Editor's Note: Jeremy and Justin San Nicholas are home-schooled twins from Kaneohe who both participate in a Christian homeschool speech and debate league. Jeremy recently returned from competing at the National Christian Forensics and Communication 2008 National Championship Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama. They both received a scholarship from the Small Business Hawaii Entrepreneurial Education Foundation to attend the SBH Economic Summit on May 13th. Here is what stood out for Justin regarding the event speakers. Jeremy's comments may be read here.

We have many influences throughout our lives, whether they are historical figures or even a neighbor across the street. These influences encourage us to be the change in our world. Well, a most significant person who has deeply inspired me to change our economy through small businesses is John Rutledge. Dr. Rutledge -- former economic advisor to Ronald Reagan, Fox News Economic Analyst, Chairman of Rutledge Capital, and renowned economist -- spoke at a Small Business Hawaii Economic Summit that I had the privilege of attending. A wholesome supporter of Small Business Hawaii, Dr. Rutledge discussed our present economy and how we can change it through small businesses. Dr. Rutledge is also well known for taking complex concepts and reducing them to two or three clear and concise sentences.

First of all, he said that there is no energy shortage; however, there is a knowledge shortage. He believes it’s vital that we find new ways to generate energy or we will have major conflicts. A question he posed was, “How do we cause change?” Well, according to Dr. Rutledge, we need to be able to “read like the wind, be hungry for the future; in that, we need to want to learn." Also, he believes in making a way for people to get to know each other for real. Another simple message addressed at the summit was about not living as hunter-gatherers. In other words, we should not go into the world just gathering information on improving our economy. Instead, he believes we should physically interact in the world to create a change. According to Dr. Rutledge, the solution is “motivation”. As a result, the quality and sanctity of life would improve, as well as our economy. I believe as a young, ambitious student, “the only constant is change!” So by stepping out of our comfort zones and interacting in the world to cause change, we can accomplish our goal of creating a prosperous, healthy economy.  In the meantime, we can improve our economy by following Dr. Rutledge’s simple and concise message: “It’s not what you do, it’s who you are, that’ll change the economy!”