The American Dream 2.0: Sewing Together Old School Techniques with New School Technology

By Craig Sewing

Negative media or mindsets suggest the American Dream is dead, but Craig Sewing believes that the moment you stop dreaming is the moment you're dead. We are living in one of the greatest eras to achieve. Your parents and grandparents used a handshake and close personal connections to succeed—not to mention ol' fashioned hard work. While the new ways of the internet and social media have shifted how business is done today, old strategies are still critical to bring a perfect wave of opportunity.

In The American Dream 2.0, Craig Sewing shows you how to bring classic business values into today's fast-paced world. Through storytelling, Craig offers actionable advice, tools, and techniques for retaining traditional wisdom while utilizing today's technologies to their fullest.

This nation will always be the Land of Opportunity, illustrated by the fact that millions want into it. With passion, dedication, and Craig's guidance, you too can achieve your American Dream.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jan 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781544507125

Book preview

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Introduction

Is the American dream dead?

This is the question I was asked on 9-11-2018 by a radio host.

My response: Are you dead?

I got a blank stare. Maybe you’re not supposed to answer a question, with another question. But the truth is, the moment we stop dreaming is the moment we might as well be.

The media often asks this question about The American Dream. Why? Well, because they don’t have much substance in their content, and just try and spark debate. Negative and nauseating.

But who cares about the media. Journalism is dead, and it lost its way a LONG time ago. I am more concerned about you living out your dreams!

It all starts with mindset, and until you believe in yourself and your own dreams, you can’t expect others to.

With that statement, I’m starting this book with the confident statement, we are living in the greatest era for achievement, ever.

The American dream.

No, it’s not dead.

It’s right there for you if you simply have the ambition to achieve your version of it—whatever that looks like.

Think it, feel it, believe it, and live it like you own it already. Your mindset, and your peace of mind, comes from within, not from anything you ever chase externally. The American dream has a subjective meaning; you get to choose what it looks like for you.

YOU decide!

You’ve already won the lottery of life being born here. This continues to be the greatest land for freedom and opportunity that exists. Now, I don’t mean that in a hell yeah…’Merica man!! kinda way. But seriously, there is a reason that people want into this country, not out of it.

No matter how big your aspirations, it’s equally important to make sure you enjoy the journey, because if you have big goals, it won’t be easy. There is no magic pill. You gotta enjoy all the ups and downs. That’s the whole you only live one life thing. If you don’t enjoy the process and experience, you’re chasing a pipe dream into an endless tunnel with no real destination.

I truly want you to first start with the state of mind that you aren’t chasing your American dream…You are living it and simply growing its meaning and significance through your positive impact on the world. Your success will be measured by the radius of that impact.

Some might find that whole we live in the greatest country comment to be biased or even arrogant.

It’s really not meant to be.

Earlier I suggested that there is a reason people want into this country, not out of it. I should’ve said, MILLIONS of people want into it, not out of it. Some even risk their lives trying, while we have unappreciative people here who binge-watch Netflix complaining how hard it is.

A few other key thoughts:

You get paid more on welfare in the United States than doctors in other parts of the world.

Whether you’re disabled, retired, a veteran, or even just unemployed, there is financial support for you.

As you read this, there is a voluntary military, composed of real people, willing to die to protect your freedom. Think about that for a moment—voluntarily!

There is no time for excuses in a place like this.

You’re already living a dream life that millions upon millions would wish for.

And just being born in itself is a one-in-a-gazillion chance.

So the question is, what do you want to make of it?

At this point in time, any excuse is inexcusable.

And if believing you live in the greatest country on the planet is a biased statement, oh well.

I also believe I have the greatest mom on the planet. There are certain things in life you are allowed to be biased about. I hope you feel the same way.

And the truth is, if you were born in Mexico, Brazil, France, the deserts of the Middle East…it doesn’t matter. The moment you stop dreaming is the moment you’re dead.

This negative media nonsense suggesting the American dream is dead is just a talking head desperate for something to talk about. Most of them can’t even communicate without a teleprompter.

To think dreaming is dead, whether it be as individuals, or collectively as a nation, is the ultimate self-fulfilling prophecy. Have we really become so cynical or obsessed with the negative messaging our media puts out there that we question our ability to dream?

Some of the most life-changing words in our history were I have a dream, by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And with all these incredible freedoms, if you still don’t believe this is the greatest nation on earth, you also have the freedom to leave. Simple.

Since we’re just getting to know each other…If you haven’t figured it out already, I tend to get fired up. I am delusionally passionate and known to wear my heart on my sleeve.

Just like you, I am always in pursuit of advancing my American Dream 2.0.

My goal with this book is to inspire you with real stories and strategies.

I got nothing but love for you, and I don’t even know you. You’re reading my book! Time is your most valuable asset, and the fact that you are giving me some of yours is the ultimate compliment. Thank you.

Much of what you will read in this book are real stories I have experienced—mostly relating to my experiences as an entrepreneur, playing in the media space. Simply put, it’s me; it’s what I know.

