Rainy Days and Wednesdays
As you know, Wednesday Wisdom has been on break for the past two weeks. During my hiatus, I’ve been searching for stories and ideas to share with you. I don’t know if you’ve experienced this too, but over the past couple of weeks I’ve noticed more and more extremes being reported in the news. Many of these extremes are about enormous divides— across different sectors and topics— that have made me stop and ask, what should I do with this information? Is this something for me to be worried about? Do I need to get more involved in this?
For example:
According to Forbes, almost 500 people became billionaires during the pandemic (https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2021/04/06/nearly-500-people-have-become-billionaires-during-the-pandemic-year/ ) and another 5 million people became millionaires (https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/millions-become-millionaires-covid-pandemic-194658655.html). Huge stock market gains and soaring house prices were two contributors to the growing wealth of many people over the past 18 months. This is really good news for many Americans who find themselves in better financial shape than they were pre-pandemic. Is this you? If so, is it time to rethink your financial plan? Do you need to do something new?
On the flip side, while millions of Americans were getting rich in 2020, approximately 17% of restaurants and bars closed permanently, and more than 97,000 US businesses shut down (https://fortune.com/2020/09/28/covid-buisnesses-shut-down-closed/). The divide between the “haves and the have-nots” is becoming more and more significant. Did this downturn in small businesses impact your family? Do you need to rethink your own business strategy to protect yourself moving forward? If this change did not impact you directly, do you feel compelled to take action anyway? Are you making an effort to support more local restaurants, or shop locally for goods rather than hopping online and making purchases on Amazon?
Then there’s the wacky weather and the worry many people have about climate change. I watched the evening news last night and was troubled by the national weather update. On the east coast, there were warnings of flash floods. Farmers’ crops are being wiped out due to more than 7” of rain falling in the past week. One farmer reported that his soil simply cannot soak up any more water. In the next minute, there was the report from the west coast about the largest wildfire in California raging along the border of Nevada. The Beckwourth Complex Fire started by a lightning strike, shows no sign of slowing down, and tripled in size since Friday. How is it that one section of the country has an overwhelming abundance of rain, while on the other side there is a record-breaking drought? Is climate change something you are passionate about? Maybe it’s time to have your money more closely aligned with your values? Is it time to pivot your portfolio to socially responsible investments? Or is this not something you personally are concerned about?
Richard Branson earned his astronaut wings after he traveled to the edge of space in his Virgin Galactic Spaceplane over the weekend. The billionaire entrepreneur was so elated by his experience, he now plans to make this possible for other people. If you’re interested, he’s offering “commercial seats” on flights starting in 2022 for $250,000 each. So far more than 750 people have made their reservations. Is it amazing that civilians will have the opportunity to travel to the edge of space? Of course! Maybe you are someone passionate about space travel and you can’t wait to participate. For some of my friends, this rings true. But I’ve spoken with a number of other people who don’t understand why billions of dollars are being spent so frivolously for a few guys’ entertainment. In fact, one colleague pointed out that if Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos & Elon Musk combined their wealth, the three of them could eradicate a few global issues. I’m not saying that these are their problems to fix. I’m simply pointing out another extreme from recent headlines that had many of us asking ourselves, is this something I’m excited about? Upset about? Could these influential people be doing something more meaningful or impactful with their dollars?
To be clear: I’m all for entrepreneurialism, innovation, and technological breakthroughs that can help humanity. There are so many areas where investment dollars plus smart people plus collaboration can make real change. That’s why these examples of extremism really have me thinking, what should I be doing about all of this?
I’ll leave you with these questions: In each of our own little corners of the world, what’s our responsibility? Where are we compelled to take action? How can we make a difference? How do we use our own resources to do our part locally, nationally, or even globally? Do any of these extremes spark a specific action in you? Where will you invest your time, talents or treasures to make a difference?
This Week’s Resources
Bat Girl’s Dream Finally Comes True
When she was 10 years old, Gwen Goldman wrote a letter to then-New York Yankees manager Roy Hamey asking if she could be a bat girl for a Yankees game. Her request was denied based on her being a girl. Sixty years later, Gwen’s daughter relayed her story to the current manager of the Yankees, and last week they made her childhood dream come true! Read here for this awesome story: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gwen-goldman-yankees-bat-girl/
Flashback to the 1990’s
If you share my nostalgia for childhood stars like Soleil Moon Frye, David Arquette, Corey Feldman, Brian Austin Green and Mark Wahlberg (to name only a few) then you must tune into this documentary streaming on Hulu. Kid 90 shares a raw perspective on teenage life in Hollywood in the 1990’s. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14035292/
Your Ticket to Space
In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about the rise of space tourism, which billionaires are leaving Earth, and when the rest of us might be able to join them: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/space-tourism-bezos-explainer.html
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