Not Thriving But Surviving Challenging Times

Reader Contribution by Cam Mather

It’s been over 2 months since Super Storm Sandy hit New York and on the news recently they showed some residents who are only now moving back into their homes.

I watched “Rock Centre” on NBC just after Hurricane Sandy. Most of the show consisted of interviews with people on Staten Island, or in New Jersey, or anywhere in the huge swath of the most populated part of the U.S. that was in Hurricane Sandy’s bull’s eye. It’s kind of ironic when you think about it. Of all the places, the super storm picked one of the most populated parts of the U.S. to make landfall. And just days before the election. Kind of makes you think.

As we watched the news coverage during the storm Michelle kept commenting on how disconcerting it is to watch people in such stress. And these were not the type of people you’re used to seeing in distress on the news. These are people who live near the richest city on the planet. People who live in the richest country on the planet.

My first reaction was “Come on, how hard would it have been to have been prepared for this?!” I mean as long as your house wasn’t swept away in the storm surge, this shouldn’t have been that big a deal. You should always have lots of food and water at your home. You should have flashlights and candles. If you own a home, you must have a level of income that would have allowed you to make some preparations. And you know what? You could have forgone that trip to Vegas last year and put the money you gambled away into a generator. Then you wouldn’t be on the news screaming at ConEdison to get the power back on, because you know power grids are pretty complex and this storm threw a big monkey wrench into the whole process.

Reading my book “Thriving During Challenging Times” would have helped people prepare for this storm. Of course, even despite the best preparations, you might only be able to “get by” in challenging times, rather than thrive during them.

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