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CLIMATE CHANGE IS HERE

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#ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #TexasWeather #Earth #Warming
Who would have thought that South Texas, and other parts of the Deep South, would see devastating snow and bitter cold.
But it did this past week. Experts say a polar vortex over the Arctic was hit by a wave, and landed over the southern U.S.
And, these areas don’t have the equipment to deal with snow and cold. Mostly, it’s just wait for the melt and hope it comes soon.
Climate change has been called global warming, because Earth has been steadily warming for many years.
But that does not mean that every place is getting “warmer.”
It means that weather patterns are changing, with storms and other devastating atmospheric incidents becoming more frequent and more severe.
Consider it as changing a chemical mixture over time in the atmosphere, and making it more volatile.
Yes, the earth is warming, but it’s causing all kinds of problems – not necessarily universally higher temperatures.
Many have called global warming a hoax. But if you live in a place that has gotten snowy, frigid weather when it NEVER sees that kind of weather, you may want to rethink that position.
Perhaps these areas will not rush out to buy snow management equipment, but they should consider mitigating all eventualities. It had happened before, though not often. Don’t bet that such weather won’t happen again.
Interestingly, we are tackling the problem, perhaps without even knowing it.
As we discussed last week, cleaner forms of energy are competing well in the marketplace with fossil –fueled energy. A global pandemic prompted many people not to travel much, cleaning up the air a bit. We may not be able to completely stop Earth from warming, but we can slow it down.
All these events will hit home eventually to a lot of folks – not just the folks who live where snow and cold unexpectedly hit. Other meteorological phenomenon will strike other places, whether predictably or unexpectedly.
This will make many of us rethink how we live – and/or how we make a living. Most employment situations, given the climate or the pandemic, will change at some time. It’s up to each of us to be ready for change when it comes.
Fortunately, there are many programs out there that allow a person who is willing to look at something different to potentially change his or her financial situation for the better, regardless of what he or she is doing now, and regardless of how the climate or global health changes.
To check out one of the best such programs, message me.
Meanwhile, pray that those affected by the recent, unexpected weather recover nicely. Also, let’s hope we can get as many people vaccinated against the coronavirus as possible – and quickly.
Some little things we all can do can mitigate these global changes. Wear a mask. Wash hands frequently. Avoid large crowds until the majority of people are vaccinated. Conserve energy, and look at cleaner ways to heat one’s home, drive a car etc.
The world is changing. It will change whether everyone is on board with it or not. We can’t necessarily solve every problem, but we can do our part to minimize many problems.
Do your part. Try to help others who need you. At the same time, prepare for the future, whether you know what’s coming or not.
Peter

IS THE END NEAR FOR OIL AND GAS AS FUEL?

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#oil #gas #gasoline #coal #fuel
Denmark is phasing out oil and gas extraction from the North Sea by 2050.
The Czech Republic, meanwhile, plans to phase out the use of coal by 2038.
The Associated Press reported these forecasts in two separate articles. They were published Dec. 5, 2020, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Just a few decades ago, these commodities, in some cases, were scarce and expensive.
But over those decades, cleaner, more renewable forms of energy evolved in terms of pricing. In other words, when these clean energy forms were introduced, they were too expensive to compete with fossil fuels, even though fossil fuels are among the worst pollutants in an industrialized world.
Now, the progress with clean and renewable energy has brought the prices to a more competitive level. That has resulted in less use of fossil fuels and more use of clean energy over time.
That has caused the fossil fuel market to price itself downward, perhaps permanently.
When you pile a pandemic on top of that, you have a near collapse of the fossil fuel market.
During the pandemic, businesses were closed or limited, people didn’t drive or travel as much, and that brought a natural decline in fossil fuel use.
Where will this all lead? If you work in the fossil fuel industry, which decades ago paid very well and promised a prosperous future, you need to be concerned.
In fact, ANY legacy industry workers need to be concerned. Almost daily, technological advances punch holes in what many thought were forever businesses.
These changes in energy, and other industries, will produce different kinds of jobs. Are you ready for that, if you work in a legacy industry?
If you haven’t thought much about what your next life will bring, know that there are many programs out there that can produce a potentially lucrative income for anyone, regardless of education, experience or background. The main requirements are that you are coachable and are willing to open your mind to check out something you may have never thought you would do.
To learn about one of the best such programs, message me.
Meanwhile, we all need to keep watch on our own jobs, industries and businesses. We have to continue to ask ourselves: will there be a need for this in five years? What other thing could come along, or be invented, to do what we do? Is my company looking to downsize, or otherwise reorganize, to prepare for these changes?
Remember, if you can see trends and changes from where you sit, it won’t be long before your bosses will see them. And, they won’t hesitate to act on them.
The world of employment is changing, not just in the energy sector. Workers cannot expect that someone, or something, will bail them out if they are suddenly put on the street. To complicate matters, you are unlikely to know when you will be put on the street, until you are.
Therefore, it’s best to plan ahead. Have a Plan B in place, ready to go when that day comes, or before. You may smile as you get tossed out of your job, if you plan ahead.
Life as we know it changes by the day. Perhaps we all need to change with it.
Peter

BACK TO THE OFFICE, OR NOT?

