Thanks, Mr. President

No doubt hearing the cries of Tea Party attendees last week, President Obama bravely slashed $100 million dollars from the budget. $100 million dollars is a lot of money. That is, unless you compare it to the rest of the budget. Let's do some math. At least seven or eight trillion dollars has been created and injected into the economy. My calculator won't go that high, so I got out a big piece of paper and starting dividing. It turns out that it is 1/70,000 or .00001.

My first reaction was laughter. I thought I had accidentally stumbled upon The Onion web site. Nope. Turns out it was legitimate news. I had to ask myself, "What kind of nation have we become that we allow our leaders to insult us so roundly?"

Of course, we know exactly why Obama is doing this. It is to take our minds off what he and the rest of the government (our government) are not telling us about the financial crisis. When the truth comes out, will we fall for yet another cynical ploy like this one?

Routines and Reality

Life is full of routines. We tend to eat the same foods, frequent the same places, and even put our clothes on in the same order over and over. Disrupting our routines can be unnerving or it can be invigorating, depending on how we look at it. Try putting your pants on "other leg" first and see what I mean.

Our economy is full of routines as well. The baker knows how much bread to bake because a certain number of people routinely buy a certain amount from him/her. This allows the baker to plan ahead of time, neither baking too many nor too few loaves.

What happens when routines are disrupted in the economy? If our baker suddenly has 20% more customers than usual, it can mean running out of inventory. 20% less means waste eats up profits. On a larger scale, bread-eating trends could change within an entire economy. Think of the low-carb diets that became popular a few years ago.

Changes in routines are necessary and healthy. None of us escapes personal growth. No economy moves forward without the endless cycle of birth and death. Products and services that sell like hotcakes for years suddenly die off in favor of the "new thing."

We cannot stop change from happening, but we can prepare for it. Think about your profession. What will current trends in technology and our social structure mean for your future? Will you job be changed radically in the next few years? Will it even exist? Write down your thoughts about how you will deal with changes in your industry. Then write a plan for dealing with those changes.

When the winds change, you want to be the one who knows how to trim the sail.

Challenge the Rules

According to legend, Alexander the Great was given a puzzle, the Gordian Knot, to solve. Whoever could untie the knot was destined to become the King of Asia. Seeing no way to untie it by regular means, Alexander drew his sword and cut the knot in half.

Sometimes we operate within a set of rules that are arbitrary. Sometimes the need for the rule has long been forgotten. Alexander was not call "the Great" for nothing. He realized that the real solution lay outside the set of rules assumed by everyone else who had tried and failed.

What opportunities do you have for bold and decisive action? Does it scare you to think about "breaking the rules?" Are you worried about starting a business because of what other people will say? "But what if I fail?" You're right. You may. Twice. Three or four times, maybe.

Professors are supposed to be educated idiots. You know, the kind that can explain how a watch works but can't tell time. They aren't "supposed" to start an online university. They are supposed to earn tenure and live happily ever after. As my cousin Tommy used to say, "*&^%* that noise."

I would rather fall on my face a thousand times than stay on the porch with the rest of the university dogs. It scares me every single time I take a chance. It hurts when I fail--every single time--at least for a while. But in the end, I can look in the mirror and know I belong in Alexander's company rather than the in that long line of timid souls who "followed the rules."

Draw your sword. Cut the knot.