"Swing and Take Your Cuts" as an Economic Strategy!

Sunday morning I left the house early to meet a high school friend I hadn’t seen in over 30 years. He was down in SWFL with his wife visiting their children and grandchildren, enjoying the Bonita Springs area. I have never been to a high school reunion so we reconnected through Facebook.

While we were sharing our lives we both realized the community we grew up in was unique. It was a small town with a very diverse population, located only 25 miles from New York City. Everyone enjoyed sharing their different cultures, knew each other’s families and played sports together from little league through high school. In fact, my high school graduating class was only 60 kids and most of us had been together since grade school.

Sitting across the table from him, the more we shared the more I realized how much fun I had growing up and how those boyhood experiences have helped define who I am as a man. Certainly I have changed, but there were core values that were instilled in me by coaches and community. I always remembered baseball coach Jim Durling, putting his arm around me before an important at-bat and saying, “ Ike, you have three swings to change the course of this game – I don’t care if you strike out – but please take your cuts!”

Standing at home plate with a fireball pitcher throwing 90 mph fastballs under my chin to push me back from the plate, is not something I could do without confidence and courage. Taking my cuts meant digging my feet into the batter’s box and staring down the pitcher. Maybe just maybe my confidence and determination will make the pitcher just a bit tentative, and then I would increase my chances of making solid contact with the ball and getting a hit. Of course, I could try and wait out a walk, but as a life lesson, waiting for someone else to make mistakes is not what champions are made of! I learned that starting a business from scratch requires taking my cuts at every opportunity and every time I am up to bat! Coach Durling’s advice was good then and it’s good now!

On the way home I stopped to fill the gas tank. Someone yelled – “Hey you, how’s the economy?” I looked around and there wasn’t anyone else getting gas so I pointed to my chest – “Yeah you in the black shirt, How’s the economy?” I had never seen this man before. Did he know I was a financial consultant? He had a white beard and rosy cheeks. He looked like Santa Clause in shorts!

I yelled back, “I’m doing ok!” He answered “I’m doing a personal survey. Every Sunday I drive from Marco Island to San Carlos Park and I make note of all the stores that are newly closed; and then I ask 100 people ‘How’s the economy’ and 99 out of a 100 either have no answer or say it’s not so hot.” He started walking to his pick-up truck when he turned around and said, “I never believe what they say on TV, so I always check things out for myself and my research says the economy stinks!”

My high school buddy and his wife were vacationing with his children, their spouses and four grandchildren. They all came to Bonita Springs from Tampa and North Carolina to enjoy the Waterpark, shopping at Coconut Point, and the restaurants. They liked the small town feel, the beautiful beaches with the city amenities of the Naples-Bonita Springs area.

In a matter of a few hours I had seen two diverse perspectives of our local economy. On one hand, three families enjoying a wonderful vacation and family reunion and on the other hand, a stranger barking at me in a gas station how the economy “stinks.”

During my thirty years as a financial adviser I have seen many recessions come and go. It is clear to me that whether the economy is good or “stinks’ depends on our personal perspective. How we fare in a down economy depends on whether we have the courage and determination to swing and take our cuts! Standing with the bat on our shoulder waiting for a walk may help us get to first base, but taking a full cut with an eye on the fences is more fun and more rewarding!