On March 27, 1775, Future President Thomas Jefferson was elected to the second Continental Congress. Jefferson, a Virginia delegate, quickly made a name for himself in the Continental Congress with the publication of his paper, A Summary View of the Rights of British America . Several more papers would follow in the coming year, including Drafts and Notes on the Virginia Constitution . In June 1776, Congress assembled a committee to draft the Declaration of Independence. Following a great deal of discussion, the committee selected Jefferson to compose the document. At just 33 years of age, it only took Jefferson a couple of days to complete a draft of what is regarded as the most important document in the history of democracy. After a few small changes, the committee submitted the draft, titled A Declaration by the Representatives in General Congress Assembled , to Congress on June 28, 1776. The document was formally adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776, under the new title The Dec...

Society has perpetuated this notion that you haven't really made it in life unless you've risen to the top of your field -- that in order to truly be respected by your peers, you have to become a business owner or president, vice president, or director of a company. To me, this is pure hogwash. Not everyone wishes to be in a senior level position in which they're tasked with making pivotal decisions for their department or for the company as a whole. Nor do most people feel drawn to the idea of running their own company. Why? For one, people have different personalities. Introverts tend to be drawn to behind-the-scenes, production-oriented positions where they can let their work do all the talking. Let's not forget that the higher you move up in the chain of command, the less specialized your job is likely to become. For example, instead of only handling, say, research and development, you'll now have to worry about budgeting and assume other responsibilitie...