My hope is to find a connection with you, where even if you find yourself in a different space, you can translate the content to make it relatable to your world. When I say entrepreneur, it could easily be translated to anyone chasing their dreams, trailblazing, and making their own rules. When I say media, we should all understand that this is the ultimate media landscape. Everything is tied to media, whether you consume it or leverage it.

While I might be the creator of a TV show called The American Dream and CEO of a media company, you absolutely must understand the media space, because it’s not just the traditional TV shows. We live in a fascinating world of digital and social media—easily the greatest time in the history of humankind to have the ability to make connections, build relationships, and achieve. And you…you are the CEO of YOU in this journey.

American Dream 2.0 is a compilation of real stories and life lessons, tailored to this insane technologically advanced world we find ourselves in. And no, it is not some phony ghostwritten book written by someone else claiming as my own. My own fingers are crushing a keyboard, with sleepless nights till I get the right message to you, one that I’ve spent decades accumulating knowledge for.

Because even though we have an amazing future in this opportunistic world of technological advancement for which to accomplish our American dream, there is still something very meaningful about our past.

The things that got us here, that are often ignored.

The new school puts a smartphone in your hand and gives you connectivity to the world, people, and knowledge.

But without old-school heart, hustle, relationships, and love, you’re missing all the key ingredients to thrive in today’s world. With this book, we will sew it all together (yes, pun intended, with my last name being Sewing).

You will become the inspiration and executioner of your American dream. It’s your dream. It’s your responsibility. It’s yours to get.

But updated for today’s environment.

This ain’t your grandparents’ world. In fact, life is moving so fast that it’s not even your parents’ world. Things look dramatically different than they did just a matter of a few years ago.

I call it American Dream 2.0.

Sewing together old-school techniques with new-school technology.

You ready?

Then let’s stop ranting, and get started.

I’m fired up!

I’m going to go meditate (a key message in this book), find my Zen, and come back and pour my heart and soul into this book for you.

Ready?

Let’s GO!

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Part 1

Part 1: The American Dream 1.0 versus the American Dream 2.0

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Chapter 1

1. They Don’t Serve Salad at the Salad Bowl

The Salad Bowl was a beloved Saint Louis business. More specifically, it was a cafeteria. Its success was not one of those things you can measure. Just like its food, the restaurant itself had a great recipe—one built on the ingredients of relationships and having a great story.

The Salad Bowl first opened in 1948, on Lindell Boulevard in the Central West End neighborhood of Saint Louis. At the time, it was a predominantly African American neighborhood, and so were its customers and employees. To hear that today might not sound like a big deal, except for one thing: this was the 1940s, and the Salad Bowl was owned by a white man…a gentleman by the name of Elmer.

In the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s—when the American dream meant something quite a bit different—serving meals to white people and black people side by side wasn’t exactly common. Desegregation hadn’t exactly happened.

But that’s what Elmer did. He was a man of principle.

Even in the prejudiced time he lived in—long before the civil rights era and even decades before Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech—Elmer knew that people of all colors were equal in every way. In fact, Elmer was once quoted as saying, We will serve anyone who wants a hot meal, regardless of color.

The key ingredient: relationships.

Elmer was my grandfather.

A man I never met.

This is the story of the Salad Bowl, but there are many, many others just like it across America.

After establishing the Salad Bowl’s legacy, he passed it down to my father, David Sewing, and his two brothers, Norman and Norbert Sewing, in the late ’60s, supported by their wives, Julie, Susan, and Doris, respectively. And despite modern-day divorces averaging 60-plus percent, they all remain married. The women behind these men are as important as the story itself. Julie Sewing, aka Mom, is the unsung hero who was there every step of the way, through all the ups and downs.

At the Salad Bowl, they continued to serve people with the same respect Elmer had given their first patrons, continuously building their American dream on the foundation of kindness and relationships.

These men employed handicapped people, those who were deaf, young and old, black and white, and anyone ambitious enough to join the family and succeed. More importantly, this was also the environment they created with their customers.

A key thesis of this entire book is the importance of relationships, even in a digital world.

Building authentic relationships is the most important part of living the American dream.

I went to the Salad Bowl many times growing up, but one visit is etched into my memory—it’s when I came face-to-face with the American dream for the first time.

It was a humid summer evening in the ’80s, and I was just a young Cardinals fan eager to catch a game with my dad. In Saint Louis, Cardinal baseball is a religion of its own.

My mom dropped me off at the Salad Bowl to meet my dad. He came out smelling like a cafeteria and wearing his white shirt and tie, just like he did every day. This was pretty much his uniform.

He’d spent the entire day the same way his father had before him—working hard, serving his customers, and building authentic relationships. Every day, he sat with his customers and shared a meal with them, sharing stories and building friendships.

Before we left for the game, we went into the cafeteria to grab a bite to eat. He didn’t grab my meal for me, nor did he send me to his back office to eat it. Instead, he put me in