Find Your Reason to Hustle

Time is All We Have. Time is the Most Precious Commodity.

I have to admit that I got really low yesterday.  I mean, more down than I've been in a long time.  I just didn't feel like a success yesterday, and it first it was kind of a pity party, but as I processed it out, I realized that it was really about knowing that I haven't made the best use of my time.  And I'm talking on a big scale, not just in the "did I get my To Do list done this week?" sense of things.

I'm going to be 36 years old in March.  Most of the time, it feels like I just got out of college yesterday, but that isn't the case.  Not even close.  That was fourteen years ago!  And it has flown by, and now I realize that I can't get that time back.  It's spent, and there is no sense that it was put to the best possible use.

I've had good health all this time.  I've been safe financially, physically, but in some ways I've been living in a kind of haze.  When you get comfortable... that's how it happens.  A routine develops.  Eating and sleeping and watching way too much TV.  Did you know the average American now watches 31 hours of TV each week?  We lose an entire day each week, more than a month of each year, sitting and watching a stupid box.  And time just keeps ticking away.

There are people out there living their passions, inventing things and creating art and music and doing good work that helps others... but I'm all caught up on Battlestar Galactica, so I've got that going for me. 

There has to be an increased awareness of time, and the value of time.  I've got to appreciate the time I have now while I'm healthy and able to do things.  I've got to use the time I have now in a more productive, constructive way.  I have to make this time count.  Now.

My Wood Splitting Zen Moment

I recently had a tree cut down in my back yard, a large silver maple.  It had become diseased in a spot that I feared would make it more susceptible to falling one day, and it was close enough to my house to be a concern.  When the tree service cut it down, most of the wood was in excellent shape, but we don't burn wood at our house.  My neighbor told me he had a friend who did, and I told him his friend could have the wood for free.  Cord wood isn't cheap anymore; the man showed up at my house within an hour of being offered the wood.

At its thickest parts, the maple was over two feet thick.  I worked at my desk by a window as the man worked on splitting some sections that were about 20 inches across.  He was driving two metal wedges into the piece using a sledgehammer to get it to split apart, and taking a lot of swings to do so.  Then, when he got it to split in half, he would split those pieces using a maul.

My father's voice crept into my ear. 

"You gotta' hit it right on the edge.  Once it pops, you're all set."

I spent a fair amount of my youth cutting wood with my father.  We always had a wood stove growing up, and Dad loved to work in the woods and harvest our own fuel.  He loved the money he saved from not having to buy as much oil, but he also loved the work itself.  I hated it.  It was boring and hard and not fun at all to me.  Even now, as I looked out the window, I fought the urge to go out, but just couldn't resist.  I threw on some shoes and a sweatshirt and headed out back.

"How's it going?" I asked.

"These lower portions are so big... really tough to get apart" he replied.

"Let me show you something" I said.  "You're putting your wedges inside too much.  In fact, you really don't even need the wedges.  You just need to hit it right on the edge and pop the outside layer."  He looked at me incredulously.  My neighbor had told me he was an engineer.  He saw his use of the wedges as a reasonable arrangement of force and leverage and all that.

I picked up the maul, took a swing, and landed a bit too much on the inside of the piece.  It left a mark, but bounced.  My next swing landed right next to it.  Another bounce.  The third swing, though, caught the piece right on the outside edge, and a loud pop rang out from the wood.  A ten inch crack appeared from where I struck the wood into the center.  I struck another blow on the other side of the piece, and it fell into two halves.  In four swings I had done what took him over twenty using the two wedges.  The look on his face was priceless.  I repeated the process on two more pieces, just to show him it wasn't a fluke.  It took even less swings on those.  Then I headed back inside.

Fathers teach their sons a lot of things, and they don't always explain why.  Often times it's just "do this."  In my youth, I got angry in these moments, but today I understand that my father was trying to give me a wide array of skills so that I could do things for myself.  Cutting wood has always been a good example of that.  Very few people cut their own wood today, but those who do save a lot of money and provide themselves and their families with heat.  Choosing to invest your time and energy instead of your money is hustling, and it frees up your money to go to something else. 

Thanks, Dad.

Generation X Joins in the Recession Grumbling

An article by the Associated Press reports that Generation X, the 32-44 year-olds wedged in between the Baby Boomers and Gen Y youth, are jumping on the "this recession insn't fair" bandwagon.  That's no surprise.  Why should any generation be immune to the way things have gone economically?  What's interesting is the particular perspective that Gen X'ers have.

The Boomers got whacked by this whole thing right when they should have been retiring and living the good life.  They lost so much when the stock market went south that now they have to keep working.  It's understandable that they be frustrated and sad.

The Gen Y crowd is angry because they can't find jobs, since the boomers aren't retiring.  They're also angry because they didn't think they would have to take entry-level jobs (part of their much criticized personality of entitlement).  I can absolutely see how that would be anxiety-producing.

The Gen X'ers, in contrast, have already started their careers, and many have held multiple jobs by now.  They should be taking over in upper management as the Boomers retire, but they aren't getting to do so.  Plus, they're losing jobs in downsizing, and having to make the choice between doing the same job for someone else at less pay than they used to do it for, or losing that job opportunity to a Gen Y kid who is willing to start at that lower pay (yes, there are a few of them).

