![]() 2020 has certainly thrown our personal and professional worlds into disarray. Listening to a news program several months ago, I was reminded by a fellow ND alumnus of the Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” Kitty and I have grown tired of the negativism and divisiveness of the highly partisan electorate. Change is in the air and we believe this phenomenon can work for us. The response to my last blog Making the World Less Crazy was incredibly positive, but it is time to move forward. We need to begin thinking about what the business and exporting environment will look like post-recovery and how we can capitalize on the chaos and change all around us. There is a great future ahead if we keep advancing globalism. I have been reminded of the favorable effects of globalism in several books I’ve reread this year; Thank you for Being Late by Thomas Friedman, Factfulness by Hans Rosling and The Smartest Kids in the World by Amanda Ripley. Why am I optimistic about globalism and opportunities for Exporters in 2021?
We will soon start our sixth year of the Tradewinds Council™ https://www.jimthomasintl.com/the-tradewinds-counciltrade.html . We are Minnesota exporters looking to advance and grow through common experiences. We never run out of topics to discuss. We have added scheduled virtual meetings to our 2021 program. Contact Kenan Hanhan or me with membership questions and test drive a meeting (next one is a virtual meeting February 12 over the lunch hour). The topic is Using Video as Sales Tool. Remember: We cannot get through these times without each other so embrace each other virtually for the time being! You can receive this blog directly by subscribing @ https://www.jimthomasintl.com/blog. Past blogs can be viewed on my web site.
0 Comments
The response to my last blog World Gone Crazy was tremendous. Many readers commented on the lessons outlined.
I’m lucky. Having been in sales for the past 20 years self-starting a conversation is second nature. My hero, Teddy Roosevelt told us to Dare Greatly, from “The Man in the Arena.” The posit is to display courage. Better to fight in the middle of the dust and dirt rather than kibbutz from the safety of the sidelines. Many shy away from initiating conversations exposing vulnerabilities and opening up. These are hard conversations to start, particularly if you have not spoken for a while. Some advice to friends and family that want to contact that person you expect may be suffering from loneliness:
It is not joy that makes us grateful, it is gratitude that makes us joyful -Brother David Steindl-rast We can’t get through these times without each other. Thank God! Next time-busting out! I’ll share my future optimism for globalization. You can receive this blog directly by subscribing @ https://www.jimthomasintl.com/blog. |
Publications
Archives
January 2021
|