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#coronavirus #COVID19 #FlattenTheCurve #BackToWork
Some may see Jay Foreman as a contrarian.
Foreman, chief executive of the toymaker Basic Fun in Boca Raton, Fla., is telling his workers to come back to the office.
“We have to get over our fears,” Foreman is quoted as saying in a Nov. 16, 2020, article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. After all, according to the article, Foreman is paying a lot of money for his space, and making toys is a collaborative endeavor.
Meanwhile, a June survey by accounting and consulting firm PwC found that 72 percent of workers would like to work from home at least two days a week. And, a majority expected to bew able to work from home one day a week, even after the pandemic, the article says.
The pandemic has caused a lot of folks to work from home. Some like it. Others, who have to help educate kids AND work from home, find it quite stressful.
Still others have no ability to work from home. They MUST go to their workplaces to work, period.
If you had the option or ability to work from home, even after it’s deemed safe to return to your workplace, would you want to?
Would you, say, go to the workplace sometimes, and work from home other times?
There are advantages and disadvantages to either choice. First, daily commuting in some places is a real stress inducer. Not only is it frustrating to get stuck in traffic, taking way more time than it should to get to your destination, it wastes a lot of your time – time that could be used for, say, work.
Think also of the money you will ultimately save by not driving to work every day.
Certainly, there is value in interacting with coworkers at the workplace. Workplaces tend to bond people, and valuable friendships are created at work – or after work.
Also, when all children can go back to school safely, some of the stress of working from home will be removed.
In a perfect world, workers would have options. The world isn’t perfect. Some options are not there for everyone.
That begs a question: how can YOU create more options for yourself? What if, regardless of your experience, education or background, you could create more income options for yourself? What if those options can be utilized from home, or out in the world?
There are many programs available to create options for anyone willing to check them out. You just need an open mind, the ability to be coached and a willingness, perhaps, to try something you never thought you would do.
To learn about one of the best such programs, message me.
You probably have pandemic fatigue, and even going back to work sounds like a great idea. Still, until the majority of people are vaccinated, we still have to be careful and wear masks, avoid crowds when able, wash hands frequently and keep one’s distance from others not in your household. That means, perhaps, having fewer people for holiday celebrations.
Also, you can help shorten the pandemic by getting a vaccine when it’s your turn.
You might try using this, more or less, down time to re-evaluate what options you might have. If they are few, look for more. There are many people willing to show them to you.
Or, you can stay stuck in a situation that’s neither healthy nor prosperous. It’s your option.
Peter

THE CLIMB, THE MOUNTAIN, THE GOAL

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#TheClimb #goals #mountains #PersonalGrowth
In Miley Cyrus’ song, “The Climb,” she sings that it’s not about how long it takes, or what’s on the other side, it’s about the journey – The Climb.
It’s also been said that a person will get to the top of the mountain, or be dead on the side. But he or she will not go back to the bottom.
It’s also been said that reaching your goal is great, but the journey to get there is what makes it worthwhile.
All these phrases are about growing as a person. If you grow as a person, your dreams and goals will be more easily attained. If you don’t grow as a person, those dreams and goals will be more difficult.
For example, take big lottery winners. If they don’t grow as people, now that they’ve been blessed with good fortune, they’ll eventually be broke again.
Why? They will continue to be themselves, with a lot of extra cash. Think of the 18-year-old left alone with a big inheritance. Would you want your 18-year-old to manage his own money?
Would he or she have the wisdom to make sure that money lasted for his or her life?
Good fortune does not necessarily bring with it personal growth. That has to be honed by the person through learning, good counsel and wisdom. It doesn’t come naturally, in most cases.
Personal growth may require a person to change the people with whom he or she hangs with. Another adage: If you can’t change the people around you, change the people around you. That isn’t to say one abandons his old friends for new ones. But it says that one may not necessarily heed the advice of his or her older friends when it comes to behavior, or the future.
Your old friends may criticize you because you insist on growing as a person. But as one grows, he or she learns to discern good advice, take it and tune out the bad advice.
Your old friends may make you feel bad when you make good choices. Their intention may be to bring you “back to earth,” from whence you came. They not only refuse to choose wisely with you, they tell you why YOU should not choose wisely.
As you grow as a person, you learn that you cannot go back to the bottom of the mountain, where you started.
If you are contemplating a journey to a better place, and are looking for a vehicle to take you, there are a number of programs that will allow you to spend a few, part-time hours a week working on attaining your goals – to help you climb as you continue the life you are living.
To learn about one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Meanwhile, even if you are living a content, yet unfulfilling life, you can grow as a person. Learn about things you may have never thought to learn about. Go to things you may have never thought to go to.
“The Climb” says it may not matter what’s on the other side. Avid mountain climbers climb mountains because they are there.
Perhaps it’s more motivating to have something on the other side that you want. Sometimes one has to create a goal to climb for. Others may have something to climb for that they have been told cannot be attained.
No matter your situation, get motivated. That may entail looking at things you may have never thought to look at. The climb is all you. No one will carry you to the top. And, yes, when you get there, you’ll look back on the journey with fondness, and be happy you found what you’ve found along the way.
Peter

DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFT IS COMING — N0, IT’S HERE

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#DemographicShift #demographics #certainty #SureThings
“We’re on the cusp of a demographic, generational handoff that will test whether we are a tribal nation, or truly believe in – not what Thomas Jefferson did —but what he wrote in the Declaration of Independence.”
So wrote Jim Galloway, political columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who is retiring after a 41-year career at the paper. This passage is from his last column, published Jan, 17, 2021.
“There’s no escaping this. The only question is how we embrace it,” he continues.
Galloway, who started as a religion reporter, also conveys these lessons: “Don’t ask a Baptist why he isn’t Catholic, and don’t ask a Jew why she isn’t a Latter-day Saint.”
Conversions from one belief system to another are rare, he continues. Those that occur do so more often by experience, or an event, rather than an argument.
Then he adds, “as religiosity has declined in the U.S., … tribalism has increased.”
Though Galloway writes from the perspective of politics, particularly Georgia politics, his point can be universally applied.
First, rather than seeing a belief system changing in a person, it may evolve over time. Some people let the beliefs from which they were raised dictate how they think about everything. Such beliefs are based on faith, meaning they don’t have to be proved to be true. But, as people learn, and witness different worlds, beliefs can evolve.
Younger people, especially, can still believe in their ancestral teachings, yet adopt lifestyles that may not match what their ancestors would have wanted for them.
The same can be applied to work and money. Though one’s ancestors would advise him or her to seek security and “sure” things, people learn that sometimes taking risks can make dreams come true.
The demographic handoff to which Galloway refers is not just political. The new generation – younger and more diverse — that is taking the handoff may have more of an entrepreneurial, or risk-taking mentality that may have been honed as they witness “sure” things becoming more uncertain.
Others – and here’s where the tribalism to which Galloway refers comes in – fight to have old ways prevail and make “sure” things “surer,” even as events around them prevent that from happening.
So how do you fit on this spectrum? Have you seen your “sure” thing disappear, or, at least, become less certain?
Do you see the only way to achieve what you want in life is to look at what may be lurking outside of the “sure” things?
If you’ve acquired, or cultivated, such openness, know that there are many programs out there that allow you to potentially mitigate uncertainty, and eventually give you what you may want from life.
You don’t need specific education, experience or background – just a willingness to look for something to make things “surer” in your life.
To check out one of the best such programs, message me.
Meanwhile, the shift, or handoff, to which Galloway refers cannot be stopped, no matter what you do.
You can certainly keep, and follow, ancestral beliefs if you choose. But know that the world is changing around you. The successful believer will meld that change with his or her ancestral beliefs. That combination can assure, if not prosperity, much less uncertainty.
Peter

FOCUS LIKE A DOG ON A SQUIRREL

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#dogs #squirrels #focus #goals

When you walk a dog, and it sees something it wants to chase, say, a squirrel, it will focus on the squirrel.

If you want the dog to keep walking, you have to somehow distract it from said squirrel.

Unlike dogs, most humans are more easily distracted, and linger in – even enjoy – the distraction.

We would actually see said squirrel as a distraction, and, had we been focusing on something else, would glance at the squirrel for a moment of distraction, perhaps just for a break.

The point here is that animals can focus more easily if they want something badly enough.

People, by contrast, may want something badly, but often find focusing on what to do to get it difficult. Distractions gleefully multiply.

Perhaps we can learn a lesson from dogs, or other animals.

It all starts with wanting something badly enough.

