It is tough to sell a product today unless you can find the right “niche,” that small group of customers who value what you have to offer.

Of course, you can help create a valued item by adding just a little ingenuity, a sound packaging scheme and the proper marketing strategy.

Motivation Industry

For the ultimate in niche creation we turn to Despair, Inc®. On the web site, Founder and COO E.L. Kersten, Ph.D., addresses the source of his idea: the thriving motivational commodities and services industry.

“Psychology tells us that motivation – true, lasting motivation – can only come from within,” states Kersten. “Common sense tells us it can’t be manufactured or productized. So how is it that a multi-billion dollar industry thrives through the sale of motivational commodities and services?

“Because, in our world of instant gratification, people desperately want to believe that there are simple solutions to complex problems. And when desperation has disposable income, market opportunities abound.”

In regards to his major point, Kersten is likely dead on – today’s speed of light, technological world is complex. And it cries out for speed of light, technological solutions to problems that were unimaginable a generation ago.

While noting that simple solutions don’t exist, Kersten presumes, rightfully so, that others just might share his basic view on the matter.

Hence, his niche:

“At Despair, Inc, we believe motivational products create unrealistic expectations, raising hopes only to dash them,” Kersten explains. “That’s why we created our soul-crushingly depressing Demotivators® designs, so you can skip the delusions that motivational products induce and head straight for the disappointments that follow!”

The Demotivators® Designs

Much like the motivation industry, Kersten relies on clever packaging and rich, evocative sayings to draw immediate interest. He then adds just the proper level of cynicism and tongue-in-cheek humor to draw you in.

As with the motivational industry, there is no shortage of posters. Consider:

• BAILOUTS – From each according to his ability, to each according to his lack thereof.
• INCOMPETENCE – When you earnestly believe you can compensate for a lack of skill by doubling your efforts, there’s no end to what you can’t do.
• ELITISM – It’s lonely at the top, but it’s comforting to look down upon everyone at the bottom.
• INNOVATION – If it can make your job easier, it can probably make it irrelevant.

Each offers a requisite visual spoof that makes just the right mockery of the typical motivational poster format.

There are note cards for “when you only care enough to share the despair.” There are smaller versions, Variety Packs that are “virtually guaranteed to strengthen your relationships by utilizing the most powerful interpersonal bonding technique known to man, shared misery.” Or if you just can’t decide, there is the Notecard Super Sampler Pack featuring 84 designs representing the “perfect way to tell someone that misery loves company.”

There are coffee mugs and the ultimate office gift: the Pessimist’s Mug. The mug/glass offers the classic half-empty reminder though it will take a true pessimist to “understand why it had to be so big.”

And then there is my personal favorite, the Points-of-View-Glass, featuring a single glass but with “eight different perspectives on it.” From optimist to pessimist and sexist to capitalist, this item is a must have for the home or office collection.

Finding a Niche

The Demotivators® Designs certainly demonstrate how to sell a product. From its extremely clever packaging to its stylish presentation, Kertsen has done exactly what a good business man should, create the proverbial niche.

But while he seems to have something for almost everyone sharing his view, be forewarned. If you visit, your emotions will be not be spared.

Sometimes the knife can cut very deep, as in:

BLOGGING – Never before have so many people with so little to say said so much to so few.

The idea of a college major goes back more than one hundred years. With very few exceptions, the list of available options for students today mirrors the very choices available for their parents and grandparents.

The one significant exception has to be the field of technology where a number of new options exist. But while these fields offer great career options, many are so cutting edge that students may not even understand what the major entails.

Such is the case with one of today’s cutting edge options, computational science. As technology continues to evolve, many industries are now using computer simulations to help them plan for a future that is not yet known.

Computers Simulating the Physical World

While computational science is the name given to the field, students might have a better sense of the major if the term simulation developer were used instead. Simply stated, computational scientists do not study computers; they use the computer and appropriate software models as tools to advance the study of other fields.

The concept of simulation as a tool has been used for a long time in aviation. As part of their training, pilots use machinery that replicates the key elements of flying a plane. In addition to normal everyday flights, these simulators test advanced skills by presenting challenges to the pilot in the form of technical malfunctions or the effects of severe weather.

