Now is the Time

There comes a time when a person knows something has to change. At first what needs changing eludes identification. So much does need changing it is hard to pick which gets our first attention.

For example, it’s time for the news. In years past this was the late afternoon, pre-dinner cocktail hour. The 5 o’clock news, a scotch on the rocks, a few cigarettes and the news to bring me up to date. What was happening, how did the stocks end their day, how bad or good was the weather today and what’s in store for tomorrow? You know the sort of thing.

Over time this ritual takes on a different meaning. The cigarettes become unpleasant, unsatisfying; even the scotch loses its allure. But the news? Brother, it drones on and on with less and less meaning or timeliness. Boring. Predictable. Two-sided, maybe biased.

So changes were made. Fewer cigarettes was one change. Scotches were counted. Then different news channels were tried. In the end it came to the same disappointing result – the good was boring and the boring was bad.

So, smoking was eliminated. So too the scotch.

These changes, however, did not save the news hour from being boring. So the news was eliminated. No more TV news. What was reported didn’t interest me and the why was always elusive but suggested anyway. I searched for an alternative.

I found it in internet news items from trusted suppliers (Associated Press reports, BBC items, New York Times articles, NPR and IPR articles, etc.). I found these offerings complete with cited articles and research papers. Data was present to be scanned. Research questions were posed and partly answered. The unfolding weight of the stories were allowed their own tempo.

In this way the evening news/cocktail hour was eliminated and re-programmed.

Over time, say a year or two, other habits changed. More novels were read. New non-fiction books were investigated. The mind was engaged in finding perspective from a world of stimuli. Questions formed. Always with an open ending – who? What? In what order? When? Why?

The questions were enough for a few years. Eventually, however, they demanded a response rather than more searching.  Foundational ideas were sought. Something that told me what was important to me, what needed focus by others, and where we were headed, not just me, but everyone on this planet.

I know, that’s a huge thought! Who am I to even pose the question let alone wrap my head around the idea.

At some point, though, I had to do it. Pose the question and idea. Don’t you do this as well?

As we mature I think it is natural to fit disparate ideas and happenings into a shared context to better understand their meaning and value.

I recall staring at a sunset. Ever changing in color and intensity until fading slowly it disappears. What did I just witness? Was it only for that string of moments or was it of long-term weight? The quick response was it was for the moments only. And the ideas those moments called forth in response.

Beholding beauty – view – vista – scenes – is an act all by itself but it holds meaning and impact on our lives. It changes our thinking. We build a world view from these moments. They change us. But when we contemplate them seriously we are informed by them.

How often do we contemplate these matters? Are we systematically piecing things together? Are we informed by our life experience? Do we do this consciously and intentionally? If yes, great! If not, why not?

Perhaps now is the time to contemplate what it all means. Maybe it is time we took a stab at understanding our lives and what’s happening?

I’ve been doing this for some time now; still need to do more but more importantly, I need to extract more understanding from this process.

How about you?

March 17, 2015

Taking Step Two

A lot has happened in the last few months, 6 to 8 weeks specifically. 

The happenings are seen as daily events, routines of life. We don’t set out necessarily to do something different, we just do it. For some reason we decide to handle an event differently than we have in the past.

This presents a fresh set of experiences. New stimuli. Even a new perspective emerges. That alone is empowering. So we think a little bit more about it and suddenly we are breaking old molds, shaping new patterns, and living life a little differently.

Renewal evolves like that. Say your working for the same employer 15 to 18 years and you realize one day that the hopes and dreams you started with are not yet realized. As new agendas appear and become routine your old dreams are set aside yet again. And so it goes, over and over until one day you say to yourself – ‘what is the point of all of our work?’  Are we getting where we wanted to go? Am I getting where I wanted go?

In an uneasy flash we see clearly that the answers to both questions are no.

The next question is why?

Then the cascade begins. New ideas, new routines, better work methods and a yearning to make a difference someway, somehow. This isn't about making a living anymore. It is living in a way that matters. That appears more and more as an awareness and common theme.

