"Give a man a fish and feed him for a day...."

My Blogger and Facebook profiles feature a quote I grew up with:

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

When my children were young, they asked the difference between Republicans and Democrats, and I used that quote as a springboard into a conversation that continues to this day with my two conservative young people.

Today I received an email from a reader, Paul Ross, and with his permission I share it:

I just wanted to drop you a line and say that I love your quote, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

When I am teaching around the country, I say it like this:

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man how to own the fishing pond and you’ll feed his children’s children. Teach him to own fishing ponds in multiple markets and you’ll feed his family to the fourth generation."

Gotta love our free enterprise system. Just an interesting thought – be blessed.

I worry for the future of our free enterprise system with our government that is intent on funding everyone and everything, taking over private companies, and will soon be unanswerable to anyone if a filibuster-proof Senate is in place.

We need more who are willing to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, work hard, take personal responsibility, and strive for the American dream.