The big cities are crumbling and there is no where to go

Detroit has filed for bankruptcy and there was a collective shake of the heads. Oh well, that is Detroit, what do you expect!

Except they are not the only ones. Years ago it was New York city, remember? Teetering on the brink of financial insolvency, the federal government ready to step in.  Forgot, didn't you.

I am from Chicago, a city that recently became number one in murder. Don't worry tourists, they are killing each other, not visitors. A ready supply of victims are mostly locals.

The city is broke, the sales tax rate is 10.5%. The state is broke too. Pension funds are tremendously underfunded.

Unemployment is very high, highways are crumbling. People are desperate. For some, gangs are the answer.

Is there a definitive cause for all this? Maybe. People who are in charge are totally out of their element with the huge problems that never seem to end. Like the saying, "we are losing money on each sale but we will make it up in volume!"

Here is the problem, there is no where to run. People are leaving the big cities but where are they going? I don't see the answer anywhere on the horizon.

You don't fix stupid with more stupid.

a morning meager cup of coffee.

ray

The smartphone has killed the small talk

We all are guilty of this. Walk into your break room, restaurant, lobby, a large group of people can not resist the urge to check their phones before making eye contact or saying hi. Forty people sit down, forty phones come out of hiding. Hoping for something important or better yet something interesting.

A moment of importance, a moment of meaning. That is all we want  and truly hopeful for being wanted if for just a moment.

Some one cares.

Is being anti social the new social? I sat down at a table and two guys were talking about cars they liked but were having troubles with models and I helped them out with some details. I found out that one guy was from Chicago, left because of the cold and snow and a small bond was formed between us. and then we moved on.

Who hasn't seen a group of people texting to each other instead of talking to each other while sitting next to each other?  Talking involves effort and focus and listening to each other. Paying attention!

what, I am sorry, I was texting...

ray

elton john's best song ever

In the name of work, there must be some pain right?

The last year of working involved a lot of sitting which meant an aching butt, sore knees, sore back and so on. Th pain of the cubicle. Lots of driving (sitting) and lots of walking.

The current job has me standing for 8-12 hours a day, lots of walking and my share of step climbing.  Most of my work life has involved walking on concrete which gives the knees and back a beating. There is also the hard knocks taken in sports and life in general that add to it all.

Am I complaining? Some, but we all have something hurting in the name of work. There is no escaping it.

I don't think there is away around it. It all catches up with you eventually. As the man said, "It is what it is."

However, you know those ideas that one gets that you think will change the world? I have a few that need to be examined and see if they are worth looking at and doing.

No pain, no gain right?

sigh...

coffee and work time!!

ray

Elon Musk, Tesla, Iron Man!

What if you gave it your all and it wasn't enough?

This last year has been a financial nightmare for me as I stumbled from one profession to another. It was almost like starting up a company with little or no qualifications but a desire (need) to move on from the tried and true that has been practiced over the years to something completely different. What was lacking though was the confidence that I would succeed, the end result was a self fulling prophecy. I failed. After a year that was my end result.

So today I go back to what I have done before, and I will do well at it.  Once again I will be like an actor on a stage playing a part. I will be selling tangible things, appliances, not ideas, not promises. Things that you can touch and see, not visualize or imagine (insurance). Has it all been a waste? Failure has not been for naught as I know how not to do something. It does clear the mind of wondering if I could.

I have learned a tremendous amount over the last year and though it may someday be only trivia, I do have facts and information stored away for future use.

My mind is aswirl in ideas that need to be tried and tested but in a part time way as the bills still need to be paid and the future to be tended to.

What I have found that if you have the courage and desire to work on straight commission that there are opportunities a plenty, after all, most of the cost is covered by you. Finding the right fit is the trick, pay is the treat.

Hope springs eternal. Execution lays the foundation for success.

coffee time

ray