Go ahead! Call me a cockeyed optimist, or whatever fits; I believe our County — and the economy in general — is really beginning to deliver the goods.
Opinions are a dime a dozen, and some of you are still pretty doubtful. I guess we all interpret the general trends in terms of our own progress and experience — from our own point of view. That is to say, if things aren”t improving for me, why should I believe things are improving at all? It”s a good question, but a bad attitude.
I look at progress and improvement as a sequence of activities that develop gradually, create side effects, pick up momentum, become a trend and then a force. This leads to that, and that leads to something else, and so on.
For example, using my own venue of Real Estate, the signs and signals are easy to identify. When the housing market is moving, it tells us something: it makes waves and creates the paths for consumer demand. Families need products and services. Businesses need their residential consumers — those folks couldn”t be buying homes — or commercial property — if something wasn”t improving.
That “something” is a mix of jobs, pay levels, improved commercial environments, new businesses, increased lending opportunities and a healing marketplace. Otherwise, the process couldn”t move forward- it would still be stagnant. Families have children; children have to be fed, clothed, educated and provided with recreation, health care and safety … and the ripple effect accelerates.
Driving around our county, you can notice more and more older facilities getting a facelift and converting into new use. Many other signs are visible that show me that people are beginning to make improvements they have had to put off. Yes, there is still a long way to go …
Staying stuck in the rut of negativity won”t help the problems of individuals, businesses or government; it all has to work together.
A little progress is still — progress. And we build from there.
My approach to thorny problems has always been to just roll up my sleeves and push through it. Search for answers and solutions and then work through the obstacles. Every step gets us a bit closer to relief, improvement and doable solutions. But, I realize that my attitude and that kind of energy, unfortunately, can”t just be picked off a tree, put into a burlap and sold like our walnuts as the answer for others — just because it works for me.
I guess I am trying to reach out to those of you who are very discouraged and frustrated, because I really think attitude is the first challenge. When someone thinks there”s no hope, it”s easy to be pessimistic; and that gets in the way of seeing solutions (even small ones) and how to act on them.
It is also easy for discouraged business persons to isolate themselves and try to push through the problems alone, believing that there is no help or understanding available. That really isn”t true, but it can certainly seem so when each day feels like a pointless struggle. You, and the business next door are just like our group of towns with our common issues.
It is becoming more and more important to look at our small group of communities as a whole, and recognize how the problems for one affect all the others. Our borders touch each other, and so do our problems. Our county, our lake and our communities are uniquely bonded, and are linked by the problems and their solutions alike.
Talking about the issues that touch us all and sharing ideas for solutions can really help.
Jim Magliulo is president of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce
