making a difference. Justin Knabb's blog

Dancing Nancies and other frequent thoughts

Dave Matthews offered up some healthy, yet uncomfortable thoughts in his song "Dancing Nancies:" 

Could I have been...

A parking lot attendant... a millionaire in Bel Air... lost somewhere in Paris... your little brother... a magnet for money... a dancing Nancy?

Could I have been anyone other than me?

I can't help but ask the same questions from time-to-time.  I've gone from wearing so many different hats in a short time-frame to wearing just one bigger one over the past year.  How would life be different if I stuck to one of those other hats?

My college experience offered up a world of opportunity.  While there, I interned at the world's largest healthcare company.  nah.  I also met lots of great people and tasted different cultures in my trek through Europe in '04.  just not sustainable.  And I networked like mad with Villanova alumni.  but nothing quite stuck.

I moved to Montana to work at a camp to benefit children dealing with cancer.  a worthwhile yet temporary experience.

I moved to California and became a non-profit entrepreneur.  great experience but not my end dream.  I then moved to the big city-- San Francisco-- but a.) couldn't stand working in converted janitors' closets as an "accounting associate" or b.) didn't find it realistic to have $1M anytime soon for a down payment on a home.

I had a TON of fun trying lots of different hats.  I guess I was a dancing Nancy, a parking lot attendant, etc.  But none stuck because, in my mind, there was so much to be said for what was missing: family, the friends I grew up with, the Philly sports scene, changing seasons, and our family manufacturing business.

Now that I'm back in my hometown for a year, I can't say I regret my decision coming back.  But I make no bones about my intentions... I don't plan to stay here forever either.  Our business isn't booming into a Fortune or Inc. 500 entity quite yet, but given our current economic situation, we're definitely doing well and have much to be thankful for.  I better say that again... we have much to be thankful for.

I think my restlessness lies primarily in geography and in not yet growing our business to the degree that I ultimately hope for.  Regarding geography, life is too short to stay put and live a standard (and, I feel, boring) life.  And regarding business, life is too precious not to develop a business that is tons of fun and game-changing.

Right now it's just all status-quo.

And I can't take that much longer anymore.  Time to get back on the horse again...

World Series starts tonight

Today is a day where every diehard Philadelphia Phillies fan-- myself definitely included-- feels like a kid on Christmas morning.  We've waited 15 years for this.  Others will take it a step further and say we've actually waited 25 years for any championship (but let's take this one step at a time...).

Since our Phils last roared onto the national spotlight in 1993 and assumed the role of America's lovable, sloppy underdogs, we've longed for this day for our Broad Street heroes to return to the same stage.  And that day is today.

Shane Victorino is our new Lenny Dykstra.  Matt Stairs is our new Pete Incaviglia.  Chase Utley is our new Mickey Morandini (that actually learned to hit).  Cole Hamels is our new Curt Schilling (that switched throwing arms).  And Brad Lidge is our new Mitchie-Poo (who can actually convert saves without giving us ulcers... most of the time).

As they say in Fox's commercial, "There's only one World Series.  There's only one Fall Classic.  [and] There's only one October!!"

The Phillies are back.  The city of Philadelphia is back.  Yet this time around we're hoping for a new result.

Bring home the pennant, fellas... we're behind you guys all the way, win or lose.  Question is, who will step up this Series and become the new hero... the new DUDE??

                 

LET'S GO PHILLIES!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Inquirer

I'm an addict.

This NYT article confirmed it:

Here.

Some days I'm not sure if the world spins faster-and-faster, or if the pace of news and buzz is picking up speed like a cyclone.  I think it's both, but regardless, the current affairs of the world quickly become a black hole where productivity goes to die.

With the election in full swing, with the economy in the trenches, with the Phillies in the playoffs, with Facebook blasting newsfeeds on my friends in real-time, and so much great content out there... it's just tough to ignore.

Will our information mediums and Long Tails continue to accelerate and evolve?  Or will we eventually grow tired and substitute our computers and TVs for actual, real life again?

As an addict currently living in the former world, I definitely aspire to head back to the latter.

Tyler's home

One of the greatest joys in my life is my family. In fact, it's one of the primary reasons I moved back to PA from my beloved California. And tonight was one of those special nights when our family could sit down for a nice Italian meal together.

In times like this I always find myself sitting back a bit in my chair and taking in the view. It's so refreshing to see us all together.

My younger brother, Tyler, is home from college for the weekend. It's phenomenal to hear and see how he's progressing already in such a short time.

Today I'm thankful that we could all sitdown together-- Dad, Tyler, Mom Mom, Pop Pop, Aunt Cathy and Uncle Ricky-- to hear about his eventful few months. Here's hoping for many more times like this together...

Respite from a turbulent stretch

What a week.

Even from our quiet warehouses in rural Pennsylvania, you can honestly cut the panic and fear with a knife.  My fellow employees are afraid if they have any hopes for retirement.  My newsfeeds all translate into doom and gloom.  And my humble portfolio-- much of which I had been earmarking for a down payment on my first home purchase-- is literally dwindling away by the minute.

You know it's bad when you lose $1,000 in a day and don't feel as upset as you did yesterday.

These are extraordinary times.  An education by fire.  I partly agree with my father that it takes experience in markets like those of the 1987 and the 2000 Internet bubble to truly understand how to react in an irrational market.  I don't have that experience, of course, but others do.  And virtually everyone agrees that this is no doubt uncharted territory.  That this time is different.  That a recovery to pre-recession levels could take 10 years-plus.

What's scary about this economic crisis lies in what's coming out of the wash.  This plunge in world markets wasn't caused by one single catastrophe or an isolated series of incidents.  No, the profound consequences from years of the collective bad, fundamental habits of Americans and, really, the human race are rearing their ugly head.

The following realities are unmistakable:

• America's addiction to oil (and stubbornness to get off it)
• America's addiction to subprime credit (and subsequent surplus of worthless debt assets spread throughout the system)
• America's impotent Congress
• America's failure to invest in clean, renewable energy initiatives
• America's consumer crisis... the collective overspending habits of so many not only slowing but reaching a grinding halt
• America's health care debacle
• America's outsourcing problem
• America's inevitable rising unemployement
• The perpetual threat of radical Islam to our national security

There are so many more fundamental issues that we must face.  In considering our recent $700 billion financial bailout, our $10 trillion-and-growing national debt, and other budgetary challenges, the toughest reality to swallow is that of our government mortgaging our country's future today.

My generation will have to step it up, plain and simple.  We will be inheriting a list of challenging problems to work out.  A hot, flat and crowded planet.  An immense national debt.  A fallen Detroit auto empire.  A broken education system.

We watched the wheels fall off the bus, truly, before our eyes this past week.  And getting to the heart of the matter, my question is this: Is the American Dream going to live on?  Will my generation, and my children's generation and beyond have the same opportunities as those prior to us?  Will we live in an America that provides a system where everyday people can break through cycles of poverty and create a life once dreamed about?

Then again, there is that maxim that gives me hope: that among the greatest of problems are also the greatest of opportunities.

Time will tell how this recovery will pan out, if at all.  But the mission today is clear... I'm going to keep my head up and get back to work.