Dreams That Built America

Inspiring Stories of Grit, Purpose, and Triumph

Alan Elliott

• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9780785296942
• eBook ISBN: 9780785296997
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Personal Success

In Dreams That Built America, Alan Elliott shares an inspiring and uplifting view of the American spirit.

This newly revised and modernized edition showcases the vision, accountability, faith, and essential values that are the essence of real American success, highlighting the dreams that have made America and its people great.

With 365 short daily readings, Dreams That Built America offers inspiring stories meant to motivate, encourage, and uplift you. It covers topics ranging from inventions and exploration to politics, pop culture, and art, and features a wide variety of people, such as:

• Beyoncé
• Irving Berlin
• Thomas Edison
• Steven Spielberg
• and many, many more!

Celebrating the American spirit, Dreams That Built America will help you start your day on a positive note with inspirational messages and stories of purpose and triumph that will carry you throughout the year.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Copyright
• Contents
• January 1: Starting Over
• January 2: Lin-Manuel Miranda and Hamilton
• January 3: Beyoncé, the Dream Girl
• January 4: Pixar–to Infinity and Beyond
• January 5: Sara Blakely Eliminates Panty Lines
• January 6: Edison’s Bright Idea
• January 7: Dave Thomas
• January 8: The Risks of Leadership
• January 9: Steinway Quality
• January 10: Patton’s Message of Mind Over Body
• January 11: Billy Sunday Speaks Plainly
• January 12: Ray Kroc Found a Winner and Multiplied It
• January 13: Girl Scout Cookies
• January 14: Getting a Foot in the Door
• January 15: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream
• January 16: Maugham Waits for Success
• January 17: Mae Jemison is First in Space
• January 18: The Electric Car
• January 19: Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
• January 20: George Lucas Creates a New Universe
• January 21: Parker Pens
• January 22: Powerful Mottoes
• January 23: Internet Stars
• January 24: Acres of Diamonds
• January 25: Famous Amos Cookies
• January 26: Lemons to Lemonade
• January 27: Edwin Land’s Better Photography Idea
• January 28: Attitudes
• January 29: Eisenhower’s Mentor
• January 30: Wrigley Didn’t Overlook the Little Things
• January 31: Million-dollar Phrases
• February 1: Harriet Tubman
• February 2: The Band-Aid
• February 3: Achievement Takes More Than Talent
• February 4: Face Your Troubles Squarely
• February 5: Ole Evinrude
• February 6: Sewell’s Customers for Life
• February 7: Pockets of Genius
• February 8: Babe, the World’s Greatest Athlete
• February 9: Marion Laboratories
• February 10: Jeff Kinney is No Wimpy Kid
• February 11: Merck’s Research Quality
• February 12: Coming Back After Failure
• February 13: Tabitha Babbitt Saw an Idea
• February 14: Herb Kelleher and Southwest Airlines
• February 15: Winchester’s Second Effort
• February 16: Howard Corbin’s Trousers
• February 17: How Kodak Got Its Name
• February 18: With a Name Like Smucker’s
• February 19: Hewitt Hires Chemistry
• February 20: Mcmanus’s Ten Commandments of Business
• February 21: Stan Lee—the Guardian of the Marvel Galaxy
• February 22: George Washington
• February 23: Levi Strauss Invents Blue Jeans
• February 24: Philip Caldwell at Ford
• February 25: Alexander Graham Bell’s Telephone
• February 26: Tom Landry Learns Football