Everybody's going to feel this thing somehow.  Nobody's going to be truly immune.  Some of us are just going to feel it less than others.  But you've got to stop looking for someone to blame, and start looking at what you can do to improve your own situation.  Reduce your spending, eliminate your debt, and don't let your ego get in the way of how you earn money.   

How's Your Golf Game? Need Inspiration? Meet Butch Lumpkin.

The vast majority of golfers, worldwide, shoot over 100.  Butch Lumpkin shoots in the 70's.  Did I mention that he has no arms?  Get a little perspective on life.  Watch this video.

Many Jobs Will Never Return. What Should You Do?

Read this article from the Wall Street Journal and then think about where you're at.  Is it in your best interests to wait for a new job to open in your current field?  Or should you be thinking about switching careers? 

In my experience working with people, the average person waits for an opportunity to present itself.  There is something to be said for having this kind of patience, but it could also be argued that if you do this you're just wasting time.  Every week that goes by that you're not earning puts you in a tougher place.  Every day that goes by where you're not advancing your own cause is a lost day. 

There's no perfect answer, but do yourself a favor and step back from your situation every now and then to evaluate what's going on; don't get tunnel vision.  If you're truly passionate about your work and you are committed to your profession for the long haul, then focus your energy on getting a new job in that profession.  But if you only want to stay in that profession because it's comfortable and you don't know what else you would do, you could be headed for trouble.

Here's My Biggest Fear

My intention in creating this blog was to provide a source of information and inspiration so that others might be moved to action.  I didn't want to make a million dollars off this blog, or get famous off this blog (both of which I am definitely NOT doing, so there are two successes, I guess).  Since I started the blog, I've pretty much used it as a way to centralize news items that connect to the recession, how it's affecting people, and how some people are doing well in spite of it.  Then, one day I realized that I wasn't really bringing myself to the blog, and I think that good blogs connect the writer to the audience.

It would be easy to think that I'm writing this blog as some kind of expert.  That's usually what people do, right?  They pick a topic and write everything they know about it for others to consume.  That's not what I am trying to do.  For me, this blog is a constant reminder of my own weakness; a lack of hustle.  This blog is my chance to role model what I know I need to do, and what I think millions of other people need to do. 

We all get afraid on a daily basis.  Fear is a natural part of life.  My biggest fear, the one that comes to me on an almost daily basis, is that I am wasting time.  Each day that goes by, I am reminded of something that I didn't get done, something that may have taken me one step closer to being the better version of me that I wish to be.  The time that could have been spent taking that step is lost.  Gone forever.

Your life is just time.  It's all about how much you can get done before the time runs out.  I'm 35 years old, but I think I've probably only lived about 20 years worth of good living, and that's nobody's fault but mine.  I've watched WAY too much TV.  I've said "no" too many times when I should have taken the opportunity.  If I died today, I wouldn't complain because I've had a really nice, easy life, but I certainly would feel disappointed because my life could have had a lot more substance to it than it's had so far.

In this regard, I don't think I'm much different from the average American.  I believe we are a good people, but a spoiled people.  I believe that we have all the resources to be the greatest society the Earth has ever known, but we definitely are not headed in that direction.  Too many of us are not maximizing our time, this one life that we are given. 

I can't be responsible for others, but I am responsible for myself, and that is my greatest freedom.  If I am going to make this blog a thing of substance, then I must challenge myself as I challenge others.  I have to make the time I have matter, and the only way to do that is to hustle.

Finding Money for College

The recession has some states reducing their funding of college programs, and shrinking endowments have tightened the purse strings at many schools, as well.  Families have taken the hit on their investment funds, so there's less money to pay tuition.  It can be pretty scary if you're a college student right now.  How do you pay the bills?

U.S. News and World Report has put together an article that gives you some helpful advice.  Read it, use it, and keep hustling!

Money Lessons Learned from the Recession

Here's a quick, but helpful article from U.S. News and World Report online.  It gives you six lessons that the recession has taught many people.  Really they are nothing new, but many people are learning them for the first time.

Comparing Boomers to Millenials: Perspectives on Recession Vary

The recession is an economic state, an abstract idea with very concrete realities for each and every one of us.  Each person will see this time in our history a little differently, but there will be common trends among certain groups of people.  Age is one of those groupings that will tend to influence perspectives.

How boomers experience this recession will be quite different from how millenials perceive it.  This article by Melissa Hahn explores the varied reactions people are having.  It's quite interesting.

Grads Still Adjusting to Reality After College

"In 2007 when we surveyed students, over 50 percent of the class had a job offer before graduation. This year it was 19.7 percent."
    -Edwin Koc, Research Director for the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Many college grads are still without work.  Some have given up and decided to go to graduate school to buy (no pun intended) some more time.  Others have moved past the idea of working for someone else and have started their own companies.  Plenty have moved back in with Mom and Dad.

The reality is that potential employers can now look for candidates with not only a degree, but experience, and they can offer those candidates less money than they would have offered a year or two ago.  That leaves grads with fresh degrees and little or no experience out in the cold.  Some companies are offering unpaid internships so that grads can get that experience, but many won't take them, feeling it's beneath them. 

This is one of the strangest times I've ever witnessed in my life.  Share your thoughts and experiences.