Toronto, 6am, December 11 2008

14 days to Christmas. Even in the silence of my study, I hear Bing Crosby crooning his Christmas carols. I see the lights on my neighbour’s lawn. We’re deep into the Festive Season and it feels like it. Maybe I’m not as naively upbeat as I was in 2007, but I’m wiser and stronger.  Everything seems more real. The conversations are more real. People are more real. The issues are more real.  There is a new kind of camaraderie percolating up from shared hardships. This year, the Rich did not get Richer – they lost the most. No-one has emerged unscathed from the carnage of 2008 – especially me. Financially, I took my lumps along with everyone else. But professionally, socially, emotionally and physically, it’s been a rich, rich year.

With every conversation, I’m discovering that people don’t want to talk about nothing any more. Idle chatter is a waste of time. In a crisis, people want answers. They want to make sense of things that don’t make sense. They’re looking for answers where previously they weren’t even asking questions. The Good Ones understand that nobody is going to rescue them from the problems ahead. They understand that they are the ones who will be rescuing others. So they’re paying more attention; they’re being more deliberate; they’re reaching out to their peers; they’re talking more and they’re listening more. What they’re not doing is lamenting the new reality. They’re not complaining, blaming or pointing fingers. They know that there’s nothing wrong with the way things are. Things are exactly the way they’re supposed to be because that’s the way they are.

I’m writing these words in a spirit of muted joy. I’m quietly celebrating my feelings of aliveness. I’m thinking about my dramas, adventures, lessons, victories, mistakes, losses, and connections in 2008. I know that 2009 will take them all to a whole new level. I will have to expand my capacity exponentially to win next year. Nothing can be done by rote. Nothing can be taken for granted. Nothing can be assumed. The least expected events have the highest probability of occurring. Warren Jestin, Chief Economist of Scotiabank, calls it “Event Risk”. Instant acceptance and adaptation to cataclysmic events will be the hallmarks of the new champions.

I’m ready. I’m ready for the call. It’s coming today, and it’s going to keep on coming, every day from now on. My friend, David Gillespie, Chief Training Officer, Peterborough Fire Rescue, told me this great information: “We all hear the sirens of fire trucks running through the city.   The fire crews going to the call have two common characteristics: they are highly trained and positive-outcome thinkers. The reality is that only 3% of the calls are actual fires. With hours of training, rehearsals, and simulations, firefighters become use to practicing the worst case scenario.  Despite not utilizing their full skillset 97% of the time, the 3% attitude carries them through every emergency call. Not doing so could mean death”.

So how ready are you? In 2009, will you prevail or will you perish? Now would be a great time to choose. Make the choice and get ready.