What A Great Time To Be Alive

I read today that the American economy was going to undergo a basic change - the kind of change that has not been seen in many years. Sometime during the 1960's and 70's we went from being a manufacturing based economy to a service based economy. What does this mean?

Well, at one time we actually made things that people bought; we created 'goods.' These goods were anything from steel to automobiles to televisions and radios. We were the world's leader. We made things better than anyone in the world. Yes, I know some of you might not fully agree, but from where I sit, it's true. But, even if we were number two, we still made items that were sold on the world's market.

Then, we transformed into a service based economy. We were supplying services to one another and to everyone. We, the United States, developed great consultants who would tell us how to do business better. Did they create 'things' we could sell? No. We created theme parks that had as a 'product' happiness. Is happiness something we can sell like a ton of steel or a car? Can we export a trailer full of happiness? I don't think so.

So, the economy is going to change and it's a great time to re-invent ourselves. I've said it before and will say it again - any economy is going to need sales people, managers, IT experts, accountants, visionaries - every task and job it takes to run a business, but you just have to look at things perhaps a bit differently. You are going to have to think about the cost of goods - the cost of raw materials to make a product. Or, you are going to have to think about the cost of mining; be knowledgeable about manufacturing; or, be able to manage people, machinery and processes. Those who cal and will adapt will do just fine as they create their new life.

Or, you can be the visionary with a big idea. It's the visionaries who have led economic revolutions. Think Henry Ford and the production line. He had the idea of making cars based on moving them through a factory instead of moving people from one car to the next. He flipped the process. But it took vision to do that. Mr. Ford's idea took the world by storm and now any production process is based on the product coming to you. Cars are still mass produced in the method that was introduced almost 100 years ago!

It doesn't have to be a visionary like Henry Ford to be a leader for the new economy. Maybe it's just having an idea to improve a product process incrementally - just a little bit - and you can have a large impact. Or, maybe you develop a new way of capturing solar, wind or geothermal power that is more efficient. Or, maybe you have a new way to control that power. Or, sell that power to people. Or, you can see how a utility company might install panels on every home so each dwelling produces their own energy from the Sun. How exciting would that be?!

You have the talent to change our economy and make it better. Wouldn't it be exciting to be the person who makes us independent of foreign oil? Or, the person who makes us an exporting nation, instead of one that imports from other countries? Why can't we export green energy solutions?

My point is that it's an exciting time to be alive and able to work. It's a time of creativity and imagination. It's a time to find your new life and define it yourself, instead of letting another define what kind of life you have. Your life is in your hands. Nurture it (get the training you need) and it will grow bigger than you ever imagined it would.