Invest In Self

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Tom Trimbath

A friend dropped by for dinner. Yes, even in hard economic times it is possible to have a social life. Friends plus food plus wine plus time equal an evening better than any Hollywood production. And, even in hard economic times, good news happens. She sold her house and was wondering about how to invest the money. Time to step in with the familiar disclaimer, “I am not a certified financial planner, nor a certified financial advisor.” She knows that. She also knows that I don’t like to give advice about anything else either, but I do like to ask lots of questions. I am a curious guy. What would she do with the money?

Amidst dire economic news it is hard to remember that people have jobs, despite unemployment; companies are making money, despite depressed stock markets; and houses continue to sell, despite underwater properties and a seemingly fatally flawed mortgage industry. The job section in the local paper is taking more space than it has in months, maybe even a couple of years. The revenues of one of the major stock market indices, the S&P 500, is on track for 17% growth this year. I’ve even seen real estate agencies hiring more realtors. I’m considering jumping into that job market, but then, I’m considering many job markets because, despite the good news, my stocks are down and I want to keep my house.

She was lucky though. Of course, her luck stems from good living, and an open-minded approach to defining her lifestyle. She’s managed that amazing balance of having fun and being careful with her money. The windfall of selling her house was a new experience. That’s what happens with a windfall. Even if it is expected, the reactions it creates can be completely new and novel. From what I could tell, this was the first time she could invest years worth of living expenses.

Ah, and she’s a smart one. She’d already visited a professional. And she came away from it with a thoughtful brow and many more questions. Professionals exist because financial advice should be taken seriously, its regulated, the list of possibilities is overwhelming, and people have better ways to spend their time. I’m a fan of financial literacy, independence, and integrity, (hence my work for New Road Map Foundation) and while I think most people can find a way to handle their money, frequently it is best to have someone else step in, that’s when I’m a fan of the pros. But my friend didn’t feel as energized as she thought she should.

We started playing around with what she’d been told and what she wanted to do. She’s a sole-proprietor/businesswoman/entrepreneur who helps other people figure out to live other aspects of their lives, and she’s very good at it. She’s known world-wide. Nicely done. One book that strongly influenced me was The Millionaire Next Door, not for any fascination with wealth, but for the insights and data they referenced. I no longer have my copy, but I recalled that many of the millionaires were independent business owners, people who invested their time and money in themselves by investing in their businesses. They took what they knew and built upon that. Businesses aren’t guaranteed of success. No investment is guaranteed of success. But they were able to work from a comfort zone and get to the potential for great comfort.

Money doesn’t mean happiness either, but happiness does correlate well with being able to pay for the necessities and a few luxuries. The correlation falls apart when luxuries are piled on luxuries. More is not always the answer, but having enough is powerful.

She realized that she had enough for years of living expenses, for her current lifestyle. She also lit up when she talked about her business. I mentioned that and asked how much it would take to expand her business to make it more fun, profitable, and sustainable. After she’d run through a long list of improvements and included some that I asked about, she’d come up with a total that was less than 5% of her windfall. Her business doesn’t require expensive facilities. A bit of coaching, some extra training, some exploratory trips to expand her markets, definitely a new computer and maybe a new web site, and she’d have a re-energized business that would match the energy in her smile.

She was smiling. Investing doesn’t have to be done with furrowed brows. I invest in small companies, and regular readers know how high and low that experience can extend. Can you remember back to the up days? Stock markets don’t go on forever in either direction. It merely feels that way. Oy, does it feel that way. Anyway, of all the investments she’d talked about, investing in herself brought the biggest smile.

A person investing in themself has an advantage that they can never match when trying to invest in someone else’s company. Knowing thyself is hard enough. Knowing the mind of management and the market is definitely harder. A person investing in themself can also fall into a trap of being too close to the business. Good and bad things can be overlooked. Expansion opportunities may be just past the horizon. Extrapolations from positive possibilities can create an exuberance that ignores dangers and cautions that are within arm’s reach but out of sight. Others might have a better vantage point. Investing in self is powerful, but doing it amongst others is a very good idea.

I’ve invested in myself like many people: education, counseling, exercise, self-care, and starting my own business (Trimbath Creative Enterprises). Much of the early work produced my Boeing career. I actually got to use my degree, and even the specialty that I studied for my Masters. The work I’ve done since leaving Boeing in 1998 is coming to fruition. My writing, photography, and speaking are not only keeping me busy, but paying their own bills and soon may pay mine too. (Whidbey Island Open Studio Tour – October 8th & 9th) (Modern Self-Publishing October 15th, which is also now a book) (busy, busy).

Investing isn’t just spending money to make money. That’s why I listed counseling, exercise, and self-care. Clearing clutter from a life, untangling internal knots, and exercising all aspects of what we’re given can make easier to appreciate the value that already exists in every moment.

I don’t know if she’ll follow through with her plans. Even if she does, the great majority of that windfall could still follow the professional advice she paid for; but in the meantime, the more valuable part may be the joy she finds by investing in herself. Her business probably will do well too. Very cool.

 

PS She called and told me she’ll probably buy one of my photos too. Happy dance.

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Just You Wait

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Tom Trimbath

“Just you wait . . .” Throw in a wagging finger and Audrey Hepburn and you get the scene from My Fair Lady that plays through my mind. I know. Just you wait and a wagging finger is probably part of many less entertaining moments from real life, but I was brought up on musicals. Which scene would you rather have playing in your head? In any case, I’d rather not wait for a lot of what I’m watching happen. On the other side of the mess we’re in is a very intriguing future.

