Trouble in blog city this week. The problem isn't finding something to write about. The problem is that there is so much to write about. That's news worth noting. The nice part is that I didn't have to do anything to find these items. I just had to listen to people talking.

 

This past week there was a unofficial meeting of shareholders (DNDN), an encounter with an ingenious electric car builder, and numerous conversations with friends running expanding businesses.

 

After the dismal days of a downturned market, and I am referring to the market before March 2009, investors are finally breathing sighs of relief. There are occasional hiccups, but investing has become a topic of hope rather than regret. A few of us gathered for an evening of snacking and chatting about one stock in particular, DNDN. The details stay with the group, but the note I’ll pass along is about the buzz around the table. We all had a stock in common, but the conversation wasn't simply celebration, nor was it dreary discourse. People were energized and engaged as they talked about what might or might not happen. Should they buy or sell? What should they do about taxes? What are their goals? How will they spend the money? Investing isn't dull and the goal isn't greed. Families and charities were more common topics than boats and houses. Though some of us might finally get cars with less than hundreds of thousands of miles on the odometers.

 

 

Interspersed throughout my week were conversations about small businesses with a new set of problems. I can quickly think of four that are at that critical stage where they have enough business to warrant hiring, but can't generate the payroll funds until after they've added to the payroll. The cash gap between the two is tough to leap. That's a great place for business loans, but bank bureaucracies stymie attempts at expedient action. In the meantime, the folks are working longer hours, more days, and then trying to find time to fill out the loan paperwork so they can hire people to help them grow.

 

Every story wasn't painted in rainbows. Struggles continue but those are shrinking islands that will also never go away completely.

 

 

That's not all there is. Last night's visit to the theater resulted in news of a couple more business ventures being launched. Others are seeing significant, though intangible, progress. Sometimes compliments are more important than the money.

 

There is a lot of good news out there. That's a treat for me. When I started this blog I wondered how long I’d be able to find topics about dreaming, investing, and living. The biggest difficulty is picking a topic out of the cornucopia, and that is fine. Each of these stories are from people who are living passionately. They may not be getting vacations, but they are very much alive. Fatigued, but alive.