Welcome & Introduction Message

Hi Steve,
As I was sitting in my garden this morning eating strawberries, I suddenly stopped to look, really look, at the luscious strawberry I was about to mindlessly devour. And in the process, I thought about the countless hands that had touched and toiled to bring this fruit to my table. Looking around me, at the flowering oleander, the patio chairs, the roof on my neighbor’s house, I felt very connected to all those near and far away hands working unknowingly in tandem. If we stopped more often to feel that connection with all things, perhaps we would be kinder to each other.

In 1982, in the midst of the last big recession, I (and a small group of climbers) took a money-losing YMCA program and, in four years, turned it into a quarter-million dollar per year mountain skills school that has grown and continues to thrive. I don’t know what Yamnuska Mountain Adventures is worth now, but it’s easily seven figures!

Back then, I knew the economy was wonky. But opportunity presented itself, and I seized it — in spite of the recession. Taking on Yamnuska was my chance to become an entrepreneur. It was a way to teach myself how to make money, rather than toil for wages in jobs I despised. I’d always been better at theory than making things actual. So this opportunity let me take what I cared about, act on it, and bring it into being.

I made mistakes and learned. We all did. We weren’t clear at first about how to proceed, but we were clear about our “whys.” We all had financial reasons for making the school a success. But, more important, we cared about a shared vision of a high level, high quality mountain skills and leadership program. Today “Yam” is Canada’s premier mountain adventure school, and one of the best of its kind in the world.

Later in that recession, I started an Executive Seminars Program for One Step Beyond Worldwide . I was eager for a new challenge. I wanted to influence how business and organizational leaders related to the wilderness, and the systems of life. I wanted to help them build strong, resilient teams who saw the business case for ecological responsibility and sustainable design. In spite of the recession, I persevered, and the program succeeded. It too continues to thrive, albeit in a different form.

In the midst of a major recession, I created two of my most successful ventures. I not only survived that recession, I thrived. And in doing so I learned some powerful lessons about how to thrive in business — and in life!

If You Know Why, You Can Figure Out the Ways and Hows

I learned that if we have a clear, compelling why, we can figure out how to make it happen. If we want to thrive in down times, we need a powerful purpose and vision to guide and give meaning to our strategies and tactics.

Make no small goals, the old saying urges, for they lack the power to stir our souls. To pull us toward what we care about, and bring out the best we have to offer, we need clear, compelling stretch goals. We need big, visionary, and sometimes scary goals that articulate what we are passionate about creating — goals we truly want to achieve.

Of course, by themselves, goals and desire aren’t enough to create success. But, as you’ll see, clear visions of desired results, grounded in objective assessments of reality, set up a useful “creative tension.” They also set up an organizing framework — a container for creating — in which we can use the tension to energize actions, and teach ourselves how to get from where we are to where we want to be, and enjoy the process.

[Excerpted from my new ebook Staying Up In Down Times: Create Resilience, Results, and Rich Rewards — With Whatever Life Throws At You! For a free reader's draft, go to http://www.bruceelkin.com/free.html ]

I am 23 years old, and I think this site is a great idea! There have been articles about cutting corners financially in the fashion magazines that I have been reading, but I think a discussion board is the better way to go.

My boyfriend and I were thinking of adopting a puppy/young dog recently because of how many people can’t afford to keep their’s. We spent a couple days watching craigslist and going to different local animal shelters. Alas, there was no “spark” with any of the dogs we came across (or they were way too expensive).

Then I thought about how much free time a puppy would take up, and I really need to focus on getting a Macbook so I can learn a new software that I can put on my resume. With that software knowledge I will have a higher chance of being promoted in my company.

We’re going to revisit adopting a puppy after I get that promotion and we get a little more cash flow. Sometimes you have to help yourself to help others more effectively.