Today, high powered computers are used to simulate possible world events such as a terrorist attack. Military leaders use computational science to help develop battlefield plans and the appropriate contingencies that should be considered in specific situations.

Meteorologists use simulations to predict the path of a developing storm such as a hurricane as well as the impact of carbon emissions on a warming planet. Large corporations now train executives using simulations that offer specific business challenges that require executives to effectively use their management skills.

Properly constructed, simulation development models isolate individual factors to determine how any one factor alone or several taken collectively can affect an outcome. The results can be used to train specific professionals so that they are prepared to handle any specific problem when it arises.

Majoring in Computational Science

The key to the field’s importance is simple. Simulations create opportunities for training and allow for the testing of theories without ever putting a patient, an employee or a company at risk.

A career in computation sciences demands extensive knowledge of advanced mathematics, computer science, and simulation and modeling. Because a computational scientist creates an abstract model of the physical world then develops a computer program to mirror that world, these professionals must be able to translate abstract models to the language utilized by computers.

In addition, the particular system being modeled may require specific insight into other fields. For example, to create a weather model, simulators would need at least a rudimentary knowledge of physics and chemistry as well as an in depth understanding of the field of meteorology.

In the case of training business executives, computational scientists would likely need a background in psychology, economics, and business management principles. As for developing simulation training models for doctors, computational scientists must possess a strong background in biology, anatomy and physiology.

By the very nature of the field, students interested in simulation development also have the opportunity to be of great service to any number of important disciplines. For those interested in a technology/engineering career yet worried that their work might be of less value to society as a whole, the field of computational science represents a very rewarding career option to consider.

Three Classic Mistakes to Avoid

Debt is a major issue for literally millions of Americans. However, when you find yourself overextended, the fact that many others are in the same boat offers little in the way of consolation.

As your debt accumulates, there is a strong tendency to make three very common mistakes. While it is easy to understand why people make them, they must be avoided at all costs.

Mistake 1: Making Only the Minimum Payment

This is easily the most common of mistakes but minimum payments are a trap. Because of how cards work, the goal of the credit card company is to enlarge your debt so that interest rates yield more in the profits.

Making only the minimum payments ensures you will be in debt for the longest possible time. Paying the typical minimum level for a $500 debt at current interest rates of 15-20 percent will keep you in debt for more than a decade, even if you never charge another item.

Of course, by paying the minimum amount your are maintaining your credit score. It’s just that your debt will grow instead of decrease.

The folks at Learn Financial Planning recommend that you set your own personal minimum payment level that is at least triple the minimum payment and stick to it.

Mistake 2- Taking a Payday Loan

There is debt that is worse than credit card debt. It is the debt created by payday loans.

A payday loan is short-term loan, generally offered on a two-week basis (from one pay period to the next) and ranging between $100 and $500. The idea of a payday loan is to provide you the cash needed for immediate expenses and is a loan against your next paycheck.

Payday loans feature administration fees, processing fees, broker’s fees and even early repayment fees. Typically, the finance charge per $100 borrowed is $25.

While it is easy to accumulate credit card debt, payday loan debt is considered as much as eight times more punishing. While it easy to think this is a good way to deal with an immediate issue it is one you should never consider.

Mistake 3 – Falling for a Debt Settlement Scam

When your debt reaches the breaking point, debt consolidation and debt settlement can be the right step. The first step to take in such a situation is to admit you have an issue and then contact your creditors to discuss possible mechanisms to work through your issue.

You may be able to make some simple progress with your company, perhaps even negotiate a lower interest rate. Simply stated, credit card companies do not benefit if you default.

However, you have probably heard on television or seen online an ad by some third party company that can help you eliminate your debt. While there are legitimate agencies that do provide such services, many other entities are simply hoping to take advantage of your plight. If you are not careful, you may soon find one of these companies is bleeding you worse than your credit card company.

A legitimate debt settlement company will consolidate your loans and negotiate with your creditors on your behalf. The basic structure involves you making one monthly payment based on the total amount owed. As funds are collected, payments are negotiated with each creditor separately, a step that can reduce your debt total by as much as 50%.