Suddenly I’m looking for another work relationship, a project, a plan, that will absorb creativity, attention, inventiveness all for a riveting objective. Whatever it is. Whoever is involved. It the new grail – the search for purpose.

Old relationships are de-emphasized, even old careers are disengaged. A new partnership is entered to attempt to get better things accomplished.

Reinventing myself is hard to do. Same for you. But we all are asked to do this from time to time. Sometimes it is an opportunity that beckons from unexpected origins. Other times we recognize an opportunity that has been staring us in the face for a long time. We are now sensitive and aware that the opportunity is real and needs our attention.

We re-invent ourselves on our own terms as well. The mid-life crisis might be the stimulant, but most likely we just get tired of the same old thing and need new ideas to make life interesting. We switch to another career. Or we catch the entrepreneurial bug and start our own business. Whatever, asked or not, we are likely to be vulnerable to major life changes. Maybe twice or three times. Retirement is an automatic major change. The same impulses are at work then as in earlier moments of life changing circumstances.

For the lazy there are few opportunities. One does what one has been doing. Over and over again. For years and years, and then retirement, then a few trips and finally death.

For the ambitious (not boring) person opportunities exist in unlimited forms. Much to do, many ways to do each and every one of them, and the ability to address each is very much a given to each of us.

Unlimited possibilities. Which ones make the most sense for me? Or for you? Which ones ought to be explored first, then second and third? What are the priorities in need of settling? What transition work is needed to make the change? What preparations should we make? Do we even have to consider if this change is safe?

Quite doubtful. In this atmosphere change is inevitable and we know we have to make it. So we do. And logic is followed as surely as night follows day.

What could be easier? Why would it be unsafe?

The future beckons and it offers excitement. The juices begin to flow. And the ideas.

March 16, 2015

Thought for the Day

Love this quote:

            Economics 101:

                        We can’t have a consumer-based economy

                        If consumers can’t afford to consume.”

                                                ~Facebook.com/NoTeaParty

It companions well with this quote from President Franklin D. Roosevelt:

“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”

Now place both of these in context with today’s congressional ‘discussions’. Sad isn’t it?

March 14, 2015

Back to Basics

       

Lately I’ve written a lot about a local matter. It’s time to return to commenting on issues large and small.

Found on the internet over the past few weeks are several quotes I’d like to write about. Today I will select three.

The first,

“Connect with people who are excited about celebrating people and not destroying people.”  ~Marcusgill.org

What a wonderful thought! Every newscast seems to be about people hurting other people either physically or mentally. Then there are the political items in which ideological enemies strike out at each other. Rather than focusing on what we can build together, or invent collaboratively, we settle on what’s wrong with the other guy. Not very healthy for any of the parties.

How refreshing to spend time with people who see the world as opportunity and possibility. Life is given by those people and in those times spent with them. Exciting and fulfilling. With these rewards so evident why don’t we spend more time with these people?

The second,

“If a doctor, lawyer or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble and the doctor, lawyer or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher’s job.”  ~Donald D. Quinn

Simply put, no other professional but a teacher puts up with this. Oh, maybe a group therapist would/does, but then not for long!

The creative field for the teacher is the chaos of the minds of younger people. The challenge is to bring order to the chaos and help them accept their surroundings in order to learn. The process is the gold that brings order from chaos. Together the students learn about each other and themselves. The gold is experienced not seen or touched. And then used over and over again to expand the universe.

The third,

“A perfect person

doesn't smoke,

doesn't drink,

doesn't cry,

doesn't fail and

Doesn't exist.”           

~Anonymous

Well let’s see, I don’t smoke, or drink; haven’t for many years. But I still do cry and boy have I failed, even recently! So I guess I’m in pretty good company. How about you?

March 13, 2015

Letting Go

OK, I quit the newspaper as managing editor. Trouble is I’m a co-founder as well. The legal papers say three of us own equal parts of the paper. I don’t know how that figures because we have differing dollars invested in the paper. In fact the other two were funding our operations without my knowing it because at the time my finances were in shambles.