The pangs of depressed stock and housing markets, stagnant employment, unstable economies, and intransigent short-sighted governments are good enough reasons to skip the news. The media has a surplus of discouragement from which to sell fear, doubt, and worry, which I believe is largely self-fulfilling. I’m not the only one feeling pangs and I can sympathize with those still wanting to sell a house, find a job, and not have to worry about the collapse of major institutions.

By the way, I’m healthier now. Over the last two years I’ve gone through a series of aches and pains that were far more than pangs. Various healers helped a lot, and while each worked from their methods and expertise, one central message came through. Breath in. Breath out. Enjoy the moment.

As I sit at home typing this post I could retype my lost of worries. I’ve probably posted about all of them in this blog. Instead, if I notice where I am and how I feel, the picture is actually worth quiet celebration. I’m sitting at my kitchen table. My stomach is grumbling a little (oatmeal does that to me sometimes). I’m warm and dry. The house is quiet. Outside is a sunny autumn day with a few clouds over the Olympics. Puget Sound is even quiet, with water flat enough to spot whales. I’ll look later. The pantry has enough food for weeks. The propane tank is full. There are apples and roses in the backyard. I’ve got tea with honey and brownies beside me and there are gluten-free brownies in the fridge. In some eras, this would be a utopian moment.

In today’s civilization though, it is necessary to plan for the future too. One simple plan is to have an enormous net worth with decades of living expenses accounted for. Most of us are working from more active plans. Jobs, businesses, education, or active frugality are things we engage in today to increase the chances that we’ll be comfortable in the future. As I pointed out in a previous post, I’ve got lots of lines in the water. Each of those lines are efforts to use my skills to benefit me, my community, and the world. We each work as we can with what we have. I hope I help.

The variations on those possible futures are infinite. My to-do list is more varied than when I was a lead engineer at Boeing. If all of my projects succeeded, I’d have to hire people to help. I like the possibility, as long as we all get paid enough too.

The variations on the world’s possible futures are also infinite, and much more varied. I believe we’re heading to a healthier attitude towards each other and towards the planet. Some of the bizarre ideologies running rampant are frequent fodder for comedians because of the bizarreness. (Wow. Spellcheck didn’t throw out bizarreness. Bizarre.) I think some people are most irrational before their cathartic moment that leads to reason.

Most of my investment are in possible improvements to the world: radically shrinking electronics to use less energy and fewer resources (Microvision, MVIS & GigOptix, GGOX.OB), teaching the body to cure cancer (Dendreon, DNDN & Geron GERN) and better energy utilization (Real Goods Solar, RSOL & American Superconductor, AMSC). Buildings are being designed to better standards (LEED and beyond). Various collaborations are aiming at bringing entertaining, enlightening awareness to more sustainable lifestyles and societies. Global shifts are happening outside the attention of the media because they don’t fit the editors’ norms. I think the Arab Spring and its desire for freedom and expression is an indication of larger movements rather than an end product. We are working towards a future that can be sustainable and then thrive.

In the meantime though, we have to wait. We have to wait for technologies to develop, archaic institutions to either change or dissolve, healthier lifestyles to be adopted, and people to find a common goal. We also have to wait for the consequences of our past to play out. Suddenly finding cheap energy would be great, but centuries of pollution won’t go away with the flick of a switch. Economic models radically different enough to avoid familiar extravagances will be challenged in courts for years. Adequate food, health, and education can take less than a generation, but someone poor, sick and denied schooling may have to wait years for all to be resolved.

I am a fan of frugality. It is helping me through my tight times by giving me more time in which to work, and more options to work from. Frugality also means that a little extra cash covers a lot of expenses and a nice sale, salary, or windfall can rapidly drive me back to sustainability, enough, and some excess that can help others too.

It can be difficult to not worry. Worry seems to be a common characteristic amongst my similarly workaholic friends. (Have I ever truly been retired?) Frequently I fall into too many what-ifs. What-ifs are a mental exercise that are necessary for plans, designs, and dreams. But what-ifs can also be a swirling trap of worry.

I’m healthier now that I pay more attention to the now. I think I’m doing the right things and spending more than enough of the right energy towards appealing and highly probable futures. And in the meantime, I’ll consider what-ifs. But I won’t spend too much time there because, for the most part, between now and that future, I’ll just have to wait a little while.

(Let me check my messages. The future comes quickly nowadays. Despite all odds, the wait could be over more quickly than any of us expect. In the meantime, time for another cup of tea.)

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Latent Success

Posted on September 24, 2011 by Tom Trimbath

“Nothing succeeds like success.” I’ll grant that the phrase captures how people judge each other, but that is like judging a book by its cover. The best way to judge a book is by reading it, or at least by listening to someone else who has read it; but, at a recent Whidbey Island Writers Conference I was told that 98% of books are sold by the front cover. 1.5% are sold by the back cover. Only 0.5% are sold from what was inside. The writer probably didn’t know if the book would be a success when they were writing it. All of that work could be effort wasted except for the joy of writing. For success to breed success, there must be an initial success, and the middle of that process can feel very unsuccessful. Latent success is like a latent image on film, invisible.

Yep. These times are tough for many. I’m sure someone can analyze it in terms of the seven stages of grief. I’m simpler than that. I’ve noticed that people’s reactions are shifting from shock to reassessment to action. Whatever came before, career, environment, politics seems to be retreating into a golden era of satisfying employment (baby boomers); clean water, air and food (pre-industrial revolution); and competent, compassionate governance (ah, let me get back to you on that one). It is hard to imagine an economic system that works for all, a sustainable and thriving environment, and competent compassionate government. Yet, I think we are heading that way.

