You grew up in small town America. On Friday nights, you used to walk down Main Street. You knew everyone you passed. And they knew you too: your family, your parents, your children, and your personal history. While some of us would bristle at the very thought being visible to so many people, or even at knowing that many people, many thrive within such a community environment.
Small towns and villages all across America are being threatened in a way that they probably could never imagine. Communities like Wilmington, Ohio that lost jobs when DHL decided to close its hub operation in that “company” town. Now, everyone is out of work. There are NO jobs there.
Wilmington is not alone. Let’s talk about what will change the face of America. Our great source of strength comes from our heartland, from the men and women who grew up on farms or who worked in support industries replicated in these small towns across America. 
Small towns were self-sufficient. If we go back in our history, we will find that many, if not most, small towns were self-sufficient until the early part of the last century. They had to be. Gradually, as travel became easier and affordable, these small towns became interdependent. Many regions or group of towns became reliant upon either a single employer or a few employers in the same industry.
So, what happens to these collapsed towns? Where do small-town folk find new employment, new lives? What about the seniors in those towns who wanted to live out their years where they had lived and worked for most if not all their life?
As these small-town folks migrate towards the “big cities” looking for work, will they find it? Their chances are not good. The number of people employed continues to decline while the need for employment continues to rise. With no jobs back in the small town, the logical choice is to move where there are jobs. Here’s the problem. If there’s no job when they get there, where will they work? If they can’t find work, how will they live? What will they do? (more…)
Life can be a race against time. Is yours? Most of us, in today’s energy filled environment feel that we’re racing against the effects of time, on us. To one degree or another, we are. Let’s look at the race and make sure we’re in it for the right reasons.
What is the right reason?
The answer will vary for everyone. For example, a young couple could be racing against time to insure they have what they need before their new baby is born. Someone else may be up against a school due date for homework that will affect their entire grade. Still others are trying to live life to its fullest and communicate what’s important in less time than you can imagine.
Life is full of hurdles or obstacles. Everyday people are losing their individual race with time. So how are you spending yours?
Today, I received word that a good friend of mine is going to lose his wife to cancer. She has an inoperable brain tumor. Last year, my own sister, Diane lost her battle with cancer that began a number of years ago and ended at age 59.
At the age of 19 we lost our father to a heart attack. He was 42 years old. We lost our Mother two years later at the age of 44 to cancer. Both of these events had a profound effect on me. Most of my youth was spent thinking that I would only live until approximately that same age. I am the oldest of four. When 42, then 45 had come and gone, I realized that all of that time could have been spent enjoying the time and actually being where I was at any moment in time instead of mentally being someplace else. (more…)
Today we’re all mourning the passing of a great woman, Eunice Kennedy Shriver. As her son said yesterday, “She never held a public office, but she changed the world.” Her legacy is something that as Americans, we should all as aspire to accomplish in our own life.
On Sunday, my wife and I attended a birthday dinner for a woman that works with my wife Margaret. In a brief conversation she said, “I hope my 30’s are better than the 20s.” I told her the only way they would be is if she challenged herself to do something. I asked if she had any goals for this coming decade of her life. She said, “No.” I said, “You’re running the risk of repeating the mistakes of your 20s.”
I don’t know if that will move her towards positive action and setting goals. I know this, if you’re a company, a couple, an individual, man, woman or a child, you’ll accomplish nothing without setting measurable goals. Nothing!
What are your thoughts? (more…)
Husband, Father, Grandfather, Son, Brother, Uncle, 32 Degree, K.C.C.H. Mason, Serial Entrepreneur, Chairman & CEO, Leader, Speaker, Philanthropist, Veteran, and Friend.
A successful entrepreneur with 23 companies to his credit, Mr. Rawson is focused on solutions that provide sustainable answers to domestic and global issues. 