• February 27: Jay Leno’s Big Break
• February 28: The Plastics Revolution
• February 29: A Little Something Extra
• March 1: Otis Elevators
• March 2: John H. Johnson and Ebony
• March 3: Colonel Sanders
• March 4: Earl Tupper’s Party Plan
• March 5: Bill Gates
• March 6: Practice in the Mind
• March 7: Helen Keller
• March 8: Voit Bounces Back
• March 9: Charles Michael Schwab
• March 10: Harley-Davidson is Hog Heaven
• March 11: Herman Miller
• March 12: Adolph’s Meat Tenderizer
• March 13: William Hoy Signals Greatness
• March 14: Leo Burnett’s Ads
• March 15: Gatorade Makes a Splash
• March 16: Wynton Marsalis
• March 17: Hallmark Cards
• March 18: The Internet
• March 19: Doing the Right Thing
• March 20: Marc Randolph and Netflix
• March 21: Chrysler’s Decision
• March 22: Walter Wheeler at Pitney-Bowes
• March 23: Nik Wallenda—keep Your Eyes on the Goal
• March 24: Jasmine Crowe—everyone Should Eat
• March 25: Napoleon Hill
• March 26: Being a Millionaire
• March 27: Rita Moreno
• March 28: Armstrong World Industries
• March 29: Kellogg’s Cereals
• March 30: Marshall Field
• March 31: Knox Gelatin
• April 1: Eddie Bauer
• April 2: Success is More Than Talent
• April 3: Mariano Martinez Invents Yummy Frozen Goodness
• April 4: Role Models
• April 5: Small Wins and Big Successes
• April 6: Steven Spielberg
• April 7: Sam Moore, an American by Choice
• April 8: William Danforth at Purina
• April 9: Alexandra Clark’s Sweet Success
• April 10: Ella Fitzgerald
• April 11: Ueberroth Responds to the Cause
• April 12: Elmer Andersen of H. B. Fuller
• April 13: I Love Lucy
• April 14: Maya Angelou
• April 15: Silly Putty
• April 16: Oprah Winfrey
• April 17: Frederick Weyerhaeuser
• April 18: Ken Cooper’s Aerobics
• April 19: John F. Queeny at Monsanto
• April 20: Mack Trucks
• April 21: Bette Nesmith’s Liquid Paper
• April 22: Leaders as Learners
• April 23: Stanley Marcus’s Business Sense
• April 24: Desktop Publishing
• April 25: Disneyland
• April 26: John Wooden
• April 27: Procter & Gamble’s Ivory Soap
• April 28: Bank of America
• April 29: Service Organizations
• April 30: Jantzen Swimwear
• May 1: Longtime Rock and Roll
• May 2: Stephen Cannell Overcomes Dyslexia
• May 3: Truett Cathy is Closed on Sunday
• May 4: Carol Channing’s Big Break
• May 5: Landing Rockets
• May 6: Harry S. Truman
• May 7: John D. Rockefeller
• May 8: Fred Rogers’ Neighborhood
• May 9: The Mother of Mother’s Day
• May 10: Black and Decker
• May 11: Bill Veeck’s Home Runs
• May 12: Dress Your Business for Success
• May 13: The Chip That Changed the World
• May 14: Chang Apana—a Model for Greatness
• May 15: Flightsafety International
• May 16: Holiday Inns
• May 17: From Failure to Success
• May 18: Andy Griffith
• May 19: What the Customer Really Wants
• May 20: Pepperidge Farm
• May 21: Michael Jordan
• May 22: Dale Carnegie Teaches Business Leaders
• May 23: Cracker Barrel
• May 24: Harold Ross and the New Yorker
• May 25: Exampling
• May 26: Kleenex Tissues
• May 27: Malcom P. Mclean’s Shipping Containers
• May 28: Josephine Cochrane and Kitchenaid
• May 29: Victor Kiam Bought the Company
• May 30: L. Frank Baum and The Wizard of Oz
• May 31: Calvin Klein’s Fashionable Success
• June 1: Cracker Jack
• June 2: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream
• June 3: Selling Yourself
• June 4: Amelia Earhart
• June 5: The Pet Rock
• June 6: Maytag’s Washers
• June 7: Donuts: The Hole Story
• June 8: Post-It Notes
• June 9: Roy, the Forgotten Disney
