It's Gonna Be Okay...

That line doesn't sell, but it's true!

To be positive is requires a lot more creativity and endurance than complaining. I believe it's actually difficult to think of real ways that tough situations can and should get better. Complaining about the world is easy because all you have to do is point out the obvious and construct a scenario that plays on people's deepest fears.

For example:

1) "The housing market is so bad, I don't know how its going to recover."
2) "Don't try to start a business now, no one wants to spend what little money they have."
3) "Things are so much worse than they used to be."

I've thought about this a lot, and I've decided that I never want to be on record to have any the above statements or any other negative statement come out of my mouth.

True optimism doesn't mean turning a blind eye to real problems - it means acknowledging the challenges and pointing out the possible solutions. Here's how I try and counter these common complaints:

1) "Once the market hits bottom and starts to come up even just a bit, I think people will jump in and we'll see a huge rebound."
2) "Right now the economic deck is being reshuffled a little, and there's a lot of people paying for bad management during good times. And, there's some great people who have products and services that just aren't as relevant as they once were. However, there's never a bad time for smart ventures that are able to meet a need in a unique way to give it a shot."
3) "There's no other time in history I'd rather live than now, and I can't wait for what the future will bring."

I really believe that last statement. Here's my evidence - in fact, here's a list of reasons why living in 2008 in the West Valley, in 2008, is the greatest time and place a person could live:

1) An hour ago I visited the new Basha's supermarket earlier on Esterella Parkway (about 2 miles from the church) and it was the nicest standard grocery store I have ever been in. I'm going to go tomorrow and try their Mongolian BBQ bar. I haven't had Mongolian BBQ since I lived in CA.

2) I can keep up with people on social networking sites like Facebook who I thought I'd never run into again. My "news" is quickly becoming comprised of things that are happening in the lives of the people I care about. Who needs to hear about an accident 25 miles away, or the weather in North Dakota, if I can read updates concerning my friends and personal contacts? Take note, old media.

3) Gas is cheaper than its been in years.

4) I have more options to get the things I want than ever before.

5) I can download an entire album while I'm sitting at the kitchen table for less money than cassette tapes I bought 20 years ago.

6) Friends of mine are alive and achieving a higher quality of life becuase of advances in medicine that were not around even a decade ago.

7) I have a Bible software system on my computer that allows me to "carry" wherever I go books that could comprise an entire library. Students of the Bible for centuries would give anything for the access to information I have.

8) I can heat or cool my house to the exact temperature I desire - most people in the history of the world could not say that.

9) The fact that I can sit here and arbitrarily type this to an unlimited audience.

10) If I really wanted to, I could stay within the borders of my country and freely move to just about any climate available on Earth.

Life is hard, yes. But it always has been. But there's no time and place I'd rather be than here and now.