The main difference between semi-retired and unemployed for me is assets. How many months or years of living expenses are available if it all turned to cash? Even retired merely means being confident that there is enough to pay the bills indefinitely. If those assets were in a Madoff fund, the slide from retired to semi- to un- can happen quickly. As recently as two years ago I was more than halfway to enough, the number where my confidence kicks in. I didn’t have everything in a Madoff-style pot. I had a moderately diversified portfolio that was hit by a triple whammy. As regular readers can tell, I have decided to act unemployed as a prudent measure in case the portfolio doesn’t recover quickly. Even if my portfolio or a windfall improvement returns my confidence, I’ll probably continue to find good, fun work that pays well as a way to take care of delayed maintenance, or even buy back into the market. Buy low. I doubt this is high.

Being unemployed is hopefully a temporary and transitory step. In the midst of it though, I have found lots of unsolicited advice. The basic assumption has been, if I don’t have a job, I must not be looking hard enough. It is the same assumption behind the advice I’ve received about my books and my photos. If they aren’t selling, I haven’t been selling hard enough. As I type this I realize that I’ve heard similar advice about weight, health, and romance. If the goal hasn’t been reached, do more, and more.

The human body and the length of the day have limits. More, more, more is unsustainable and unhealthy whether success is involved or not. Balance is required. Balance may not be in every moment. It may be delayed for days, weeks, months, or possibly years, but eventually balance will happen and the longer it is delayed the sharper the correction. Work too hard trying to find work and an involuntary permanent vacation can happen.

Finding a job, making money, reaching retirement, finding love can all happen quickly, and that quickness can be interpreted by others as simple and easy. I suspect that most of the time success was latent, with energy and substance being added without apparent external effect, but with obvious internal effort and consideration. The butterfly suddenly emerges after all the work it did as an out of work caterpillar.

People are emotional and I am too. Until that job offer comes in, I can feel as if it never will. Until my portfolio recovers, it is easy to be dismayed and feel like a fool as I extrapolate the trend line into the ground.

Despite advice of more, more, more I started today with a walk instead of a job search. I’ve seen what happens when life is in anxiety and out of balance. It physically hurt and took months for my recovery. My walk was a half hour of noticing the llama (or is it an alpaca) that guards the neighbor’s goats, a friend walking a herd of very short dogs, and myself enjoying an uncommonly warm, muggy autumn day.

On my way home I thought about this blog and what to post. Thinking about posting I thought about what I’d posted over these last three years. Within that time my fortunes have fallen, run up, dropped down, run up and dropped down again. At the bottom of those dips, which were within $20,000 of where my portfolio is now, it was easy to imagine a continuation into perpetual slide. At the peaks, I was cautious enough to not spend as if it would continue – though I did allow myself to dream.

I’m not going to assume that the market is rational and will properly value my companies and their stocks based on conventional criteria. Eventually rational thought returns, but fear has become an entrenched theme in our media, politics and culture.
“. . . the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” – Franklin Roosevelt
Rather than a reason to work past fear, we’ve collectively decided to linger within it.

In the meantime, I’ll look for a job. You see, I now know that books that are suddenly successful, art that is suddenly applauded, more than enough wealth, love, and probably even a good job, can happen with luck but that luck is usually enabled by years of effort that latently build. But it is hard if not impossible to time the end of latency. The success may appear sudden to others afterwards. What goes through the mind of the caterpillar in the cocoon? Sometimes only the caterpillar understands what went into making the butterfly.

When I got home from my walk I checked my garden. A rose bush has been growing behind a fence for years. This rose blossomed after a recent storm blew away all of the other petals, and its first sunlight of the day had yet to light more than half and hadn’t evaporated the dew. None of the beauty happened suddenly and I’m sure that by now it is in full, glorious sunshine.

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Travel Perspectives

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Tom Trimbath

Others have driven farther, faster and longer, but I was tired enough after driving 840 miles in 15 hours last Saturday. It was a family thing, you know? My dad was a trucker and a sailor. Make me a millionaire and I’ll travel. Whether by car, plane (float planes are the best), bicycle (my ride across America), walking (my walk across Scotland), or boat (someday) travel challenges habitual thinking and comforts by reinforcing commonality. When I think I know too much or too little, it is time to travel, and sometimes that travel is merely to find a new perspective.

My dad turned 85 last month. Happy Birthday again. He and Doris, his wife that he married after my mom passed away, are a sweet couple, walking hand-in-hand. Seeing that was worth the trip. They live in a different world from where he was born and from where I live. Central California, or however you want to describe the bit of California ranch land that is 840 miles away from Whidbey Island, is certainly not like living within a few miles of a couple of mills back in Pittsburgh, and is certainly not like living under the grey skies of Western Washington. The geography, the culture, and the people are different. In many ways, they were also the same.

Seen from Pittsburgh and Whidbey, much of California is dry, flat, and open. I started Saturday’s drive in a forecast for the mid-80s with a low that was near the high for Whidbey. By the time I got home the temperature had dropped 30 degrees and I had changed windshield wipers. They were covered with California tree sap that streaked across my view. The closer I got to Whidbey, the more people dressed for machine washable instead of dry clean only. Of course, when I was growing up outside of Pittsburgh my mom was the tie patrol. We weren’t allowed to go downtown without a tie, or at least that’s how she tried to get us to dress. As I drove north, my radio scans went from picking up Christian, country, and Spanish, to NPR, country, and jazz. Okay, so the country music was the same.

