Finding Your Why.

Invited to a Recession?

How do you feel about the recession?  The constant barrage of negative media makes it hard to be upbeat, doesn’t’ it?  As I “make the rounds” every day to my favorite websites, it dominates cyberspace.  Just how much money is $800 billion dollars?  If you got $1 every second, in 1.6 weeks you'd have a million dollars.  In 32 years, you'd have a billion dollars.  In 25,600 years, you’d have $800 billion.

 

That’s a lot of dough.

 

If life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we respond to it, then how should we handle the current economic situation?  There are obviously a myriad of possibilities.  You can whine, complain…curl up in the corner, suck your thumb and talk about how life isn’t fair and that you don’t deserve this.  However, that won’t get you very far, and it will annoy most of the people around you.  I’d like to suggest a bolder approach.

 

We’ve been invited to a recession.  I suggest that we decline the invitation.  Sounds simple, right?  It is.  Some of this whole recession thing is in our heads.  That kind of negative thinking has tangible effects.  “I won’t call that prospect because they probably won’t buy anything…this recession is bad”.  “I’m tired of sending out resumes…nobody’s hiring…this recession has everyone cutting back.”  Don’t presume to know everything.  Don’t engage in “stinkin’ thinkin’.  Don’t let the noise level beat you down.

 

I was running on the track at the gym other day.  A runner ahead of me had a great quote on the back of his t-shirt:  “It’s hard to beat somebody that won’t give up.”  Now that’s the way to go right into the teeth of this economy.  Don’t become part of a self-fulfilling prophesy.  Be the exception.

 

Been invited to a recession?  Decline the invitation.

Recession Special

After lunch today, I pulled into a parking spot on the street near my office.  On the sidewalk beside my car was a sign.  It read,

"Recession Special - Women's Haircut $30"

The sign obviously belonged to the salon nearby.  I laughed out loud.  Get this - a hair salon is offering a "recession special".  Not a homebuilder, not a car dealer...a hair salon.  Perhaps I shouldn't laugh.  Maybe I should be mortified.  Is it getting that bad?  Are women walking around with shaggy 'dos?  Are females now deferring hair maintenance to the point where such a special is necessary?  A whole other point of discussion is the notion that they believe a $30 price point pays sufficient homage to the current economic crisis.

I'm not a woman, so perhaps a $30 haircut is a steal.  However, I'm thinking that a $10 haircut is more worthy of the title recession special.

A 60 Dollar Ad That Changed History

Today I was on the phone with my best friend Daniel the Encourager.  We were bantering about all manner of things and found ourselves trying to remember the name of the company that used to send out mail-order auto parts catalogs when we were kids.  As a young boy growing up during the muscle-car 70s, I spent many hours pouring over them.  We tried and tried to come up with the name, but it just wasn't there.  I was on my way to work out, so Daniel assured me he'd figure it out and text me when he got it.

As I drove to the gym, my mind took me back in time to the days of those catalogs.  I find it amazing how easily the brain serves up memories when given the right clues.  I had not thought of looking at those catalogs for probably 30 years.  But immediately, I could remember so much about the experience...except for the name of the company...LOL

By the time I arrived at the gym, the answer came...JC Whitney.  After few minutes on the Internet, I was able to learn that the company was started in 1915 by Lithuanian immigrant Israel Warshawsky.  Located on the south side of Chicago, Warshawsky bought failed auto manufacturers during World War 1 and put their parts in his inventory.  In 1934, his son Roy suggested that they expand.  They purchased a 60 dollar ad in Popular Mechanics magazine, offering a "huge auto parts catalog" for the price of 25 cents.  The response to the ad was huge, and the rest, as they say, is history.

In 2002, JC Whitney was purchased by The Riverside Company, which is a private equity firm based in New York.  They are still in business today a www.jcwhitney.com

Life and Intensive Care

I occasionally write on things, both concrete and abstract, that are disappearing before our very eyes.  These musings are normally precipitated by life as I observe it.  Today, it is on my mind that community and sense of belonging are slowly vanishing.  Case in point - I have lived in my current home for almost two years, and still have yet to see several of my neighbors.  I once hypothesized that these are two-earner households...both husband and wife work...they might travel frequently...  Most likely, that isn't the real reason.  Our culture has morhped into one where people choose to keep to themselves.  We fortify ourselves inside our nice, big suburban homes, emerging to pick up the paper or perhaps retrieve the mail.  We hide behind voicemail and email to avoid direct interaction.  We bank online and we buy online.  A generation so connected has never been so isolated.

 

In his classic 1835 work "Democracy in America", de Toqueville wrote that "Americans of all ages, all stations in life and all types of disposition are forever forming associations...nothing, in my view, deserves more attention than...associations in America."  Fast forward almost 200 years, and Americans aren't so much all about associations anymore.  We don't value community.  We don't value belonging.  Furthermore, those today who are "joiners" aren't overly interested in actually being involved.  "I'll volunteer, but I certainly hope I'm not asked to do anything."  We rationalize that we are the busiest person in the world, and others must accept that.  We don't seek to know or understand those around us.  Consequently, we can't help them and they can't help us.

