It's All about HOW You Look at It

I've been guilty of being a negative nancy and playing the blame game. My wife even called me out on it last night. And it really does play out in your daily life if you take that kind of attitude. You defeat yourself. I've always had some family say "You'll turn your liver." "You'll put your eye out"(dad really did put his eye out so he's got me on that one). My mom and dad have been great though because they always back my decisions, so I've always managed to move forward despite my outlook.

Lately, I've been taking the mentality of "You get out of it what you put in" and it really helps keep me motivated. It's hard sometimes to not make excuses. That's my own self taught diversionary tool. But having kids and a wife who trust you changes your mindset. Plus kids just don't know you can't do things. They just think stuff happens. They're positive, upbeat, energetic and keep you pumped up every day.

This whole economy has people running in fear but it's had the opposite effect on me. It's made me realize that we are in a bind because we blame it all on something else. There is a credit crisis because we got greedy. People want stuff so they get it on credit. We spoil ourselves with cars, gadgets, computers, power tools, hybrids, carbon fiber, titanium, granite, cedar, performance, turbo, designer, brand name and custom fit.

Our whole economy has been about buying stuff. George Carlin talked about it 20 years ago that we had too much stuff in our boxes. Now, we've gotten bigger, more massive boxes with all the latest gadgetry and filled them full of 3-4 times what we did 20 years ago, yet no one is really working harder. Nobody's producing something the rest of us actually NEED. Americans are the middleman to the world, distributors of WANTS. What do humans NEED?

It's simple. Food. Water. Shelter. Utilities. Clothes. Safety. Energy. America used to supply almost all of these. Now, we merely distribute for the world. We don't make products, we have shipped here then mailed to the world. Clothes, supplies, housing, energy and food are all SUPPLIED by everyone else in the world. Soon, the world will not need the middleman, just like Wal-Mart didn't.

But the simple answer to all our problems is for Americans to work hard. Supply the world things it MUST have, not luxuries. We must become important and vital. That means getting out of the gadget business and providing the world the basic necessities of life. We are all starting to realize broadband wireless phones with internet and $4.00 Starbucks coffees and in home wired control panels, surround sound theatre plasma electronics are useless for success or happiness.

Get out. Do, not buy....STUFF!