Many of us go through life as a grind — work, home and back to work again. Psychologists sometimes call folks like that carousel riders — going round and round, but going nowhere.
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Some of us opt for contentment rather than prosperity.

Contentment can be achieved with relatively minimal effort. Those seeking contentment can be easily distracted from more difficult tasks that may get them a much better life.

If you ask such a person how he or she is doing, they may say “OK,” or “I’m getting by.” They take the life they were “given,” and make the best from it.

However, the person who aims for prosperity, or some other lofty goal, figures out what he or she has to do to get it, and focuses on those things. He or she may vary his or her course based on circumstances, but he or she will never stray from the goal.

He or she will focus, like the dog on a squirrel, on that goal.

He or she may be dealt some bad hands in life, but that person never stops focusing on the goal.

If you are that type of person, and may be looking for something that will help you achieve what you want, know that there are many such vehicles out there.

To check out one of the best such programs, message me.

Meanwhile, if you are drifting, or even if you are just content, know that you don’t have to stay there. YOU can get yourself out, if you choose.

You just have to keep your mind open, your heart full and your focus keen.
Peter

RESOLUTION: MAKE YOURSELF BETTER

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#NewYearsResolutions #ABetterYou #HelpingOthers
In the upcoming year, live a life with purpose.
“Put simply, your talk might not match your walk, You will applaud giveaways for the wealthy while casting services for the poor as socialism. You will proclaim your love for your neighbor while refusing to give up your right not to wear a mask, the one thing that can protect them from the coronavirus. And you will consistently seek your own while refusing to help those in need.”
That quote comes from Gracie Bonds Staples, from her Jan. 7, 2021, “This Life” column in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
To paraphrase her, helping others gives you purpose.
There are many ways to help others — some obvious, some not so much.
There are little things you can do that take no skin off your back.
Holding the door for someone, letting a struggling person move ahead of you in line etc.
Other ways include helping others in physical or financial distress, or volunteering your time toward a worthy cause. They involve effort or sacrifice.
What if you could find a way to help others that also helps you?
There are many programs out there that allow you to advance yourself only by helping others.
To learn about one of the best such programs, message me.
So, the message is to plan a new year in which you will do for others more than you will do for you.
If you do that, the blessings you’ll receive will be tangible.
Good people give and get. Lesser folks only take.
“Research shows a strong sense of purpose is associated with slower development of age-related disabilities, reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease, improved cognitive health and longer lives,” Staples writes. “Finding purpose can promote energy, satisfaction and preventive health behaviors,” she writes.
Purpose gives you prosperity in many different ways. It will change the way you look at things, open your mind and introduce you to things that could change your life.
Learn and strive to find purpose this year.
Peter

2021 IS GONNA BE GOOD

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#2021 #NewYear #NewYearGonnaBeGood
“Got a feeling ’21 is gonna be a good year.”
This lyric by The Who, from the rock opera “Tommy,” is appropriate for right now.
“With any luck, 2021 might not suck.” That paraphrased a promo for CNN’s New Year Eve show, with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen.
So how do you see 2021?
Do you see bigger and better things for you? Or, do you just believe that anything would be better than 2020?
If the former feels better to you, you are probably an ambitious, hard-working person who KNOWS he or she can make things much better.
If the latter suits you better, you are passively waiting for something to happen – or, as it were, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
To be sure, the beginning of 2021 with be challenging. We still will have to wear masks in public. We’ll still have to avoid crowds and gatherings. We will have to keep our distance from others. And, we will have to keep washing our hands frequently.
But while we cope with those challenges, we can still prepare for the bigger and better life we intend to create.
If you are that ambitious, hard-working person who is looking for ways to create that better life, there are several programs out there that can allow anyone, regardless of education, background or experience, to do it.
A person just has to be open enough to look at them. Once you find one you like, devote a few part-time hours a week to it and see how your life will change.
To check out one of the best such programs, message me.
In short, work on YOU this year.
Decide to embark on something that no pandemic, or other circumstance, can take away from you.
First and foremost, when it’s your turn, get a vaccine.
You’ll run into life challenges for sure, pandemic or not. But your strength is determined not by what befalls you, but how you rise above it.
If you already have that strength in you, use it to the fullest. If you don’t , find a way to get it, grow it and maximize it.
The year 2021 is here, and it’s gonna be good.
Just say yes to determination, and no to deterioration. Don’t wait for someone to give you something. Look for someone who will show you something. They are out there to be found, but only by open eyes and an open mind.
Let not the travails of 2020 overwhelm your 2021. Be patient to begin the year, and take on a sense of urgency for the remainder.
Let 2021 bring you all the good things you deserve.
Peter