 

In the book One Church from the Fence, Wes Seelinger writes: "I have spent long hours in the intensive care waiting room . . . watching with anguished people . . . listening to urgent questions: Will my husband make it?  Will my child walk again?  How do you live without your companion of thirty years?

 

"The intensive care waiting room is different from any other place in the world. And the people who wait are different. They can't do enough for each other. No one is rude.  The distinctions of race and class melt away. A person is a father first, a black man second. The garbage man loves his wife as much as the university professor loves his, and everyone understands this. Each person pulls for everyone else.

 

"In the intensive care waiting room, the world changes. Vanity and pretense vanish. The universe is focused on the doctor's next report. If only it will show improvement.  Everyone knows that loving someone else is what life is all about."

 

Convicting isn't it?  What if we approached life and those in it with us more like the Intensive Care Waiting Room?

Metal Health Education

I was walking out of a restaurant today, and glanced down at a newsstand.  In it was a free publication whose cover featured a local band.  The title referred to the band's musical genre as "Doom Metal".  My first thought was "What the heck is "Doom Metal"?  Curious, and somewhat amused, I grabbed a copy and headed back to the office.

The article was not particularly helpful, so I hopped on Wikipedia.  What a scream.  I alternated between laughing and being genuinely alarmed by what I read.  First of all, Doom Metal is described as "a form of heavy metal music that typically employs very slow tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much 'thicker' or 'heavier' sound than other metal genres.  Both the music and the lyrics intend to evoke a sense of despair, dread and impending doom."

Holy smokes.  Who in the heck would want to listen to that?  It gets more interesting.  Doom Metal also has various "stylistic divisions", such as "Epic Doom", "Funeral Doom", "Sludge Doom" and "Stoner Doom".  Funeral Doom seeks to evoke a sense of emptiness and despair.  Sludge Doom lyrics often focus on suffering, drug abuse, politics or anger toward society.

Oh, and there's also Drone Doom, Black Doom and Death Doom.  I grew up during the '70s and '80s, man.  What ever happened to music that was fun?  What is wrong with The Bee Gees, Peter Frampton, the Stones and Van Halen?  When David Lee Roth sang "go ahead and jump", he didn't mean off a bridge.

After my impromptu research project, I threw the paper away.  What a joke.  No wonder the world is getting more screwed up every day.

No One Like Us

January 20, 2009.  It is a history-making day.  There has been so much hype, so much talk, that I wondered how it would all actually play out.  To restate the obvious, a black man was sworn in as President of the United States today.  I didn't watch it live - I was having lunch in a place that didn't feature dozens of flat screen TVs.  But I heard from others that the nation was mesmerized.  One of my co-workers said that, at the restaurant he chose today, activity and conversation stopped at noon.  We were fixated.  It was a moment for us.  A moment we should be incredibly proud of.

You might find it interesting that I didn't vote for President Obama. He wasn't "my guy".  However, he is now my President.  As I watch all the news coverage tonight, it is clear that others feel the same way.  I know that it's all warm and fuzzy right now, that this is the honeymoon, that he has political capital...but this is an important time.  We needed to feel this way today.  There has been so much divisiveness in America over the past eight years.  It all started with Gore v. Bush in November 2000, which led us to a battle for the Presidency in the US Supreme Court.  Within a year, Sept 11 shocked us and led us into war in Afganistan.  Then WMD and Iraq.  2004 divided us between Bush and John Kerry.  Now the economy is in its worst state in years.

Today, America pulled together and agreed to embark on a fresh start.  We suspended our cynicism and anger and differences to celebrate a transition of power.  No place else on the earth does it happen like it does here.  We are an amazing nation.  It's true much of America is star-struck at this point.  They have bought into Obama-as-Rock-Star, Obama as Savior.  But at the same time, it's refreshing to see so much faith, so much hope, so much optimism.  The crowds strained to get a glimpse of the President and his family.  Today, the office was regal again.  It was a big deal.  There was reverence.  There was awe.  That's the way it's supposed to be.  Not to imply that Obama is Superman, but the office of the President is sacred.  Sadly, it has been diminished in recent years by the words and acts of those who have chosen to hate George W. Bush.  By people who took the privilege of free speech and freedom of the press as a license to denegrate our former President, rather than to respectfully disagree.

America shocked the world again.  We showed everyone that we are still the leaders of this planet.  We sent a message that just when you think we're on the ropes, we still have the juice to launch a flurry of punches.  We proved once again that anything is possible here.  We provided another example of why people from all over the world line up every day to get into this country.  Today was good.  It was a reminder to all that there is no one like us.

My Seven Year Old Salesperson

My youngest is in Brownies, and I am thankful for that.  Girl Scouts (and Boy Scouts) are part of a dwindling number of institutions that really focus on character development in a practical and meaningful way.  She is really enjoying it.  Currently, we are in the midst of the annual drive to sell Girl Scout Cookies.

