When I was 10 1/2 years old, I told my dad I wanted a pair of Air Jordan tennis shoes.

When he found out they cost $125 he told me to get a job. So, I got a paper route. And I’ve been working ever since.

I labored on a farm, cut grass, washed cars, then worked in our family’s business. Through hard work, I was able to grow our two businesses into 26 different enterprises. We now employ more than 600 people in five states.

The lesson here is that the “secret sauce” to anything is hard work. And ladies and gentlemen, there is a lot of hard work that is needed in our state right now.

West Virginia is at a crossroads. Outside interests have exploited our state for far too long. They’ve taken our coal, taken our natural gas, made us dependent on government and we have nothing to show for it. And worst of all, our biggest export hasn’t been coal or natural gas, it’s been our educated brothers and sisters. This has to end.

As a state, we have a massive opportunity to send West Virginia on a path of prosperity and growth like the Mountain State has never seen. On the horizon, there is economic growth, booming job markets, top-notch education for our youth, low energy prices and a restored pride in what it really means to be a West Virginian. Let’s not take the path used far too often in the past; one of reliance, extraction, depletion, and unresponsiveness.

Establishment politicians, bureaucrats, and career lobbyists will never bring West Virginia from 50th to first. It will take community, resiliency, business acumen and a fighter mentality to face Washington and Charleston head-on. It’s time we do something amazing and show the rest of the country what we are really made of.

I tend to view things from a common sense perspective. If we are going to fix the major financial problems that are facing the state, it seems common sense we must:

1. Run state government more like a business.

2. Unleash our economy and make our state conducive to doing business.

3. Get rid of bureaucrats and policies that slow things down.

4. Audit every dime spent by government.

5. Get rid of the West Virginia state income tax completely.

6. Break up the good ol’ boy system that’s been running our state for far too long.

7. Leverage all of our natural resources to drive down the cost of power for our people and turn West Virginia into the battery of the East Coast.

The primary driver that will bring West Virginia to prosperity and success is our energy.

The people of our state have already achieved greatness, we just need reminded of that. We mined the coal that built the steel that led to a victory in World War I and World War II. We also mined the coal that led to cheap energy and the greatest capitalistic expansion in human history.

We did that! We’ve also provided more soldiers per capita to serve our country and have more decorated soldiers per capita than any other state in the union. And we have nothing to show for it. I place the blame on the federal government, career politicians, and the “good-ol’-boy” system that has haunted Charleston for far too long. It’s time we show the rest of the country and the world we don’t need them. We can do it ourselves. It’s just going to take hard work — nothing I, nor any red-blooded West Virginian, has ever been scared of.

No state has more to gain or lose when it comes to energy. It will take resolve and coalition-building with our neighbors to throw out reliance on the federal government’s ineffective and arbitrary bureaucracy that stifles energy production and only benefits foreign energy companies. Washington is broken — but West Virginia doesn’t have to be.

I’ve chosen to run for governor because I know what it takes to build growth and drive economic success. Unless we all prosper, none of us can.

This state has provided me with extraordinary opportunity. With great opportunity comes great responsibility, and after what West Virginia has given me, it is my responsibility to help guide West Virginia into its finest moments.

With your trust and the spirit of West Virginia, we can build a better future for our sons and daughters.

Chris Miller of Huntington is running for the Republican nomination for governor of West Virginia.