But as with most travel, I looked for the similarities. Standing beside a pond, amongst some trees, as the sun comes through early clouds is peaceful and beautiful. Television doesn’t change much. The internet largely ignores location; though it was unnerving to see Google News automatically switch to Fresno info instead of my Salish Sea feed. Chain stores vary little, and while that may culturally dull, it also points out that what most folks want in one area is the same thing that folks from another area are going to want. A lack of cultural diversity is also a sign of commonality and community. Especially along the west coast, most people have in common the fact that they aren’t from there. The majority started somewhere else, either east or south. A common question is, “So, how long have you been here?”.

My mind is kept busy with many issues, some personal, some global. Read my posts. Most of them are in here somewhere. I live within a community of active minds, open hearts, and engaged souls. It is easy within such a community to think that anyone with an active mind, an open heart, and an engaged soul, will have the same attitudes and draw the same conclusions no matter where they are. Making grand and general assumptions can generate great communication efficiencies between like minded people, but it also quickly leads to grand and general misunderstanding amongst others.

Want to make a conversation really short, or really long? Start with understanding each other’s assumptions. Most folks take them for granted. Finding what they are is either so scary that the topic gets switched quickly, or so engrossing that the conversation can last decades.

I’ve been checking my assumptions about balancing life and money, partly because I wrote the book based on that premise, but mostly because since I wrote that book I’ve witnessed financial extremes that have influenced my lifestyle. Fundamentally, I like most of the companies I am invested in, the projects I am involved in, the people I know and am working with, and the artwork I’ve created and am creating. Logically things should be going well. Currently, I realize a challenge is being made to the assumption that those fundamentals will sustain my lifestyle for a long time. The money to pay the bills is coming from a much smaller pile than a year ago. Emotionally I am reacting to that disconnect; but rather than doing the same old thing (living the life of a writer/photographer and a semi-retired engineer) and rather than abandoning that for the old older lifestyle of full time professional employment, tie included, I am checking my own assumptions. Stay tuned for results. It is a long internal conversation.

I didn’t travel to California to reassess my life’s goals, mission and strategies. I went to visit my dad because there was a hole in my schedule and because I’d missed his birthday. The trip made me think about assumptions though because this time the entire expense went onto my credit card. For a frugal guy, that’s very noticeable.

What I got from the trip, besides a family visit where I helped my 85 year old dad help a neighbor whose tractor was trying to slide into a pond, were reminders of what I’ve learned from other trips. Every place has people that think that it’s the best place to live. There is beauty everywhere. Most people are trying to do the same thing, take care of themselves, their family and friends, and their house. Our society does revolve around money, and money’s tie to true value may be skewed, but money is necessary to pay the bills; and that necessity initiates actions that can easily distract people from their values. The various assumptions along the way are highlighted by frustrations where the world doesn’t seem to match expectations. A lot of the frustration I saw between people was basically, “How can you possibly think differently? Why don’t you understand?” It wasn’t a failure of logic but a different set of assumptions, a different perspective.

But at the core of the experience was a perspective I acquired in Scotland. Every moment has beauty. Every moment contains every emotion. If I assume I want to be happy, it’s a much shorter trip to enjoy this moment. Having enough money to pay the bills and to have fun is a large part of participating in this society, and eventually it can lead to fewer distractions within every moment, but the happiness is free. Now, pardon me as I travel inside to find out why that perspective is so hard to maintain. Stay tuned.

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We The People

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Tom Trimbath

“We the People” is the opening phrase for the United States Constitution, which was ratified on September 17th. Frequently we focus on the Declaration of Independence and the Fourth of July, yet it is the Constitution that defines the United States government. It helped define what we can do with our time and our money, frequent themes within a frugal life. As a writer I am drawn to the words and what they mean to me. So, allow me on this overlooked anniversary to play with those words and a bit of logic. Feel free to do the same and see where they take you. What country do we, not just me, define?

We the People sounds like a fine basis for a society. We, a plural, a community. The People, capitalized, humans without discrimination.

Look at the phrase without the influence of history or political histrionics. Now, design a society that supports that concept.

People. People must live and to do so they must survive. The basics come to mind: food and shelter. Food leads to agriculture and the proper care of the land, the water, and the air. Shelter is not as much about housing as it is about protection from the elements. Houses work well for that, but the main thing they do is protect people from the detrimental effects of exposure: too much sun, too much wind, too much rain, too much cold, and their many variations. For people to survive they must be healthy, which with good food and shelter becomes much easier. Health also includes defense against nature’s biological hazards. Sanitation helps and treatment of infections is also necessary.

People is plural, many individuals.

We is effectively singular, it is community. At its smallest, community is the family. Generations extend family forward and back giving importance to more than one lifespan, to more than only the present. The younger generations benefit from the mother’s health even before the child is born. The older generations benefit from the support of others while giving back experience and lessons. Teaching works best when communications are easiest. Different people and different stories mean different communications: written word, song, dance, picture, experience.

Those two paragraphs are enough to argue for good health care, housing, environment, infrastructure, and a knowledge of the world around us. Child care, elder care, education, the arts, and an understanding of each other provide continuity for the species.

Labels blind us to the true meanings of words. But it seems to me that providing for we the people would be conservative, a philosophy and strategy that seeks to preserve and perpetuate our species.

