Within all social systems there are people who do things wrong, amoral, shocking, illegal, and so on and they get the press.  When you think of religion or business, young people, or even movie stars, it is the jerk, the bad news guy that gets the media time.  The media’s attention to negative details has society as a whole making blanket judgments about unfamiliar social systems that aren’t based on facts.  They are based on a story of one person doing it wrong.

One system I’m involved in and very passionate about is entrepreneurism.  There are people, even in my family of origin, that would tell you entrepreneurs step on the backs of others to get where they want go.  I exist in this world. I know hundreds of entrepreneurs, and I would struggle to find one or two who are like this.  Yet, if they did something big and bad, it would make headlines.  The ones who do good things day in day out receive little or no press and don’t make the front page.

I’m involved in and deeply passionate about another system—hunting.  My father taught me to hunt with respect, and I’m teaching my sons to do the same.  I was raised in a home where hunting insured that we had meat on our dinner table.  I’m a bow hunter.  My family and I butcher and eat everything we harvest. We pray and give thanks over the animals we take, yet that story is never told by the main stream media.  It’s just the guy doing it wrong that gets the time.

I find myself being cautious about assumptions made from stories I see in the media.  I encourage you to do the same.  If you don’t, it may close a door for you which, if you knew the whole truth, you might choose to step through.  Find out the whole story and support the good guy.

This idea holds a ton of relevance right now when we hear about the economy.  There are stories of doom and gloom everywhere.  I choose not to listen.  I have identified areas of my business to back off on right now and others to run with.  In my mind, this economic shift only represents change, and opportunities are everywhere for those who are willing to adapt.  Beware of one-sided news. It is a viral source of negativity in this country.