LeMon Aid: Turn gas-price outrage into economic success

And I am watching all of us get into the inevitable process of adaptation: “Wow, the price came down to $3.69 today. Let’s go out and fill up all our vehicles, five gallon cans and mom’s roasting pan!”

We are actually starting to get comfortable with this outrageous profiteering. Some of you are screaming right now, “We are selling out to the big oil billionaires and commodity traders who are buying some island at our expense.”

You are right. But isn’t it time to move past the blaming to find long-term solutions? Isn’t it time to stop being the victim? Isn’t it time to adapt – and leverage this economic chaos into a better way for all of us to live?

I am convinced there are five initiatives we can take to turn our outrage into unbridled economic and personal success.

First, we must admit that no administration has been able to “end our addiction” to oil, because we have been regularly wrapping our lips around this convenient and cheap spigot.

This nation needs an Energy Declaration of Independence. And just like the first Declaration in 1776, this one will cost us.

There are significant changes coming our way. Our roads will not carry the same amount of traffic and the cars will be much smaller. Solar panels will adorn the roofs of all our homes. Small windmills will mark our rooflines as chimneys in a Charles Dickens novel. We will have bike paths that will be protected and eagerly used. Our communities will congeal into tight neighborhoods where walking to a store is once again possible.

Second, the workplace will take advantage of our propensity for mastering technology. It already is happening. More than 100,000 Americans, in the last two months, have begun working from home at least three days a week.

We already can share information on two computers. We can convene a meeting of 50 staff without ever shaking hands.

What are the possibilities of texting employees vital information? When will a device the size of an iPhone become the only briefcase anyone will need? How can we monitor the productivity, hour by hour, of someone who is not physically sitting at the desk beside us?

Third, what are the opportunities for enriching our personal lives because our worlds are shrinking?

In 2004, 61 percent of adults said they would give up some of their pay for more time with their family. Seventy percent of men ages 21 to 39 answered the same way, according to the Radcliffe Public Policy Center. If four years ago our families were so important to us that we would be willing to give up money to stay to with them, working longer hours on fewer days to keep our commuting time to a minimum should make us absolutely euphoric.

Pull out that old Monopoly game, draw up plans for the playhouse in the backyard and plan on flipping a lot of multiplication flashcards. Who knows, we may enjoy this!

Fourth, with the flexibility and creativity of the Internet, we will build businesses that have no physical front door.

A corporate senior manager recently told me he is seriously considering resignation at the age of 42 because of a device he invented that aids scuba divers. I asked where I could see this piece of equipment, and he gave me an Internet address.

This man is making more money right now manufacturing and sending out his invention than he is at his corporate job. I am convinced the Internet is the Mall of the World.

Fifth, we can leverage this moment of increased cost for fuel, food, clothing, health care and all other “essentials” for living by adopting cheap interventions to discover peace.

Instead of an expensive restaurant meal, throw your world-famous tritip on the grill. Instead of a new living room sofa, accent your living area with fresh flowers in an heirloom vase. Instead of a pricey cruise in the Mediterranean, take a train ride to Chicago and treat yourself to four nights at the Peninsula Hotel.

Listen carefully. Is all you’re ranting and raving about the price of gasoline making those numbers go south? If not, adapt – and start to live in new ... old ways.

Cal LeMon of Springfield-based Executive Enrichment Inc. solves organizational problems with customized training and consulting. He can be reached at execenrichment@aol.com.