Interdependence Day

I'm proud to live in the United States of America and happy to be celebrating our independence today - the 230th birthday of our country. Our country has long exalted and celebrated the independent person: the lone hero, the cowboy, the winning quarterback. Perhaps that comes from our Declaration of Independence - we declared we were independent.

Of course this isn't completely true. All our fore fathers were really doing were declaring we are independent of England. Never were those founding fathers and all the residents of the 13 colonies less independent than on that day. On that day July 4, 1776 they became more interdependent than ever - on each other.

230 years later that fact hasn't changed. In a world with more people, more different countries and more of just about everything else, we are completely interdependent. But don't let the personal significance get lost when considering a global perspective.

We need others. We need the resources they provide us (when was the last meal where you were responsible for producing everything you ate?), we need the perspective they provide us (when did you last ask someone for a piece of advice our counsel?), we need the love they share, we need their ideas, energy, passion, commitment and a thousand other things.

Rather than calling this Independence Day, it would make more sense to me to call it Freedom Day. 230 years ago today a strong courageous group of men signed a document declaring our freedom from England, and assuring our interdependence would be stronger than ever.

Spend time today thinking about the interdependencies in your business, in your family, on your team, in your neighborhood, and in your life as a whole.

I think you'll find plenty of reasons to celebrate your Interdependence today (and everyday).

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