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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#HappyNewYear #NewYear #2021 #NewNormal #BetterNormal
Happy 2021!
The past year was, more or less, a gap year.
Many of us made sacrifices for the common good health.
Others tried to carry on as normal, hoping the pandemic would just go away.
It didn’t, but we now have hope. Vaccines have been approved. But, we still should continue our sacrifice for a bit longer.
We may never see “normal,” as we knew it before 2020.
But, we can see that soon, the pandemic burden may be lifted.
So what will your new year look like?
Will you still be struggling to recover, after some devastation in 2020?
Or, do you see that the new year brings new hope – a new dawn, a new and better “normal.”
If you are still looking to find YOUR new normal, perhaps you should consider doing something you may never have thought to do before.
You CAN find your way out of the 2020 abyss, and onto a new and potentially very prosperous life, if you are willing to look for it.
How? There are many programs out there that can allow you, regardless of your experience, education or background, to earn a potentially lucrative income without the risks of a job that a pandemic could take away.
You just need to be coachable and willing to check out those programs.
To learn about one of the best such vehicles, message me.
The past year was difficult, but most of us are resilient. The next year could be your best yet, if you make it so.
Circumstances can put up roadblocks to success. But resilient people go over, under or around those roadblocks.
If you see yourself as resilient, get your shot when it’s your turn, and take your shot at success.
You may be surprised at what might be out there for you.
Many people will simply let circumstances rule their lives, and hope someone, or something, bails them out. Others will do what they need to do to become successful.
It’s a simple decision to go for it, but it may not be as easy to actually get there. Still, those who persevere will get there.
So, at the beginning of this brighter new year, maintain your caution. Avoid crowds, keep your distance from people, wear masks when among people and wash your hands frequently.
You can still achieve a lot while being careful, as you wait for restrictions to ease.
As you work toward success, do what you can to bring others with you, while protecting others’ health at the same time.
It’s a new year. Will it produce a new you?
Peter

PANDEMIC HURTS BUSINESS TRAVEL

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#BusinessTravel #travel #coronavirus #COVID19 #FlattenTheCurve #pandemic
Many people who had traveled frequently for their jobs have not been able to during the pandemic.
That scenario is a nightmare for hotels, airlines and others in the hospitality industry that banked on big-time business travel.
To add insult to injury, there may be less personal travel during the holiday season.
For business travelers themselves, it’s a mixed blessing. The good news is they are home more often. The bad news: they can’t accumulate hotel, airline and other points for free travel and accommodations for leisure.
The Associated Press discussed this in an article that was also published Nov. 12, 2020, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Traveling for business was considered a necessity, albeit an expensive one, for companies who wanted representatives to have face-to-face meetings with clients. In-person meetings are always better than virtual meetings, but to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the virtual meeting became a way of life.
So as companies evaluate the safety, cost and necessity of business travel, there will likely be a “new normal,” experts say.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian expects the new normal for business travel to be down 10 percent to 20 percent, the article says.
“I do think corporate travel is going to come back faster than people suspect. I just don’t know if it will come back to full volume,” the article quotes Bastian.
Dubai-based MBC Group, which operates 19 television stations, believes it’s unlikely that employees will travel as often, because they’ve shown they don’t need to, the article says.
So what does this mean for you? If you don’t travel for your job, but work in the hospitality or transportation industry, it could mean job cutbacks.
If you had a job for which you traveled a good bit, and your company sees that travel is no longer as essential as it thought it was, you need to be concerned for your job. With the advent of companies like Salesforce, and others, the need for sales representatives who meet clients on the road becomes dicey.
The good news here, especially if you are directly affected by this, is there are many other ways to generate an income, regardless of your education, background or experience. Be you a hotel housekeeper, maitre d’ or a highly paid company representative or pilot, you can learn about these programs and get a head start preparing for the new normal, which could put your current job in peril.
To learn about one of the best of these programs, message me.
Transportation and hospitality are getting hammered by the pandemic. They will have to adjust to encourage, perhaps, more leisure travel. Perhaps they can create scenarios in which people who are doing their jobs remotely can do them from , say, a nice beach or mountain locale, rather than from a cramped city apartment or suburban house.
It will require some innovation and imagination, but it can be done.
Meanwhile, the working person may have to adjust as well. Those folks may have to use their imaginations to examine different ways to earn an income.
Remember, too, that any kind of government aid will be temporary. It will be up to each person to come up with a more permanent solution to his or her own situation. That person will need to find something that he or she can do during and after the pandemic, that will keep going when the next pandemic comes.
Peter