• June 10: Grace Hopper on Leadership
• June 11: Buster Brown Started Something
• June 12: W. Edwards Deming
• June 13: Crayola’s Colorful History
• June 14: Booker T. Washington
• June 15: Inventors Versus Entrepreneurs
• June 16: IBM’s Secret of Success
• June 17: Bill Pickett Invents Bulldogging
• June 18: Gerber Baby Foods
• June 19: Opal Lee, “Grandmother of Juneteenth”
• June 20: The Magna Carta
• June 21: Winton Blount Builds a Business
• June 22: Alex Haley’s Roots
• June 23: A Passion for Excellence
• June 24: Rose Blumkin’s Nebraska Furniture Mart
• June 25: Sonia Sotomayor Makes the Decision
• June 26: Five Guys Burgers and Fries
• June 27: Curt Carlson Adapts to New Opportunities
• June 28: Boys Town
• June 29: The Company Hero
• June 30: Warren Buffett’s Million-dollar Bet
• July 1: Ford’s V-8
• July 2: A Gathering of Traitors
• July 3: Moving Up the Ladder
• July 4: The Risk of Freedom
• July 5: Monopoly
• July 6: Super Glue
• July 7: Mad Libs
• July 8: An Wang
• July 9: John Williams
• July 10: Ordinary People Make an Extraordinary Nation
• July 11: 7-Eleven Creates a Convenient Business
• July 12: Alexia Cooper Captures the Sun’s Rays
• July 13: Aluminum Foil
• July 14: Service Dogs
• July 15: General Motors
• July 16: Celestial Seasonings
• July 17: Norm Brinker
• July 18: The Typewriter
• July 19: Chip and Joanna Gaines’s “Fixer Upper”
• July 20: The Potato Chip
• July 21: Winnebago’s Jobs
• July 22: Martha Berry’s College
• July 23: Irving Berlin’s Songs
• July 24: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Waters
• July 25: Renewing Disney
• July 26: Nasa’s Female Human Computers
• July 27: Richard Snyder’s Cool Millions
• July 28: Jack Telnack of Ford
• July 29: Stew Leonard
• July 30: The Flight of Voyager
• July 31: Cybill Shepherd
• August 1: Fred Smith of Federal Express
• August 2: Misty Copeland
• August 3: The Hula Hoop
• August 4: Dell Computers
• August 5: The Golden Rule Stores
• August 6: C. E. Woolman and Delta
• August 7: Jim Thorpe—running on Borrowed Shoes
• August 8: Bill Moog’s Buildings
• August 9: The Leo Burnett Agency
• August 10: Coca-Cola’s Beginnings
• August 11: Corporate Lore
• August 12: Lane Cedar Chests
• August 13: Madeleine L’engle’s Stories
• August 14: Code Talker Secrets
• August 15: George S. Clason—the Richest Man in Babylon
• August 16: Learning From Mistakes
• August 17: Alice Zhang and Verge Genomics
• August 18: Twinkies
• August 19: Sherwin-Williams Paint
• August 20: Vicks Vaporub
• August 21: John Goodenough and the Lithium-ion Battery
• August 22: Reader’s Digest
• August 23: Life Savers
• August 24: Duke Kahanamoku
• August 25: The Zipper
• August 26: The Microwave Oven
• August 27: Tetsuya Fujita, Mr. Tornado
• August 28: The Real Uncle Sam
• August 29: The Automobile Radio
• August 30: Marva Collins
• August 31: Anne Sullivan
• September 1: The Chicken Man
• September 2: Eastern Onion
• September 3: Wilma Rudolph, the Polio Victim Who Won the Gold
• September 4: Henry Aaron
• September 5: The Rest of the Story
• September 6: Milton Hershey
• September 7: Peter Mccolough of Xerox
• September 8: Too Much Plastic
• September 9: An Idea-nurturing Work Climate at 3m
• September 10: George Kress
• September 11: America’s 9/11 Heroes
• September 12: Malcolm Forbes
• September 13: Mary Kay
• September 14: Birds Eye Frozen Foods
• September 15: Doing Business One-on-one
• September 16: Conrad Hilton
• September 17: Dan Bricklin’s Spreadsheet
• September 18: The Super Bowl
• September 19: Mary Crowley
