About This Blog
Welcome! I am a Rust Belt native who grew up watching a way of life and an economy slowly fall apart around me. I grew up searching for a better like — which makes me like many middle class Americans. I moved to Washington, DC to be in a more robust area. I became a social services professional and later a futurist, an entrepreneur, and a business coach, all options made possible by a growing economy. As my financial situation improved, so did my understanding of how to see and take advantage of opportunities – and my happiness with my life.
Our current troubling recession has knocked the underpinnings out of my, and perhaps your, trajectory. The loss of national wealth we are now experiencing can be expected to lead to a decline in our standard of living. This is not an ordinary recession…it will be brutal.
I’m not willing to let my view of life return to the pessimism that characterizes stagnant areas such as the Rust Belt. I don’t want to see our national “can-do” character erode. Nor do I want to see others resort to the pessimism that comes from and perpetuates financial trouble.
I’m looking for readers who want to look deeper than money to find their meaning in life. Who are willing to be flexible and adventuresome when all around them is doom and gloom. And who are willing to look not just at themselves but at their relationship with others as key to living well in the years ahead.
My values changed profoundly when I started a business nearly 20 years ago. I ceased being a consumer and started becoming someone who could create value – create wealth. I learned to see the investment value of money and time, not just the consumption value.
And much to my surprise, I became a better person. I cut fewer corners, I worked harder than I ever had, and I valued ethical behavior more, because I saw clearly that my business ethics created my world. My way of seeing the world become unrecognizable to those invested in the notion of a career path with certain rewards.
I think this recession sounds the death knell for our stable assumptions of linear progress in our careers and our lives. I’ve spent two decades learning to live differently, and now I am offering what I have learned to help those looking for a footing in this current recession.
So, this blog is more than a small business blog, more than a personal development blog, and more than a career blog. It’s a blog that recognizes that your relationship with money is fundamental to all of those things. This recession is a game changer. I hope this blog can become a place for your safe landing.
I call the blog Recession-Proof Thinking because I believe that how you think is the most important thing that will keep economic reversals from stealing your spirit and soul. But Thinking must be followed by Action.
One action I recommend is starting your own business. It can be a side activity, or it can be your main gig. You may have several different small businesses. And the good news is that today’s tools mean you likely can turn your interests (heretorfore just personal) into a source of income.
And we are back to money: The transition to the entrepreneurial life in a deep recession requires a different set of expectations and strategies about money.
You can take the recession a call to “restore” the ground you’ve lost. Or to envision the ground you’d like to gain and move toward it with a spirit of open-heartedness, adventure, (and financial savvy, of course).
I think you know where I stand! If you agree, join me!