Kids are amazing.  I have three of them, and each is different in their own wonderful way.  This one revealed something about herself to me this week.  As soon as the materials for selling the cookies were in her hands, she was ready to sell.  Furthermore, she had decided on a specific sales goal (75 boxes) that would earn her a prize that interested her.  Signs of motivation, drive, goal orientation...all good!

Today it's Sunday.  She is halfway to her goal.  It's 21 degrees outside, but despite the cold, she wanted to get out there and go after it.  So off we went, selling door to door.  It was an absolute blast.  We grownups get jaded and cynical about life, and kids just aren't "there".  My daughter absolutely believed that every house she went to, she would make a sale.  When someone said no, she cheerfully would go to the next house, no less hopeful and optimistic than before.

Boy, I could use some of that attitude some days...

She got a few no's, a few yesses and found that many people weren't at home today.  After about an hour, her cheeks were bright red and she was ready to get warm.  The tally at this moment?  She is at 41 boxes.  Still a ways to go, but three more days to get there.  Perhaps we'll go out after dinner for a bit - most folks are home on Sunday evening.

What did I get out of today?  I got to spend priceless time with one of my children, and got a reminder of how good life really is, regardless of the temperature outside or whether people are saying yes or no.  And I got it all from watching my very own seven year old salesperson.

January Reset

It’s a new year, folks.  I have a love/hate relationship with January.  I hate it because the days are short, it’s cold and lots of things “reset”.  From my years in sales, January became is the month that all the numbers reset to zero…argh!  At the same time, I love January because craziness of the holidays is over, Spring is around the corner and the endless possibilities of a new year are before me.

 

I have lived by this credo for many years: We are where we are in life due to the cumulative effect of the choices we have made.  If we want to be in a different place, we must make different choices.  Chew on that for a while.  You’ll find that it’s quite true.  The great news is that you get to choose.

 

You're as good as you want to be.  Don't make that decision lightly.

Fun With Life Alert

Here I sit, answering emails and watching TV.  As my evening draws to a close, the television commercials make their transition to late-night cheezy.  One of my favorites just appeared - Life Alert.  I must hand it to these guys - they appear to have the market cornered on senior citizen personal security.  Furthermore, they must be making some dough, because they obviously can afford to run these commercials 15 times a night.

It all started with the now-classic phrase, "I've fallen, and I can't get up!"  The phrase was originally trademarked in 1992 by LifeCall, a medical alarm company.  After the original trademark expired in 1999, it was re-registered in October 2002, by Life Alert Emergency Response, Inc.  Life Alert now has a full line of products - the classic necklace with the little warning button was the beginning.  Now they have a Dick Tracy-style wristwatch with an alarm button on it.  Have you seen the commercial with the lady getting out of the shower?  She senses that something is amiss, and pushes the button on her watch.  She's instantly in communication with a Mall-cop looking character at Life Alert headquarters.  They have a 007-like conversation, then he punches up video surveillance on this lady's house!  The Mall-cop saves the day by scaring the hoodlums away by yelling at them.  Holy smokes, how much does that all cost? 

My guess is that it's about $1,000 a month.  At least you get a Dick Tracy wristwatch and a chance to talk to some dude with bad 1970s hair if you ever need help...

Word of the Year 2009

The end of 2008 is here.   About this time each year, I begin the process of selecting a word to serve as a focal point for me over the next 12 months.  My word for this year has been "Revenue".  My goal was get involved in new business ventures that are successful and generate – you guessed it – revenue.  In reviewing the past 12 months, I am quite pleased with the results.  My business partner have created several new companies, and yes, they are producing revenue.

 

Now it's time to contemplate my Word for 2009.  I have a specific word in mind already...now I am going to ponder it over the few days, pray about it and see if I still feel strongly about it as the new year arrives.  "So what is this word, Kent?", you say.  Well, I'm not ready to reveal it yet.  However, I will comment that it's a very crisp, clear, no-nonsense, measurable word.

 

Most people don't have a Word of the Year.  Anytime it has made its way into a conversation I am having, others find it to be fascinating - something they've not considered.  A little Google research on "Word of the Year" reveals that there are websites dedicated to the matter.  Merriam-Webster has a Word of the Year contest each year.  The American Dialect Society has selected a Word of the Year every year since 1991 - typically a buzzword relevant to the year of it's choosing.  Past "words" include chad (as in "hanging chad") in 2000; WMD (weapons of mass destruction) in 2002; metrosexual in 2003 and subprime in 2007.  This year’s winner?  CHANGE.  Surprise!  My prediction for 2009?  Bailout.

 

Personally, I advocate having a Word of the Year for personal growth and development.  How about you?  Do you select a Word of the Year?  Perhaps you should.  You will be surprised at how it can focus your thoughts and actions.  It just might bailout your whole 2009.