There will be a fee associated with the process but legitimate firms will set up a reasonable plan that will help you make modest progress immediately and significant progress long term.

Avoid Compounding Your Mistakes

It is easy to accrue debt in a multitude of formats. If you do not do due diligence, that debt can double or quadruple in the matter of months.

Avoid borrowing and purchasing with plastic. When you do borrow or purchase, pay the amounts off quickly, do not fall into the trap of making only the minimum required payment.

Doing so puts you on a downward spiral into the world of payday loans and debt settlement scammers.

According to Anne Marie Chaker at the Wall Street Journal, “New numbers from the U.S. Education Department show that federal student-loan disbursements—the total amount borrowed by students and received by schools—in the 2008-09 academic year grew about 25% over the previous year, to $75.1 billion.”

The overall news may not be shocking to most people, after all the amount of money students borrow for school has been rising steadily in recent years. But the key number here is the size of the increase.

To put the 25% increase in perspective, we turn back to the WSJ.

“…last year far surpassed past increases, which ranged from as low as 1.7% in the 1998-99 school year to almost 17% in 1994-95.”

In addition to the increase in borrowed funds, the percentage of students taking out loans to pay for school is also on the increase. Today, nearly 70 percent of college students are borrowing funds to help pay for school. Just 12 years ago, the percentage of borrowers totaled 58%.

To get a sense of this distressing trend and its impact on students, the Journal offers a number of frightening examples. First, they discuss the plight of “Kordi Solo, a senior majoring in journalism at Central Michigan University,” who “expects to owe about $60,000 in student loans by the time she graduates in the spring.” Later they tell the tale of “Zack Leshetz, a 30-year-old lawyer in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,” who “has $175,000 in student loans from his seven years in college and law school.”

Even with a law degree, Leshetz lives paycheck to paycheck. And while Leshetz is struggling, Solo might be in an even worse position at one-third the debt level. Given the extent to which the journalism field has been hammered by the recession and an evolving media model, her accumulated debt could well be insurmountable.

Losing Investment?

The impact of this borrowing on students and their future opportunities is significant. Chaker notes:

“The ripple effects for today’s heavily indebted young people are becoming palpable. A growing body of research suggests that tough loan payments are affecting major life decisions by recent graduates, forcing them to put off traditional milestones—from buying a first home to even marriage and having children.”

While most everyone continues to tout the college degree as a must for future job options, Chaker notes that borrowing such sums to obtain that coveted sheepskin put students into a tough spot when they first enter the world of work.

These numbers and the impact on major life decisions have Karl Denninger of Market-Ticker uttering some almost unthinkable words:

“Students are literally coming out of college with more debt than they can ever reasonably hope to amortize over their working lives, making their education a negative net equity position – that is, a guaranteed losing investment.”

In other words, the debt load accrued by the majority of students is so large that even with the greater pay associated with a job based on earning a degree, that pay is not enough to cover both the costs associated with taking care of oneself and the debt payments that must be made.

Borrowing Begets Higher Costs and an Additional Need for Loans

As but another sign the system is not working, it seems that all the borrowing ultimately is triggering an even greater need to pursue loans.

“The rising levels of borrowing,” writes Chaker, “may ironically be contributing to the accelerating cost of college, say some college-finance experts. Loans can give colleges an artificial sense of a family’s ability to pay tuition.

“To some extent, that false sense of security gets built into the assumptions schools make when setting prices, say experts.

“The idea is that as prices rise, families borrow more and more, spurring prices to rise further, which in turn requires more borrowing.”

The untenable position students are finding themselves in has Seth Godin insisting that higher education may well be at the crossroads.

Godin suggests that higher education is going to have to make basic decisions in three distinct areas moving forward.

• Should higher education be scarce or abundant?
• Should higher education be free or expensive?
• Should higher education be about school or about learning?

Currently, Godin suggests that college tends to be focused on scarce, expensive schooling. The result could be categorized as a monopolistic format.

Students can only obtain a college degree by spending gobs of money to gain access to specific curricula at institutions that have ascertained accreditation. Yet once in an institution, there is little emphasis on what a student has actually learned. Instead, credits are paid for and collected and when enough money is spent and enough credits accumulated the degree is awarded.