Defense is necessary, but only because this “we the people” disagrees with another “we the people”.

Finance is necessary, but only because we have yet to figure out how to provide for, and distribute equitably enough goods for everyone.

The concepts we and our society need aren’t new. They are fundamental and part of our history. Since we learned to write, we’ve recorded the effort; but our species goes back hundreds of times longer than our oldest writings. Those issues have been with us throughout.

The one thing that has gotten us this far is that none of is can do this alone. It requires “We the People”. So, as I asked above, “What country do we, not just me, define?”

PS There is a personal lesson. Having done this I started to look at and reassess my personal choices and values and realized that I lack that simple definitive statement. I want to find my personal version of We the People, and I’ll make sure it is a complete sentence.

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Tired Busy Good

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Tom Trimbath

Life’s been busy lately. Good – I think. Let me check. I’m tired enough to have missed something.

Somewhere there’s a song that goes something like, “Time ain’t money when you’ve got nothing but time.“, and no, it isn’t the Huey Lewis song.

Lately, I’ve been booked with so many unpaid opportunities that I am pleasantly overwhelmed. I haven’t even minded a couple of the no-shows because those dinners turned into quiet recuperations. Well, I do actually wonder what we missed. We’ll get back to those projects. They are ours. Their schedules are in our control, mostly.

A year ago, that much activity only happened sporadically. Now, this activity has me fondly remembering my vacation from last fall when I walked across Scotland in the rain. Carving out that block of time wasn’t easy. This year it would be tougher. And that’s good. Economic reports chronicle unemployment, salaries, discretionary spending, and interest rates. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) may sway government policy, but there are intangibles that precede economic recoveries. I think I’m witnessing the turn of the tide.

I knew that the financial turmoil could get this bad. The possibility was obvious, but I thought the probability was low. Oh well. Here we are. Luckily, there is more than one here here. There’s a here that’s up there with organizations and ultra-rich living in a disconnected world of financial instruments and abstractions, where frugality may mean foregoing necessities that are unimaginable luxuries for 99% of the world’s population.  There’s a here down here where most people pay bills by working. Make something or provide a direct service and get paid. Build a wall, wire a house, mow a lawn, counsel someone’s that distraught, teach and receive money in exchange. Of course, within the American system, everyone is allowed to set their goal to whatever level they desire.

Luke: She’s rich.
Han Solo: [interested] Rich?
Luke: Rich, powerful. Listen, if you were to rescue her, the reward would be…
Han Solo: What?
Luke: Well, more wealth than you can imagine!
Han Solo: I don’t know, I can imagine quite a bit.
(Star Wars: Episode IV)

My schedule isn’t the only one that is filling. Friends are harder to get in touch with. Folks in cubicles are getting home later. Entrepreneurs are meeting, planning, and gathering resources. A fair chunk of my community of friends are most easily phoned after 9PM. The rest of the day is booked. Last night I was 0 for 4 trying to call friends before 8PM.

In my opinion, our society works best when it isn’t disconnected. But while some segment of society seems to have lost compassion for the rest that rely on public education, health, transportation, and recreation, they are getting to the point that I am beginning to feel sorry for them. (Note: I say stereotypical because I am very aware of very aware people like Warren Buffet and such.) They may have money but they seem to be losing wealth.

There is great turmoil above. Down below though, there seems to be an awareness brewing of what to trust, which systems continue to work, and who to deal with. There’s an angry sky with lightning and thunder, but beneath it farmers’ tractors are rumbling to life and the wheels are slipping, slipping, and now possibly catching and gaining traction. Sometimes we have to ignore the weather and get to work anyway.

Life isn’t perfect. I continue to wonder about paying my bills. I also am heartened by the response to my classes and my art; and I am heartened by the anecdotal observation that I am not alone. Lots of people are tired, because they are busy, and that is good.

 

This post was brought to you by, a very late evening writing session after a very long day. Good.

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Training The Trainers

Posted on September 10, 2011 by Tom Trimbath

Classes have begun. Well, of course classes have begun; it’s September. Outside the pubic school system though, classes are continual. Before graduation, education was something scheduled for nine months out of twelve. After graduation, testing and learning are daily events. That was true before graduation too, but summer vacation fought hard against learning. One of the signs that it’s time to listen and learn again is when things don’t seem to be going the way we expect. Considering the planet and the economy right now, there’s a lot of listening and learning that needs to happen. Luckily, There are a lot of people taking both roles.

I helped teach a class this week. Art and Photo Book Making was an evening’s event put together by Joe Menth (co-owner of Fine Balance Imaging with Nancy MacFarland) and me. Joe talked about the how of making the book: image quality, file management, creative options, etc. I talked about the why of it: gift vs. sales, price and cost sensitivities, sale distribution, etc. We had a good enough time and a large enough audience that we’ll probably do it again. Stay tuned. While Joe taught his section I sat and learned. I don’t know if our roles switched when I was talking, but there’s always that possibility.

People amaze me. Give anyone enough time and eventually they’ll get to a topic that they know better than most. Even kids can be experts. Ask most parents about who is the family’s computer expert. It probably isn’t the oldest person in the room. When I was in school though, we were taught to sit there and be quiet. We weren’t even allowed outside the school grounds for lunch. Everyone ate in the cafeteria. The local Dairy Queen would’ve loved it if we could only walk from our parking lot to theirs every noon. Nope. For the most part, we sat there and listened. I won’t try to tell you it was all right and proper. Some classes were chaos and some were physically dictatorial. But in any case, the flow of information was well-defined. It took years for me to loosen up and realize that there were things I could teach the teachers.