We have managed to pay down those interest-free loans. In my case entirely paid off. But then I didn't lend the enterprise a lot of money. Later I couldn't lend it any.  But the other two guys kept writing checks. A lot of them.

Yes, we have paid one down to only a working balance of about $5000. The other co-founder probably has $10,000 riding on the books.  If the newspaper closes its doors, they don’t get paid. I don’t like that very much. I’d rather we kept the paper going until we can pay the two guys off completely. If we can do that, we are also saving the paper for the community. And that I like a whole lot.

We started the paper for the community. It has been a non-profit, all-volunteer organization from the start. To help pay the bills we entered the Winfield market. We attempted to address the West Chicago market but didn't find a group of citizens willing to write for the paper without pay. So West Chicago has been a non-starter. With the right outreach, however, I still think West Chicago would benefit from having its own coverage.

All of that is moot if the paper shuts down. None of the three communities ends up with a paper.

For now I’m getting some interest in keeping the paper alive in Warrenville. I think those people are reluctant to jump into running a newspaper; they don’t know how to do that. But neither did we at the beginning. We saw a need and did what we did to meet the need.

If it helps I will volunteer to be a coach to help new people take on the paper. If my help is seen as a barrier, I’ll step aside. Immediately.  Pretty simple offer.

It is a lot of work and not for the faint of heart. It is important for the community to take charge of its own paper. Are you willing to get involved?

If yes, let others know so this can become a group effort. Let me know if I can help.

March 12, 2015

Want a Local Paper?

Several blogs ago I announced my intention to remove myself from the local paper. I said that this decision was caused by the members of the paper’s management team developing divergent directions. They were each going in their different ways and that essentially was dissolving the team itself.

It takes time to do that. Dissolving is not done overnight. Routines are kept because it is easy to do. So we printed another issue of the paper. We have one ahead of us as well. There are obligations that need to be fulfilled. Advertisers have bought space and we will honor that.

Other obligations exist as well. One is honesty and credibility with the public. That requires a high standard to fulfill. It also takes discipline of thought and effort to bring off.

Last fall, we realized the bills would not be paid if we published twice a month. The first issue actually made money while the second issue was nearly an entire loss. So the first issue subsidized the second and we felt this was not right.  So we killed the second issue to see what effect it would have.

The public didn’t really notice right away. It took five months before people realized we were only publishing once each month. But we noticed something else. The public didn’t send us as much information as they had before. Our data resources were drying up. The calendar was cut in half. Announcements of key events went by the wayside. So too notices of deaths. The paper’s flow of information was shutting down.

We did not do that. Shutting down. It was a happenstance of our actions, but we didn’t plan on it. As the calendar producer I noticed it first. Then I noticed that few obituaries were being submitted to us. Finally I noticed the family and children’s clothing sale at the Fire Department was being announced by yard signs rather than a public relationship release to the paper. Also, Facebook postings were increasing for local events as well as announcements of actual news items.

An in-town armed robbery occurred and was solved in less than 24 hours. The criminals were in jail and no one was hurt. The mayor announced this over Facebook and was picked up by many others in town. The item never hit the newspaper.

So, pulling back the publishing schedule caused shrinkage of coverage and content. That is the death knell of any publication I think.

So here’s the deal. If our community wants a newspaper, it will have to be worked for by those same people who care. The ones who have done this for seven years are pooped. They need help. They have asked for help. They have received some help, but not enough.

If the community wants it, they have a ready made paper to take on. They will need a managing editor, an executive editor, writers, ad sales people and a host of other willing souls. The existing paper has had all of that in the past. From willing volunteers. Without enough support from the community, however, they have run out of steam.

Some of them may be willing to remain in place. Others are more than willing to train new people to replace themselves.

The key question, however, is this: Does Warrenville want a newspaper? Is the community willing to work for it?  It costs $4000 to produce a 12-page issue complete with overhead expenses. Note: this does not include the cost of writing; all such has been volunteered to this point. No one should assume this to continue!