• September 20: Chuck House at Hewlett-Packard
• September 21: Mrs. Fields’s Cookies
• September 22: Roberto Goizueta and New Coke Versus Classic Coke
• September 23: Renovators Supply
• September 24: H&R Block
• September 25: Quincy Jones’s New Career
• September 26: Estée Lauder
• September 27: Charlie Chaplin, the “Little Tramp”
• September 28: Viking Freight Delivers
• September 29: Pillsbury’s Best
• September 30: Teradyne
• October 1: White Castle Hamburgers
• October 2: Scrabble
• October 3: Robert Goddard
• October 4: Eli Whitney
• October 5: Rent-A-Wreck
• October 6: Collaring the Market
• October 7: Bissell Carpet Sweepers
• October 8: Maxwell House Coffee
• October 9: Castro Convertible
• October 10: Liz Claiborne
• October 11: Barbara Yarbrough Elementary School
• October 12: Bob Hope
• October 13: Ya-hoo Cake
• October 14: Kenneth Harris and James Webb
• October 15: Merck and Co.
• October 16: Reynolds Aluminum
• October 17: Theodor Seuss Geisel
• October 18: George Washington Carver
• October 19: Richard Sears
• October 20: Captcha and Ai
• October 21: Mel Blanc
• October 22: Better Farming From Allison Kopf
• October 23: Dovebar
• October 24: Dr Pepper
• October 25: Clean Up With S.O.S. Pads
• October 26: The Statue of Liberty
• October 27: Lane Bryant
• October 28: The Teddy Bear
• October 29: James Weldon Johnson
• October 30: The Brown Paper Bag
• October 31: Carrier Air Conditioning
• November 1: Over the Rainbow
• November 2: The Frisbee
• November 3: Walgreens
• November 4: How Lucky We Are!
• November 5: Charles Doolin and Fritos
• November 6: In-N-Out Burger
• November 7: Tom Watson, Pianos to Computers
• November 8: Fanny Crosby
• November 9: Van Camp’s Baked Beans
• November 10: Arthur Fiedler
• November 11: Doctor Mary
• November 12: The Business “Family” at Publix
• November 13: The Smartest Person
• November 14: Erie Insurance Exchange
• November 15: John Deere
• November 16: Everyday Millionaires
• November 17: Charles Lindbergh
• November 18: Coming Back After Loss
• November 19: Whitewashing the Fence
• November 20: Alka-Seltzer
• November 21: Harry Mullikin of Westin Hotels
• November 22: Horatio Spafford’s Soul
• November 23: Zoom Meetings
• November 24: Quad/Graphics
• November 25: Will Rogers
• November 26: Billy Graham
• November 27: Chicken Soup for the Soul
• November 28: George Eastman
• November 29: Borden Invents Condensed Milk
• November 30: Space Inventions
• December 1: General Evangeline Booth
• December 2: Costco
• December 3: There’s Gold in Those Hills
• December 4: The Strategy of Leadership
• December 5: Mary Blair’s Flair
• December 6: Whitman Sampler
• December 7: Doris Miller at Pearl Harbor
• December 8: Intel’s Beginnings
• December 9: A Charlie Brown Christmas
• December 10: Emily Dickinson, Unknown Success
• December 11: Olga’s Slips
• December 12: The Louisville Slugger
• December 13: Jim Henson
• December 14: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
• December 15: The Slinky
• December 16: Free Public Libraries
• December 17: Timex Watches
• December 18: Tiffany
• December 19: Poor Richard’s Almanack
• December 20: Jessica Mcclure’s Rescue
• December 21: Philo Farnsworth
• December 22: The Close Shave
• December 23: Macy’s
• December 24: It’s a Wonderful Life
• December 25: Christmas
• December 26: Self-affirmation
• December 27: The Importance of Others
• December 28: Following Your Dream
• December 29: Conquering the Mousetrap Syndrome
• December 30: Do It Anyway
• December 31: The Journey of Success