Teachers must be taught. At some point, a person stands into that role, whether through a desire to teach, in response to a request, or sometimes by chance. I’ve fallen in to teaching. I enjoy public speaking, at least after the first five minutes of wondering how it is going to go this time; and I’ve learned to recognize that there are things I know better than most. Being an expert isn’t as important as having an interest in the topic, an interest in the audience, and an audience that wants to learn.

Karate taught me that. When I started, I was respectfully impressed with everyone with a black belt. Even before I had a green belt though, my instructor (Shobayashi Karatedo Kyoshi Jerry Gould) put me in charge of a class. He says. I do. But what was I supposed to do? There was no time for hesitation, so I mimicked what I’d seen in class. I started with the basic meditation, which purposely went a little longer than usual, and the basic exercises. By the end of that, I’d decided to step slowly through some of what I’d already learned. I stayed within my comfort zone and eventually made it to the end of the class. They liked it. How could they? I wasn’t a black belt. I barely knew more than they did. Some even knew more, but about different aspects. Ah, so that’s why he had me teach the class.; so I’d learn that knew something and that there was no reason to fear being up front. Or it could have been that he needed a break.

Writing this blog is a continuance of that realization. I am not an expert, but I also acknowledge my experience, my openness, and my lack of fear within topics that are burdened with taboos. Money is central to our culture, society, and civilization, but talking about it in the first person is discouraged. Yet, someone has to say something, even if it is merely to be a starting point for someone else’s discussion.

New Road Map Foundation (where I am currently the board Secretary) exists as a resource for people wanting to learn about money and their relationship with it. Personal financial literacy, integrity, and independence are not taught in schools, so someone has to do it. Most people are self-taught simply by living and learning. Too many give up. There’s no comfortable place to talk about it, or no one to talk with, and they don’t see authority figures as role models. New Road Map has stepped up a notch and, in addition to hosting forums and classes for people want to learn more, New Road Map is teaching a class in how to teach financial literacy, integrity, and independence. (Sign up soon. I think there’s still room for the Training The Trainers session in New England. Oh yeah, and it’s free.)

Our world is changing rapidly and old ways and perspectives are being replaced. I suspect that we each have the capacity to learn the necessary skills and healthier world views, but experience alone is a drastic course. That’s one reason why I applaud teachers, whether they are in the school system, working independently, or working informally on a personal level. If an audience wants to learn, then the biggest hurdle has been cleared.

A friend of mine (Steve Smolinsky) has a concise way of saying that, but I’ll add more words because I enjoy typing, “Pay Attention. Add Value. Have Fun.” Go check out his web site and his blog for his expansion of the description (and hire the man for some lucrative consulting gigs.) For me, Pay Attention, is at least partly listening to what people want and understanding their situation. Add Value is that simple act of making sure that everyone involved gets something positive out of the interaction. Have Fun, is obvious, and ask yourself how often it is overlooked. I’ve sat through enough lectures to know that it is possible to have a class that includes none of those elements; yet, believe it or not, even karate classes can include all three. Make it un-fun and even if I learned something, I doubt that I’ll be back. Make it fun, and as long as I learned something, I’ll probably come back for more and probably bring a friend.

Classes have begun, and I suspect that most of the people reading this post graduated from school and are in the midst of the continuing adult education program called life. We know that learning never stopped. And now it looks like it’s time for us to learn a little quicker, probably from each other as we all become teachers teaching teachers. We’re all in this together.

PS Don’t forget, I’ll be teaching my class on Modern Self-Publishing on September 28th at the Langley Center for New Media. Now, can someone finally teach me to do a better job of promoting my own work?

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Let Them Say No

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Tom Trimbath

I applied for a job. They said no. I’m disappointed but not surprised. I think they’re missing out on a great opportunity, but they probably wanted someone who lived closer (it couldn’t be age discrimination.) I asked anyway. It is easier to say no first, save me the effort, save them the time, save me the rejection. But I’ve decided that letting them say no cuts out a step or two, and maybe ends in a yes.

Almost every day since my triple whammy, I’ve applied for a job, networked, or at least shopped around. My portfolio may have the right stocks, but in times like these it’s prudent to pay the bills with cash instead of depressed stock. Besides, on the fun side, boat prices have probably dropped more than house prices. There are some great bargains out there, and who knows, maybe we’re heading to a Waterworld existence. Nah.

It is easy to look at job openings and find reasons why they won’t work. Some job descriptions are so specific that it’s obvious that they have one person in mind and they already know their first name; but policies dictate that the job must be made public, so we get a glimpse of some company’s office politics. Other jobs are so gloriously defined that the company is hunting for super-heroes. About the only thing left to chance is cape or no cape. Most jobs are described as needing a list of talents, skills, experiences, and conditions that are individually reasonable but collectively almost impossible to find in one body.

If I just limited myself to the jobs that exactly matched me, then I’d be saying no to possibly every job out there, except for the ones that are purposely vague. (Applicant must be breathing and show up in daylight occasionally.)

Once upon a time as a lead engineer I had to winnow through applicants. No one perfectly matched our requirements. I wasn’t surprised. We were designing a type of vehicle that had never flown. No one could know everything that was needed. I knew more qualified people were available but they hadn’t applied. They’d self-selected themselves out of the process by looking at the criteria and measuring themselves against it. They didn’t have everything, so they decided to not try.