Godin instead imagines what higher education might be like if a school were to be built around inexpensive, abundant learning. A place where an unlimited number of materials were made available for a modest fee and the emphasis was not on charging per course or per credit, but for access, with a degree awarded based not on the courses or credits or fees, but on demonstrated knowledge.

One Option Exists

While most students continue along the traditional path, one that is taking too many down a road of false promises of future prosperity, it is interesting to see that one company today is challenging the status quo.

A new educational entity called StraighterLine is delivering Godin’s suggested option, offering online courses in subjects like accounting, statistics, and math for a flat rate of $99 a month. Instead of a per course or per credit fee, the rate is $99 for the month. In addition, instead of a semester or yearly or four year degree schedule, there are no semesters or defined calendars.

You as a student decide how many courses you want to take at a time and for how long you want to take them. Instead of heading off to some distant location or stopping your schedule to meet that of higher education, you work online, from home.

Students can “access course materials, read text, watch videos, listen to podcasts, work through problem sets, and take exams” all over the internet. In addition, to make the program more consistent with one critical aspect for learning (the need for a sense of community) StraighterLine also features online study groups where students can collaborate with one another via a “listserv and instant messaging.”

Most importantly, tutors are available to help students when they need additional support. These support personnel are available any time, day or night, and there is no extra costs for accessing such services.

A student completing a traditional college semester of 15 weeks and 15 credit hours in the traditional time frame would spend a total of just $400. Compare the cost of one full year under such a format with the numbers bandied about today for America’s elite colleges, as much as $40 and $50 thousand per year if a student chooses to live on campus.

StraighterLine is actually the idea of a man named Burck Smith. The entrepreneur has created an educational model that seems to fit Godin’s inexpensive, abundant learning concept by getting some other established (i.e., accredited) colleges to allow the transfer of credit from Straighter Line to the traditional learning model.

This is ultimately the biggest hurdle as it allows learners to earn that coveted diploma from an accredited institution. In other words, at the end of the line they have that all-important degree.

StraighterLine is indeed a new model, one where students are not tied to some college campus or program. Instead, students can assemble a degree from various course providers from their own computer.

More importantly, they can do so at a cost that is reasonable, a step that protects their long term fiscal future. Perhaps most importantly, it is a step WashingtonMonthly.com sees as a proper one for higher education.

It may be some time before the “Internet bomb explodes in its basement,” writes Kevin Carey. “The fuse was only a couple of years long for the music and travel industries; for newspapers it was ten.

“Colleges may have another decade or two, particularly given their regulatory protections. Imagine if Honda, in order to compete in the American market, had been required by federal law to adopt the preestablished labor practices, management structure, dealer network, and vehicle portfolio of General Motors. Imagine further that Honda could only sell cars through GM dealers. Those are essentially the terms that accreditation forces on potential disruptive innovators in higher education today.”

Time for a Change

We would like to think the fuse has been lit, that the current accumulating debt loads being assumed by college students would be cause for society to demand a new model for higher education.

Yet, because it is so early in the process, StraighterLine is likely to seem a bit too much cutting edge, a little too groundbreaking and novel for a public that tends to prefer tradition. It is also, dare we say it, a little too inexpensive to be considered a viable alternative by a populace that equates higher cost with higher quality.

But with accruing debts making the current model a net negative for students at precisely the same time that society is placing greater emphasis on earning a college degree, more cost-effective methods must be created.

That would indicate that we are at the crossroads as Godin postures, a time when higher education does move from its current scarce, expensive schooling format to one that features a more abundant, cost-effective learning model.

Over the weekend we were stunned by the conservative furor and the nasty diatribes being hurled at President Obama regarding his proposed speech to America’s school children on Tuesday. In “Beware the 8th of September–2 things to watch,” Columbia Conservative Examiner Anthony G. Martin sums up a great deal of the conservative sentiment:

“Tomorrow is being promoted as ‘keep your children home from school’ day. Various names have been used to describe the day from ‘National Truancy Day’ to ‘Hall Pass Tuesday.’ They all refer to the same thing.“

“Parents all across the United States are keeping their children out of school tomorrow to protest Barack Obama’s address to school children.

