Looking at things from 30,000 feet

I just left the Career Counseling office at Syracuse University and changed planes at LaGuardia Airport in New York. Syracuse. Where Cedric Jackson, a basketball player from Cleveland State, made a 60’ ¾ length of the floor shot at the buzzer to beat the #11 team in the nation last night. Cedric was profiled on SportsCenter this morning. In the previous 3 games he had only made one 3-pointer. Wow.

Flying into NY is amazing. At 30,000 feet it is sunny. Then we descended through the clouds to a dreary, overcast winter day. I tried to spot William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ and wave to my good friend, Dr P at the Russ Berrie Institute. Then I remembered I probably wouldn’t recognize it from the road – much less from the air.

I haven’t spent a lot of time in New York in the past 20 years so I don’t know the landmarks. I looked for where the Twin Towers were and didn’t see the location from the air. I did, however, see Yankee Stadium – both of them.

There is the Empire State Building. I’m thinking about the last time I watched “Sleepless in Seattle” or “An Affair to Remember”. Ah, meet me at the top floor.

We passed just above the Statue of Liberty then flew over a huge cemetery that seemed to go on for blocks and blocks.

It all got me thinking about how important it is to look at things from the 30,000 foot level. Let me share what I mean:

At 30,000 feet I see two Yankee Stadiums - one that memorialized the past and one that will take us to the future. The Yankees. Last week they spent over 220 million dollars on two baseball players. 220 big ones! Times must be fabulous to spend all that money building a new stadium and buying the best ballplayers in the country.

At 30,000 feet the Empire State Building seems like a safe haven. Even King Kong couldn’t destroy it.

At 30,000 feet you see Lady Liberty and think of the millions of people who have visited Ellis Island and started to build their dreams by coming to America.

At 30,000 feet you see that grave yard and think of the people who worked hard to give their kids opportunities, educations, and hope.

At 30,000 feet you see the construction cranes building new buildings.

At 30,000 your blackberry doesn’t work. Your cell phone doesn’t work. You can’t get the latest bad news of the day.

At 30,000 feet you wonder what it is like to be the kid who made the basket to beat the #11 team in the nation. You think about the Career Counseling office at Syracuse, and hundreds of other colleges and universities, and are thankful that these offices and directors have one goal – to find employment for their students.

In just over 2 weeks we usher in 2009. Tens of thousands of people will be in Times Square in New York to celebrate the New Year. New opportunities. New leadership in our government. From 30,000 feet . . . with sunshine coming through the plane window . . . all you think about is possibilities.

When we landed I could glance at the headlines from the newspaper. Layoffs. The Big 3 car manufacturers in trouble. Foreclosures. And on and on.

As you enter 2009 – go back to the 30,000 foot level. Start looking at the opportunities that are ahead of you. Start thinking about how you can leverage your skills, your knowledge, your enthusiasm and your ability to be coached and become leaders of tomorrow.

We need these people at Valpak. When I attended the Southern Association of Colleges and Employers convention at Disney last week I talked to many companies who are looking for tomorrow’s leaders.

I’m sure Walt Disney looked at things from 30,000 feet. I’m sure the newspapers warned of doom and gloom when he purchased a bunch of orange groves in the center of Florida. Today we call it Epcot and the Magic Kingdom.

This is America. We are still the land of dreams. We are the land of freedom. The Statue of Liberty stands erect as ever.

Think 30,000 feet. 2009 holds hope, opportunity and promise when you do. Happy New Year.