For my job search, instead of measuring myself against the listed criteria, I realized that there were three questions involved. My task is to ask and answer the question: “Do I want the job?”, which I answer based on my interests, goals, and values. The company hiring people has already asked their first question, “Does anyone want this job?” Then they get to ask the question, “Do we want anyone that answered our first question?” If I say no immediately, I’ve mistakenly taken responsibility for their questions and answers.

There are jobs that I’d like to take on, even though I don’t know everything about them. That’s an opportunity to learn. When I was reading resumes I was thinking about more than the technical criteria. Of course, I wanted someone who could do the job, but an expert that is hard to get along with isn’t as useful in a team as someone who’d shown that they could learn and get along with others. I accepted the notion that training would be involved.

When I apply for a job, I don’t know, and can’t know, what interconnections the company has to keep in mind. I might have downplayed skills that they consider vital. I know that I might be measured against the other applicants as much as against the criteria. I might be the only person who said yes.

In terms of jobs and even business opportunities measuring myself against abstract criteria is daunting; but jobs aren’t filled by abstractions and opportunities present themselves to everyone.

In turmoil and chaos there is opportunity. There must be a lot of opportunity floating about right now. Turmoil and chaos eject people from their comfort zones. Comfort zones are yes zones. Outside of the comfort zones reside many no’s. No I don’t want to do that, or that, or that. Take me back to the land of familiarity. It’s 2011. Sorry. That land is under redevelopment. Yes’s and no’s are in turmoil too.

Some friends who own and operate small businesses have found old markets evaporate and new possibilities arise. It is easy to try to reinforce the familiar old markets because sometimes their interruption is temporary. New possibilities are easy to discount because they have no history to bolster credibility. But this is the time when transitions are critical and powerful.

I look at the new possibilities the way I look at resumes. This may not be perfect, but does it fit? Can it fit? If it isn’t ideal, is it still better than every other option?

One friend received an unsolicited offer to teach a class. They said no. They didn’t feel that they were expert enough. They measured themself against an abstraction. The people who asked them to teach had measured them against more pragmatic and actually endearing criteria. They liked the teacher and wanted to work with that teacher. A personal no can speak louder than someone else’s yes.

Saying yes to myself moves me forward. Saying no for someone can be demoralizing for both of us, and I might get it wrong. By letting them say no, instead of doing it for them, they get the opportunity to say yes.

This post was brought to you by a personal yes. (Ah, the familiar role of the artist.) I’ll let you say no to reading it if you wish, but you might just say yes instead. You probably did if you got this far.

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Evaporated Wealth

Posted on September 3, 2011 by Tom Trimbath

Where’d all the wealth go? The market drops. DNDN falls off a cliff. My house’s assessed value shrinks? The nation doesn’t appear to be worth as much. My net worth is a lot less than it was before. How did the wealth evaporate?

Wealth appears to be evaporating all around us, except for those lucky enough to be holding gold, or those who are enjoying the perks of executive compensation, or lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time with the right skills. When the price of something drops, the wealth associated with that asset drops at the same time and speed and to the same extent. A vacant lot in my neighborhood was listed at over $300,000 a few years ago. Now it is listed at about $175,000. The owner’s asset has dropped almost 50%. Where’d the wealth go?

In my opinion, wealth is an illusion. It is a powerful illusion, and partly forms the basis of our economy, but it is an abstraction that we impose upon the world. Abstractions and illusions can vanish with a thought, and if we decide to think that way, wealth can vanish just as quickly.

Pop that bubble though and find that it’s not a balloon. Deflate the concept of wealth and it stops shrinking when it reduces to an inner kernel of value. Value, at least one way I use the word, is more tangible, and less likely to change because of opinion.

We could decided that the price of the vacant lot was zero. The price is merely what the market will bear. If no one wants to buy it, it’s price would necessarily be very low. But its value wouldn’t be zero. The land can hold a house and grow a crop. If someone set the price at zero, and someone bought it, they’d get value for the smallest trade in wealth.

Some things can have zero value. Investments with Bernie Madoff, shares of bankrupt companies, the charred remains of a dollar bill burnt to light a cigar, are all worthless, except as stories. Writers can find value in anything.

Much of our society is based on the illusion of wealth and the common agreement of what a currency can be traded for. Those are both abstractions, but they are necessary abstractions, at least for a little while as we evolve our society and civilization into something more sustainable and equitable. Without those illusions it is harder to trade services for cash which can be traded for the goods and services we need in our modern lives.

Watching wealth can be demoralizing and exhilarating. Most people invested for less than a decade have had too little experience with exhilaration. It is the counter swing of the financial pendulum. Human history shows that the pendulum rarely gets stuck on either end of its swing for long. The swings may show up in dollar signs but they also show up in emotions. Optimism and pessimism swing with wealth, though usually slightly out of synch; otherwise, bubbles wouldn’t catch people by surprise.

Watching value is harder than watching wealth just like seeing what the magician is really doing is harder than being taken in by the sleight of hand. Value is fundamental and more closely tied to quantitative analysis. It can be boring.   Value can also be encouraging.

Recently a friend took me aside. She literally suggested we walk away from the traffic on Main Street and sit on the beach. She’d been worried about how I felt amidst the recent financial difficulties; but instead of handing out advice or wagging a finger at a risky style of investing, she wanted me to know that she’d looked at the companies I was invested in and agreed with me. I was invested in good companies. I knew and know that, which is why my emotional swings have been far less than many people expect. She’s a business owner and successful because she’s aware of the illusion and power of wealth and the fundamental nature of value. It was heartening and endearing to find that she’d spent that much effort understanding that part of my life rather than simply making assumptions.