“Never before has a President given an educational address to students that is so overtly political. This highly partisan address seeks to uplift and magnify the name of Obama, encouraging kids to ‘think about ways they can serve the President.’“

Today the White House released the transcript of the president’s speech. Our read through failed to turn up the key aspects of the speech that constituted Obama’s overt efforts to turn America’s young people into socialist automatons.

We did see the message about taking responsibility for one’s education; that every one has something to offer; the suggestion that a student can aspire to any profession, whether it be a doctor, teacher, police officer, or God forbid, a senator; the clear indication that being successful is hard work: that to be someone of merit, you can’t let your failures define you; that if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country; so most importantly, don’t ever give up on yourself.

Below you will find the speech. And with it you can assess for yourself if the uproar is, as Shakespeare said so eloquently, “Much Ado About Nothing.”

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event

Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009

The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.

Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, “This is no picnic for me either, buster.”

So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year.

Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.

I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.

I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.

I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.

Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.

And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.

You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.

We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.

Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in.

So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.

But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don’t have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there’s not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right.

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying.

Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.

That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.

I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall.

And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.

That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.

I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work — that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, “I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.

No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song.

You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to hand in.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.

It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

There is no mistaking his preference. All things considered, Nick Brown wants to pursue a career in NASCAR.

If he had his druthers, he would prefer to be behind the wheel.

But he knows there is more money to be made if he gives up driving to pursue a crew member position, perhaps one day tackling the top spot as a crew chief. So despite winning his first race against the big boys this summer, the Bath, ME resident headed south last week to the heart of race country.

He has parked his car, at least for now, and begun his future educational foray into college at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. His major may be mechanical engineering but it isn’t quite what you might expect.

Because this program is a racing enthusiast’s dream complete with a minor in motorsports engineering.

Racing in His Blood

Maine sportswriter Steve Solloway noted that Nick Brown isn’t “much different from other 18-year-old recent high school graduates who are long on dreams and short on experience.” Of course, like many male teens, he likes to drive fast.

It’s just that he has always channeled that enthusiasm to the race track.

As one might expect, Brown is from a racing family.

“I really got into racing from my dad – he took me to the Saturday night races when I was just a baby,” chuckles Brown. “I really had no choice but to like racing – my dad and my whole family are such huge racing fans.”

“I first started racing when I was 7-years-old,” explains Brown. “I started out racing go-karts at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough.”

In 2000, he won his first race, and in 2001 he added another 2 wins. Then came 2002 where he won a total of 15 times and earned his first points championship. In 2003, he moved on to Maine’s premiere racing location, Oxford Plains Speedway, where his racing skills continuing to develop. Form 2003 through 2006 he would earn four straight track Kart championships.

In 2007, at the age of 16, he left the Kart world for what is called a Legend car, a scaled down version of racing coupes from 70 years ago, and raced at several different tracks in New England in the NELCAR series. In 2008, he took yet another step, racing an ACT legal late model and making the three-eighths mile oval at Oxford Plains his home track.

A Summer to Remember

In his second year racing the late model ACT series, Brown earned his first win. It was a 40-lap race at Oxford and came just one week after he graduated from Morse High School.

According to Brown, there have been another 3 to 4 top 5 finishes and another 6 to 7 top tens. Early in the summer he stood fourth in the cumulative standings and was still in the top five until he took a week off to attend his senior prom.

Those racing performances garnered him a lot of attention, allowing him to compete for a slot in the annual TD Banknorth 250 at the Plains. He was even given a prominent, head table seat at the midweek press conference alongside veteran drivers Ricky Rolfe, Tim Brackett, Glen Luce and Joey Polewarczyk, Jr.

While it was not to be in the cards for this year, it represented a huge step for Brown who did have some prior experience with the race. It was just three years ago that Brown got a taste of big time pit duties. He was a crew member for Whorff Motorsports and was part of the team that helped Jeremie Whorff top Kyle Busch for the 2006 TD Banknorth 250 victory.

