Have you ever watched people in the television department at Sears or Best Buy? Every so often one of the larger than life flat screens will be connected to the real world which instantly stops a passerby; it’s as if we keep looking for the great Economic Messiah to return with plenty of good times and cheers for American businesses and their employees.
What you don’t see on the front page of newspapers is how nothings changed. The first rule of positive thinking is to fake a smile, eventually the rest of you will catch up. It’s ok to be nervous just don’t let the rest of the world see The United States sweat.
Wanna know why I love America?
During the days of Benjamin Franklyn, holding a metal key during a lightning storm did more than ignite the lights inside a constantly thinking mans head. Benny was everything to a lot of people. He was this nation’s first master of invention. If given another ten minutes Mr. Franklyn would’ve developed the IPad, Iphone and Netflicks connection to your Wii system.
More than anything, he loved to write. Over two hundred chapters later in the book called The Life and Times of Turtle Island (Native American description of our country) Historian’s have confessed that Ben Ben fanna fanna fo fin was the worlds first Blogger. He didn’t rely on corporate printers to back him up or publishers to edit out personal struggles and temptations. BF was a BF to the people….(Ben Franklyn was a Best Friend) because he wrote in ways that kept this budding group of dreamers abreast of what was goin down in the hood.
Thanks to Social Networking, Face Book, emails, Blogging, texting, The Kindle, Nook and anything else digital…unmasked has been the soul of a true America.
In the past five years the lost art of communicating through writing has resurfaced which is giving an authentic voice to radio talk show hosts who’ve adopted the idea of putting pen to paper, fingers on keyboards and writing news and reviews for those who need more than on-air propaganda.
Remember the movie Good Morning Vietnam? Robin Williams walks into the studio to read the latest news headlines and the majority of the story is blacked, blocked and punted out of the picture. The only word heard by millions of our brothers, sisters and fathers and mothers was what high ranking military leaders wanted them to know.
It’s like walking into a car dealership…the only thing they tell you is what you want to know not what you need to know, which is why you should always get in touch with Carfax before pulling the dough from your money maker.
Elizabeth Hyland is another wave maker…her book Surviving the Unemployment Roller Coaster rips the curtain off the wizard and flat out freaks out the beast who took you down because it teaches you how to get back up.
Just incase you’ve channel surfaced out of the national news, they’ve spent the past few months covering the tight tales of elected officials who are gaining strength in the idea that, “American people are lazy! They love the idea of not working! It’s the new welfare!”
Ouch!
Elizabeth Hyland’s new book comes from the bowels of hell with a message that says, “Yes you can still do it.” The modern day Ben Franklyn not only feels the heart beat of a willing America but has done the necessary homework to help refine and tune up your hard working engine.
She writes, “One of the most difficult things about being unemployed is dealing with all of the unanticipated feelings and the stress of staying on top of your job search. A positive attitude diminishes, your emotions get out of control and you begin to learn how to ignore your feelings.
Lets be honest...we don't need the 11 o'clock news to tell us when life is going to be better, you’ll know when the economy is back on line when libraries are open seven days a week, teachers are no longer county and state pawns in a game of financial chess and city lights will shine bright late at night. Get up at 3am and take stroll, your favorite daytime place to drive is dark, dark, dark at night…can you say the perfect place for crime?
A North Carolina Broadcast Hall of Fame inductee once said to me, “Play everyday like it’s your final day…you aren’t in control of your destiny which is why you should be prepared for the next chapter of your book. Always leave through the back door; it makes it more difficult for managers to find you.”
The hidden message is simple: take ego out of the game plan and play like you’re on the bench. Load your passion driven dreams with valuable tools not for the present but for tomorrow when something unexpected becomes the path you walk. Elizabeth’s book is the hammer to pull the metal from the board after you’ve been nailed.
In the meantime…write about this current state of American emotion. Don’t let your footsteps be lost prints in the sand. How we survive determines the fate of the future. Use Social Networking to connect. Face Book doesn’t have to be about taking a trip to the grocery store…take your experiences and teach those who are waiting to learn. Book stores are filled with paperbacks that sell and all too often what’s being printed is the world’s largest fake smile.
Is that truly what you want to take to the generation after your grand children?
arroecollins@clearchannel.com
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