Good morning, Team! It’s Friday!

Remember when?

•Kids played outside until the house light came on (by a switch that your Mom or Dad flipped) indicating it was time to come in? 

*I saw a couple at the fair last weekend with two kids, both had leashes.

•Pop was a dime? It came in 10oz refillable glass bottles.

*Now there are so many beverage choices, they sell water with strange names like Liquid Death and it costs $2!

•You met your sweetheart at a dance or at church? 

*I think online dating apps are still prominent but they are starting to become old news.

•Your boss used to yell at people out in the open and if he didn’t like you, you’d be fired … because he could…then turn around and fire someone else standing close to the last guy that got fired because they talked too much.

*I read a quick article this week about how AI is starting to impact college grad hiring rates. (We still struggle placing full value on people.)

•Retirement meant you were done working at 65 and you looked forward to the social security check and your pension so you could relax and enjoy yourself after working for 43 years or more?

*Today, pensions are scarce, social security will change significantly in the next 5-7 years and many people are working into their seventies.

So much has changed in the last six decades and it is sure to change dramatically in the next 10, 20 and 30 years from now.

How will you handle change?

Embrace it or argue and wrestle with it?

If and when you are fortunate to have children and grandchildren, are you telling them to duplicate your life or don’t you want them to thrive in their environment, whatever that might be?

I remember when I played outside until dark with no supervision, drank pop down at Bjornson Oil. Met my first girlfriend at the school dance. Heard of the founder at my first professional job who fired two people, one right after the other, in an open floor environment…because he could. And I know many people who retired by 65 and lived very comfortably on the retirement funds made available to them until they passed away from old age.

Life is different today. We enjoy many wonderful things due to advancements in research and technology. We have evolved as a society. We work fewer hours, charge more for those hours worked and rely on computers more every day. We have only one real choice, embrace change like a loved one. Reminisce, smile, and catch up. Or don’t…and miss out.

Have a blessed weekend!

Eric