Tremendous Support

Brown was quick to point out the adults in his life that have been so instrumental in his development as a driver and racing enthusiast. First, he cited his parents, Al, and Tami, particularly when it comes to that major piece of equipment, the car itself.

“My father and mother have always owned and help me maintain my car,” adds Brown. “My father has pretty much been my crew chief from the days of the go-kart until now.”

The college freshman was quick to point out how many others have been helpful to him as well.

“Jaime Magno, Jim Howe, Zach Anderson, Chris McInnes, Mark Green and my brother Ben are always a big help,” notes Brown. “Both at the track and in helping me maintain the car between races.

“And I am fortunate to have a lot of great sponsors: Dunkin’ Donuts, Subway, Servepro, Midcoast Glass and Windows, Jim Magno Builders, Reno Racing and Whorff Motorsports.”

On to UNCC

Maintaining a 3.4 GPA and managing to make the honor roll 15 times in 16 academic quarters at Morse means that Brown also has some other options beyond racing. But he admits racing at times has taken over.

“A few years ago, we had a crisis,” Brown states, referring to his parents view of what had become too big of a focus on cars and racing. “All that I wanted to do was work on race cars but my parents wanted more from me.”

There was talk of entering the engineering field and while not as exciting as racing, Brown recognized his parents were probably right, that getting an education was of utmost importance. Then he learned of the mechanical engineering program at UNCC, a program that offered a motor sports concentration.

“When I saw the program that UNCC offers, an engineering program based around racing, I knew that was the program for me,” explains Brown. “The campus is located in the heart of race country and some of the best crew chiefs in NASCAR have graduated from the program.”

It will be a real test to see if the crisis is in fact abated because Brown has indeed parked his car for now. But in true form, Brown is as Solloway says, long on dreams even if he is short on experience.

“I would really like to race while I am in North Carolina but my financial situation will not allow it,” says Brown with a sigh. “Down the road, I would really like to get onto a short track team or something else here to maybe get my foot in the door for the future.”

With such a viewpoint, it seems Brown should soon be long on experience as well.

The job data for the class of 2009 was very sobering. At commencement time last May, a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers indicated just 19.7 percent of those graduates who applied for a job actually had one.

Though extremely troubling, given the state of the economy and the number of jobs being cut, most experts were not surprised to see such a low number. But the Class of 2010 needs to be forewarned: the employment numbers from 2009 could well have a cascading effect, creating yet another difficult market come May.

2008 Magnified 2009

To get a sense of why 2009 was such a tough market for grads, one actually needs to look back at 2007 and 2008. First, to get a baseline, in 2007, 51 percent of those graduating that spring actually had a job in hand at the time they graduated.

However, in 2008, the numbers were nearly halved. Just 26 percent of those graduating who had applied for a job had one in hand by the time of graduation.

So one of the major issues facing 2009 graduates was the large number of 2008 graduates who were still searching for a job in their field. That rolling competition certainly added to the 2009 challenge and played a significant role in the placement numbers dropping further.

Which brings us to those for whom 2010 is commencement time. Right now, you probably feel there is some hope. It is clear our economy is turning around, albeit very slowly. That signifies the potential for a more positive outlook come next May.

But students need to beware. The backlog of unemployed folks is long and there are now two consecutive years of poor placement records for graduating seniors.

If the economy does continue to improve, the backlog will begin to be addressed over the next several months. The question is: to what effect will it be addressed by next May?

The answer of course is no one really knows.

But economists are not forecasting a rosy future. Their belief is our recovery will be slow and job creation slower still.

Research Options Now

Given such a scenario, college seniors need to begin researching all options for next summer this fall. Waiting for spring will simply be too late.

Without a doubt, creating a plan that includes a fall back is critical. You may ultimately want to take your sheepskin and head directly into the world of work. That may be your first choice and you certainly can pursue that hard.

Just realize it might not be possible.

So have a back up plan ready. Community service or volunteer type experiences might be something to consider? Or perhaps the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps? Line up or create your own internship? Maybe Teach for America? Even graduate school might be a decent option?

The bottom line is the Class of 2010 may well face as tough a job market as the last two graduating classes. Given such a scenario, now is the time to start thinking about your options.

