneurs who have launched businesses, achieved great wealth, and are committed to social programs for the greater good of children and adults around the world. 

Today, on Giving Tuesday, November 28th, I felt compelled to seek out and share some of Bill Gates’ success tips as I prepared to write this blog.  I was pleased, yet not surprised, to see that the first of Gates’ 10 tips outlined in this article was “to start as early as possible.”  Gates’ view of youth entrepreneurship is in perfect alignment with the mission of Lemonade Day to motivate kids of kindergarten through middle school ages to start a lemonade business with support from mentors and community partners.

Here is a summary of all 10 of the Bill Gates Success Tips referenced above:

  1. Start as early as possible.

  2. Enter into partnerships.

  3. Stop kidding yourself by thinking you will earn $60,000 a year right out of high school or get appointed as CEO of a multi-national company just because you have a business management degree.

  4. Be your own boss as soon as possible.

  5. Don’t whine about your mistakes. Learn from them.

  6. Be committed and be passionate.

  7. Recognize that life is the best school—not college or university.

  8. Be nice to nerds. Chances are you will end up working for one.

  9. TV is not real life.

  10. Life is not fair.

Reviewing these recommendations from Bill Gates himself was a refreshing reminder to me—and hopefully to you as well—of the character traits and beliefs of successful entrepreneurs.  Lemonade Day teaches business and leadership skills to young people that will pave the way for a lifetime of positive opportunities.  All of us at Lemonade Day National Headquarters and the Lemonade Day City Directors are focused on building the future and stirring up success for kids of all socio-economic levels and ethnicities. We know and believe that entrepreneurship is open to anyone who seeks to embark on the journey.

I am impressed—and again not surprised—that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has joined Facebook to match funds donated to non-profit organizations today, Giving Tuesday. To support Lemonade Day with a donation of any amount, please visit the “Donate” section of our Facebook page or Website:

https://www.facebook.com/lemonadeday/

https://lemonadeday.org/donate-national

Especially today, your donations are most welcomed and greatly appreciated.  Your financial contributions fund instructional materials that guide kids through the Lemonade Day process. 

Thank you for anything you can do to support Lemonade Day today—on Giving Tuesday—and for days, months and years into the future.  

 

Giving Tuesday

 

About Lemonade Day

Founded in Houston in 2007 by Michael and Lisa Holthouse, Lemonade Day is a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching every child across North America the business and financial skills that are the key ingredients of entrepreneurship. By learning these skills early in life, children will be better prepared to be successful, financially healthy adults. Through our fun, hands-on program Kids K-5 are empowered to start their very own business—a lemonade stand—and experience the feeling of earning real money, using 100% of their profit to spend, save and share based on their own goals.

Lemonade Day is in 62 cities throughout the United States. Over the past 10 years, we have served more than 1 million kids in our kid entrepreneur programs.

Visit LemonadeDay.org to learn how to participate in Lemonade Day in your city.

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@LemonadeDayNational