The mechanism of the paper exists. The know-how exists. The need exists. New people with fresh energy are needed. Might you be willing?

March 11, 2015

Being Asked Again

Yesterday’s blog was a long one. About double the size of my normal posts. But it was the basis of some thoughts I think need to be explored.

Being asked for help is a two sided proposal.  First, being asked to help or lend a hand is an invitation for you, or me, to get involved in something of value for the good of the relationship or community or cause that many support. We often sit on the sidelines and wonder how others got involved when in fact, the opportunity to do so exists most of the time. All we need to do is respond to a request for help and involvement. Then we are in, involved, part of the scene that is making something happen. If you believe in it, explore it. Get involved. Step forward. Know that your help is always needed. Volunteer. Or wait to be asked. But if asked, for heaven’s sake, respond. Say yes. Do something positive.

Second, being asked for help requires us each to have courage, take the leap and say yes. The courage is needed, I think, because we don’t always know if we are capable of doing something. Truth be told, we don’t know if we do have the capability until we test ourselves. Try it. If it works, keep at it and acquire more skills and confidence in doing more of the same. If you do this, you might just be on the road to a new expertise. I might add, you are on the road to an expertise you didn't know you had!

That’s a pleasant surprise. We learn throughout life that we are more capable than we give ourselves credit for. And we often have the opportunity to become an expert in something that we hadn't fathomed before. The expertise comes with experience and skills honed through challenges well met. The expertise, by the way, remains with you as long as you practice it. Let up a little and you will lose a lot of the expertise. Take a prolonged vacation from the practice and you will most likely lose the expertise entirely. Forever.

But that aspect is not the feature of this post today. No, I want to focus on being asked, being ready to be asked, and having the courage to say yes.

We Americans have a good life but it has become too easy. We actually expect things to be good and well provided. Streets and highways are to be well built and maintained. They are supposed to be where they are because that is where we want and need to go. Schools, too, are supposed to be in the right place offering the right programs at the right time. If there is a problem we expect the problem to be taken care of, eliminated, fixed. The same with local infrastructure – water, sewer, communication networks, power grid and natural gas distribution. Whether owned and operated by a unit of local government or a public corporation, we expect the systems we rely on daily to be managed properly and expertly.

Until they don’t function as expected. Then we have a tizzy fit. We shout at the board of education, the city council, the village board of trustees, or the utility customer service agent. The former seats of authority might provide you some results; the latter most likely won’t (customer service agents).

My point is not to complain or expect consistent operating results. No, my point is this: don’t take so much for granted; get involved with the things you think are important and need some help to be better.

Every organization needs people within it dedicated to the mission and long term vision of the organization. Yes there are workers who do as they are told and expect salaries and bonuses if they exceed their performance objectives, but such folks often are not the vision people every organization needs if it is to succeed for the long term.

The same goes for public authority bodies. Active citizens who care that their communities, counties and states function properly today and for the long term are needed to get the job done. There is more to be done than there are ready hands to do the work, let alone the ready minds prepared and able to do the more difficult tasks of planning, organizing and asset acquisition necessary to prepare for the future.

If people come together to do these works in good faith a magical thing happens. Context erupts.

This is subtle. Often those involved don’t even know it is occurring. But small truths are discovered. We see them as facts. We work at something we don’t know, explore it and research it. We learn things. Small at first, we later place them together to see what might happen and we learn even more things. We expand our understanding of how the issues work together. They develop a context of meaning and performance relationships.

From this context we learn that other issues and problem areas have related solutions and dependencies. And those enrich our body of knowledge so we can perform well in a multitude of arenas for the organization.

Doing leads to understanding. Understanding leads to knowing.

This is not a perfect thing. Many things change enough and often enough to upset what we had understood earlier. So more doing is required. To keep us fresh and up-to-date.

Entering the context at some point pulls us into knowing and understanding. We can only do that by willingly getting involved and becoming a part of the whole enterprise. It starts with being willing, screwing up the courage to try, and hearing the plea for help.

Are you listening? Are you willing? And…?

March 10, 2015