Over the past few years I have come to learn the meaning of the word perspective. Without a doubt, the lens through which one views events is certainly colored by one’s opinions.

Such is the case with the current situation in Washington. Each passing month criticism is heaped upon President Barack Obama and the ever-growing national debt.

The debt accruing is troublesome, but when it comes to the issue of finances, President Obama is but eight months into a tenure that is attempting to turn around one of the greatest fiscal downturns in our nation’s history.

The Bush Years

As he was leaving office amidst a growing fiscal crisis, George W. Bush offered his own perspective of his financial leadership during the eight years he served in the White House. On one hand, he touted that his administration oversaw 52 straight months of job growth in the middle of the decade. On the other, he sought to reinforce the notion that the economy grew at a steady clip from 2003 to 2007.

We did mention at the outset the key word: perspective.

The Bush view contrasted significantly with a Washington Post evaluation of the eight-year period Bush held office. Back in January, the Post deemed that Bush “presided over the weakest eight-year span for the U.S. economy in decades” and noted that “economists across the ideological spectrum increasingly view his two terms as a time of little progress on the nation’s thorniest fiscal challenges.”

One of the most telling stats was in the area of job growth. During Bush’s time in office, the number of jobs nationally increased by about 2 percent. According to the Post, that represented “the most tepid growth over any eight-year span since data collection began seven decades ago.”

And as for even more stark news, the Post offered:

“Gross domestic product, a broad measure of economic output, grew at the slowest pace for a period of that length since the Truman administration. And Americans’ incomes grew more slowly than in any presidency since the 1960s, other than that of Bush’s father.”

Not too surprisingly, most people seem to see the eight-year period as two distinct eras, the first seven years followed by the severe recession in 2008. The data indicates otherwise as over the first seven years of the Bush administration, the gross domestic product grew at a 2.1 percent annual rate.

In the Post article, Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Economy.com and an informal adviser to McCain’s campaign, referred to the Bush years as a period representing “almost a lost economic decade.”

That notion of a lost decade comes in great part due to yet another negative, the inability of the administration to address the four most pressing fundamental financial issues facing America: Medicare, Social Security, tax code simplification and affordable health care. According to the post, “Resolution of those issues might have left the government more flexibility to respond to the current crisis by lowering the nation’s future budget deficits.”

A Tale of Two Americas

Now, we see a great deal more is emerging regarding the Bush policies. Peter Cohan insists that the real Bush legacy, “W’s greatest leave-behind, is a level of income inequality that outpaces even that of the Roaring ’20s that led to the Great Depression.”

As but one more example that trickle down economics does not work, by 2007 “the top .001 percent of American earners took home 6 percent of total U.S. wages.” That was twice the figure for 2000, the year before Bush took office.

On the wealth side, Cohan reports that “the top 10 percent of American earners pulled in 49.7 percent of total wages: a level ‘higher than any other year since 1917.” It  “even surpasses 1928.”

That growth in wealth no doubt came in great part due to the Bush tax code changes. Of the $1.3 trillion in tax cuts, essentially one third of those dollars went to the top 1 percent of earners.

Two Wars and Economy Mired in Muck

It is troublesome to read about the soaring national deficit. And we are definitely concerned with our current president’s propensity to spend.

But Obama is to be applauded for beginning the much-needed debate on healthcare. He is also to be applauded for his stance regarding increased access to college for all Americans and his focus on new energy policies and initiatives.

At the same time, Obama is attempting to put an end to a disastrous war of choice while focusing on what many deem to have been the proper battle, the War in Afghanistan. He is tackling all these issues against the remnants of a Bush economy, one that was built on a housing bubble and now provides us with unemployment rates approaching ten percent.

That backdrop is one powerful landscape – it must be kept in mind if we are to have any perspective on the current situation.

Because as challenging as the healthcare debate has been, Obama has yet to address what is perceived as the other three thorniest financial issues: medicare, social security and yes, that elephant in the room:

The tax code.

Ultimately, they all intersect – all are incredibly complex – and all must be solved.

