PROGRAM SUCCESS – JANUARY 2009
PAGE 39
CREAM RISES TO THE TOP
These tough economic times were predicted, is now upon us, and we really
haven’t seen the worst yet. Many businesses have closed their doors and
many others have laid-off employees. Countless individuals have lost their
homes in foreclosure, while everyone tries to maintain mental stability
attempting to make sense of it all.
We are facing crucial economic times. If you have not been negatively
affected by now, thank God and prepare for your impact… its coming. This
economy is going to force us to use skills and delicacies we have not utilized in many years. Taking a small glimpse at what has already happened
in the arena of retail sales, we find many stores have already closed and
laid-off hundreds of thousands:
Ann Taylor closing 117 stores nationwide. Eddie Bauer closing, more than
the 27 shops already closed. Cache closing 23 stores. Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherine’s closing 150 stores nationwide. Talbots, J. Jill closing
100 stores. Gap Inc. closing 85 stores. Gap also owns Old Navy and
Banana Republic. Foot Locker to close 140 stores. Wickes is going out of
business and closing all its stores. Goodbye Levitz / BOMBAY - closed all
stores. Zales, Piercing Pagoda closing 105 stores. Disney Store closing 98
stores. Home Depot store closing and 1,300 employee layoffs. CompUSA
closed all stores. Macy’s closing 9 stores. Movie Gallery closing 160 stores.
Pacific Sunwear closing 153 stores. Pep Boys closing 33 stores. Sprint
Nextel closing 125 stores and laying-off another 4,000 employees for a
total of 9,000. J. C. Penney, Lowe’s and Office Depot are scaling back.
Ethan Allen Interiors closing 12 stores. Wilsons Leather Experts closing
158 stores. Pacific Sunwear closed 154 stores. Sharper Image closed 90
stores. Bombay Company closing 384 stores. KB Toys closing 356 stores.
And Dillard’s closing an undetermined number of more stores.
The horrendous impact of this small sampling of our nation’s businesses
effects families’ incomes, diminishing their abilities to provide for their
children and pay their mortgages and other bills. We all one way or another
are affected.
The good news is Cream Rises to the Top! Amidst these tough economic
times, positive growth and change will occur in all areas of society. This is
like a weed and seed program. Every now and then everything needs pruning. This is life’s way of cutting away and removing those unnecessary,
unwanted and decaying things that inhibits our growth. We should welcome
times like these, but we don’t, because of our affliction of Learning Anxiety and Survival Anxiety.
Change in society and change in business means we too must change, and
in most cases learn a new way and/or new method. Learning Anxiety is
resistance to this change. We like the old way. We are accustom to the old
way. Why should we have to change? Many of us choose not to learn under
the pretense of not changing what we value, but the real reason is we resist
learning for fear of failure and judgment under unfamiliar standards. Survival Anxiety is the thrust that enlightens us to the actuality that we must
change or cease to exist and become ill-relevant. Therefore we find a way
to learn what we must in order to change along with change.
When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Gets Going! People will find
ways to become successful even in the most challenging times. Instead of
finding excuses and reasons to fail, we must discover ways to succeed. We
will either find ourselves stating “I lost because of” or “I made it in spite of”.
Our new President Barack Obama is one who can attest to the statement “I
made it in spite of”. Regardless of the fact that there is racism in America,
the fact that no other Black has notably succeeded in a bid for the White
House, the fact that he has a funny name, is relatively unknown and
renownly presumptuous… In spite of – he succeeded.
Barack Obama is not a phenomenal in itself. We will see this year many
who will uniquely excel in business, politics, education, ministry, and service because of their uncanny ability to forecast change and adapt. This
could be you. If so, we need you.
In order for us to make it today, we need the best of our people giving their
best. We need the best of our people as our leaders and the best of our people as our teachers. We need leaders that ascribe to excellence – not
mediocrity. We need teachers willing to enhance our abilities to advance us
to a higher level of achievement. This is Program Success.
We are Mountain Climbers who believe in assisting other Mountain
Climbers to the top by extending a support line uniquely designed to
develop business principles and practices toward success. Together we can
point out and eliminate barriers, pit falls, and obstacles that conceals and
inhibit that allusive path to success… because failure is not an option. This
is Program Success.
PS: Wake up early and work late.
PS: Turn off the television set.
PS: Talk to people you resisted talking to.
PS: Have patience.
PS: Establishing untraditional allies.
PS: Find a Role Model
PS: Find a youth to Mentor
PS: Volunteer at a school
PS: Give financial support to a needy family weekly
PS is Program Success
We are Program Success
The Name Says It All!
ProgramSuccess.net