The Way Out of this Dismal Economy

This past week we had the THRILL of riding the DJIA down a pretty steep incline, dropping 513 in 8 hours. It would have been a rush if it was a roller coaster moving that quickly. And this was outdone today with another drop by over 600 points in the Dow-Jones average.
“These are times that try men’s souls,” Thomas Paine once wrote.
Whether we remain in the land of the free and the home of the brave or become an expat in an attempt to avoid these volatile times, there is stability. There is Hope. There is a bright future for us.
Yes, hope springs eternal.
What matters is what is inside you, not what happens on Wall Street. You are much more than cars, large houses and clothes. “You have been fearfully and wonderfully made,” as the good book says.
You can cry out like Chicken Little about the “Sky is falling.” It seems many of our leaders in Washington have taken this position. They seem to run after one symptom, then another. If we all painted our houses green, a re-enactment of the citizens of Oz running to the wizard because “He’ll know what to do” would be in order.
You see how well our political leaders are able to control the situation.
So, rather than depending on the manure on the banks of the Potomac, why not take care of things where you are?
My grandparents owned a small convenience – grocery store for several decades. In fact, the building and the business remain, although it is different owners now. During the Great Depression, my grandparents took care of the neighborhood in many ways. For instance, they had accounts and when their neighbors did not have the money to pay for their food that week, it was charged to their account.
For years afterwards, and up through the 1950s, my grandparents customers would come in to make their weekly payment on their account.
It’s no different today. In fact, this is one of the ways you can beat Wal-Mart every day of the week. Since your convenience store is a part of the community, you take care of the community. Wal-Mart can take care of Bentonville – you take care of YOU-ville.
Will you have a bank book as large as the big box stores doing this? Probably not. But, then, your business is not about you – it’s about your customers. In fact, if you take care of your customers in this fashion, you’ll never have another customer – you’ll only have clients!
We’ve lived through a tough ten years or so. The next ten years may make the last ten seem like a calm before the store. During these years we have realized that nothing outside of ourselves and our own efforts can be depended upon. Washington and the politicians cannot. Businesses the size of General Motors and Chrysler combined cannot. Bank or America and Lehman Brothers cannot. US Army Core of Engineers cannot.
Only we can.
The only question that remains is whether you will sit, watch, shake your head and reflect that “It isn’t what it used to be” or will you take the economy – the only economy that affects you and the only economy you have any control over – and make a difference.
By doing so, you’ll become more successful than you ever dreamed possible, because your thoughts, words and actions will reflect one theme to your clients – that of “You Are Loved.”
Never forget the three ingredients that football coach Lou Holtz says about all successful teams. They answer YES to the following three questions:
- Can I trust You?
- Do You Care About Me?
- Are You Committed to Excellence?

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