As challenging as they are, one fact is becoming more evident with each passing day. These complex issues have been made all the more difficult by eight years under the leadership of George W. Bush.

It is important that students of all ages recognize the online learning model has been growing in stature with each passing year. Using a delivery style that allows students the utmost in flexibility, online learning has become the choice for most working adults, whether they are seeking their first degree or to upgrade their skills.

However, once upon a time, the general consensus was that online education might be convenient and worthy, but it would not be anyone’s first choice for a learning model. Ultimately, the belief was the flexibility you gained meant you had to give up the ideal learning environment, the traditional college setting where peers physically gathered in a room with the professor.

With the release of a new report, Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning, those standard thoughts must be reconsidered. It seems the data now indicates that online learning may be the better educational option.

The basis for the conclusion was formed by doing quantitative comparisons of online and classroom performance for identical courses. The Department of Education found that students doing some or all of the course online ranked in the 59th percentile in tested performance while the average classroom student scored in the 50th percentile.

While discussing the summary, the NY Times offered this telltale quote from the study’s lead author, Barbara Means:

“The study’s major significance lies in demonstrating that online learning today is not just better than nothing — it actually tends to be better than conventional instruction.”

Indeed with the arrival of Web-based video, the use of instant messaging and other message boards as collaboration tools, online education has moved beyond the basic correspondence course of yesteryear. Ultimately, as the Times reinforces, the future of online is extremely bright because of its ability to provide “learning experiences that are more tailored to individual students than is possible in classrooms.”

But what has made the online environment take off has been the ability to connect learners through social networking platforms. While learning is ultimately a personal activity, experts agree the most meaningful learning occurs within a community.

Given its convenience and flexibility, online learning is clearly here to stay. In fact, given the online model offers improved student outcomes, it is easy to think that online education could soon replace the traditional model in the not so distant future.

With the networking platforms now available, a learning community is now present in all high caliber online courses. Therefore, the model represents a very viable educational format, one that traditional students now must consider as they pursue their college choice.

Textbook innovator, Chegg.com, recently completed a new deal that will significantly enhance its ability to serve college students. In what appears to be a truly unique partnership, Chegg will work directly with McGraw-Hill Education to provide new print textbooks as part of its online textbook leasing service.

New Business Models

The partnership actually features two new business models simultaneously. First and foremost, Chegg had already initiated its new textbook model, one where students could lease a textbook instead of purchasing one directly.

Through the site, college students could rent hardcopy texts; by renting books instead of purchasing, students could save as much as 80% of the cost of a brand new text. Also, to make the leasing process as simple as possible, students could select the needed books online and have them delivered directly to their dorm room or apartment.

In addition to the leasing option, Chegg seeks to be a full service portal for students. Textbooks may also be purchased and students are informed immediately at the time of purchase what they can expect for a possible cash return should they decide they do not want to keep the text.

Leasing texts of course means greater reusablility and less waste over time. The green nature of the process is critical for Chegg as a business and to further reinforce its environmental message, one tree for every textbook rented.

The second aspect of the model that is unique relates to the new partnership with McGraw-Hill. Though Chegg currently offers over 2.4 million books to choose from, working directly with a major publisher means that many more titles could now be available to students.

As for McGraw-Hill, once upon a time it received payment only when a textbook was sold by a distributor or bookstore. Any reselling of that text benefited only the parties handling the second transaction.

So previously, Chegg would purchase a text and make a single one-time payment to a major textbook seller. Under the new partnership model, the revenue stream is channeled so as to provide McGraw-Hill a payment each time the book is leased.

Currently, textbooks can be rented five or more times before they are retired making the rental life longer than the traditional market for a published edition. Therefore, the new partnership could be of enormous benefit to the two companies.

Great News for Students

The semester textbook ritual is one of the most frustrating and financially challenging elements for students. With Chegg, instead of standing in long lines and subsequently maxing out your credit card, you can place an order online for shipment to your dorm room and do so at a fraction of the cost.

While the partnership with McGraw-Hill is only a pilot program (the first agreement features only 25 select titles), the announcement represents even more welcome news for students.

Every step taken to reduce the cost burden of earning a college diploma is a step in the right direction.