Value is rarely the topic at parties, unless bragging rights are involved. There’s less drama involved and drama is theater and theater is storytelling. Value may not produce story, but it can sustain a life.

Frugality had a stigma of cheapness because frugal folk aren’t conspicuous consumers. They aren’t after the shiniest version or the trendiest tastes. They understand their needs and and wants and resources, and act accordingly. So, if a truck looks dirty and dented but runs and isn’t rusted, then its value is high. It is also less likely to be stolen.

Our country is looking dirty and dented. Even the hitch-hikers may avoid us. But under the hood there is a lot of solid value. I think a couple of extra wars and some failed experiments in deregulation syphoned out too much fuel. But the people I know are hard workers and smart. We have one of the best models for government, partly because it was designed to be repaired and improved. We also are a culture that is more likely to welcome new ideas. It is tough right now, looking at the negative swings in our nation’s and personal wealth, but in part, that’s our collective emotional response. Recognize the underlying value and the wealth we evaporated could return as a welcome rain.

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Get A Puppy

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Tom Trimbath

Turmoil and anxiety. Chaos and conflict. The last few weeks have seen high highs and low lows. For a while there, most days give me cause for celebration and then commiseration. Yesterday had a bit of both. I made sure I ended the day on the upside by calling a friend who is a cosmically minded confidant to many and fun. She hears the highest and the lowest from her clients. (Reference available upon discreet request.) Her response to the bouncy nature of today’s world was to get a puppy.

She was on the speaker phone because the puppy was acting like a puppy. Things must be chewed and then scattered around the room. Interruptions will happen, but then that’s true of life.

Cosmic confidants, a term I just invented, are those folks that try to read the ways of the world to help people understand where they are within the map of their lives and what’s the weather forecast for the next bit of the journey. People seek confidants of every sort when something is amiss and directions aren’t clear. My friend has clients in every social strata which means she hears the troubles and confusions of rich, poor, mainstream, innovative, young and old. That’s a broad perspective, and one that reaches across lifetimes of stresses. Some days she can’t end the day with a phone call because she has to withdraw and recuperate before the next day.

Our call was a mutual relief. We laugh together and knew that was what each of us needed. A few key troubles were shared to sketch our settings, but we quickly switched to finding things to celebrate. As she put it, “If the world’s coming to end, then I might as well get a puppy.” If we’re in the final act, we might as well exit the play smiling.

Today’s world is overwhelming. It always has been. Back when civilization was largely agrarian, life was a constant struggle. What’s different is that today’s problems are global, can be influenced us, and can be covered in great and immediate detail. Ignoring reality requires astonishing rationalizations and efforts. Embracing every problem that comes along was too much when running a farm, but at least the solutions to the problems benefited the farmer. Now, working on planetary problems might not show results within a generation or a neighborhood. Work doesn’t provide immediate reward.

Meditation can seem ritualistic and the details of poses and exercises can distract from the practice; but at it’s essence, the meditation I practice can be reduced to sitting still and breathing, being aware of the moment and not being consumed by the past or concerned about the future. We humans need something that makes us aware of the moment.

Puppies know no other existence. Babies are the same way (from what I hear.) Watch a puppy and notice that there isn’t a lot of planning going on. Squirrel! (Go watch Pixar’s UP! if you don’t get the joke.)

Over a year ago I was in pain. I won’t belabor you with descriptions of symptoms. Doctors made guesses. I tried lots of different diets. No change. One specialist was head down, taking notes, and in my frustration I rambled and ranted about how unhealthy I felt despite diet, exercise, and lots of earnest effort. At one point I said, “Sometimes I think I’m just worrying myself sick.” His response, without lifting his head or stopping his writing was, “We have a saying. Sometimes if you let the patient talk long enough they’ll tell you what’s really happening.” My pains were happening just after Dream. Invest. Live. went public and the stock market tanked. (By the way, check the comments left by someone who had a really bad day.) The doctor’s guess of a diagnosis was that I was too stressed. I was thinking too much. His official prescription was for a colonoscopy plus another test that I also couldn’t afford even with insurance. His unofficial prescription followed two questions. “Got a girlfriend?” “No.” “Got a dog?” “No.” “You should get one of those.” He didn’t specify which one. He also recommended more wine.

Pets and partners can be great stress relievers, as long as the attraction is mutual and healthy.

I was spending too much time in my head worrying about the future. How was I going to find the money to sustain my life? How awkward would it be writing a book about investing in the stock market when the stock market wasn’t rational?

Ironically, or maybe as a reflection of the way the world works, my pains brought me back to an awareness of the present. There isn’t much future to consider while feeling very mortal.

Today I installed my next photo essay (Twelve Months at Penn Cove) in Raven Rocks Gallery (Opening Friday, September 2, 2011 5PM – 8PM). For the last few weeks I’ve been focussed on the day to the point that I couldn’t attend my dad’s 85th birthday gathering down in California. The recent DNDN plunge didn’t encourage travel either. After the frames were hung and the prices posted, I drove over to the local state park: South Whidbey. There was nothing else on my schedule except lunch and this blog. I sat on a bench on the bluff watching the ships pass and the birds swoop. Nothing dramatic, but something deep and restorative.

Money is valuable, but a puppy’s wag is priceless. And each moment is just as precious.

Twelve Months at Penn Cove

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