It occurred to me that she, like most of her friends, boys and girls alike, really never got their hands “dirty.” Clearly the entire generation has grown up in a pre-built, ready to run world that did not even require instructions to be read for most things to operate. So let’s see what this has to do with a productive and innovative America that will someday retake the worlds markets.

To compare to a time I was part of, let’s go back to those of us that grew up in the old days. From our earliest ages we were hands on. We built our toys and our go carts. We fixed up old bikes. We worked alongside our parents fixing their cars, fixing their TV’s, and of course getting the lawnmower to run. We had shop class and vocational training, and the trades were skills we learnt before we graduated high school. Solving problems was an everyday chore. Thinking and innovating got your car running and every problem was a challenge you had to meet, or at least find someone close to help you by. Our hobbies challenged us at every level, and brought out our early passions. In fact, the number one rule was that nothing came easy, you built it or fixed it after breaking it. You learned to be careful and to conserve, to be patient and observant. Success was hard to come by, and the ultimate reward of it was felt sometimes for a lifetime.

So what does this really have to do with our solution to our dismal performance in the new world markets? Our nation needs services and products that are desirable in the world markets. We must simply make things in order to survive.

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“Good luck,” said the manager to the salesperson leaving for an important sales call. “Wish me luck,” said the student to his mother as he left for school to take an important test. “Boy, were we lucky,” said the lawyer to his partners after winning the case.

You’ve probably heard it said that “Luck is when opportunity and preparation meet,” and “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” These are really truisms.

Take fishing for example. The people who consistently catch fish have a knowledge of the species — the feeding habits of fish, their preferred water temperature and clarity. They invest the time to study and then apply what they learn by keeping records of productive fishing spots, weather conditions, type of bait or lure used, and the speed of retrieval used.

And isn’t that exactly what the “professional” does in any chosen field — eliminating the possibilities of failure and using the experience of others to ensure the positive results they are after?

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When the going gets tough, the tough have a smart game plan. And with over 2 million jobs lost in 2008, the situation is definitely getting tough.

Fortunately, the US has relieved our 26 million small businesses—those which gross $15 million or less in profits annually[1]–in more ways than one with its 2009 Recovery Plan.

The new plan not only gives small businesses tax breaks and credits, it also plans to give your customers more money by providing them jobs. In the meantime, though, one of the best ways you can take advantage of the plan is by carefully investing in the future with updated technology and energy efficient solutions.

Even for larger businesses that don’t directly benefit from the recovery plan, making these types of changes while business is slower can prepare you for when the economy picks up.

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Quote
of the
Month

Freedom is never free.