Chauncey Gardiner and the Audacity of Hope

By Kate Phillips November 10 Inspiration, the economy

(A tale of two political figures – one fictional as well as accidental, one real and very intentional.) As long as the roots are not severed, all is well. This week I re-watched the brilliantly constructed satire, “Being There.”  (A 1979 film directed by Hal Ashby, adapted from the 1971 novel written by Jerzy Kosiński.)  Peter Sellers plays a simple-minded gardner with no social or intellectual skills, being essentially raised by television sets and the plants he tended.  When forced into new situations such as befriending a billionaire and meeting the president, he is mistaken for a genius of sorts.  “Chance the Gardner” becomes “Chauncey Gardiner,” his simple sentences interpreted as deep metaphors about the state of the nation.

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Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself

By Kate Phillips October 22 Inspiration, the economy

I was so moved by the words of FDR at his inaugural address, and struck by the timeliness of what he wrote for our own time as well, I wanted to share this excerpt.  Given March 4, 1933, this speech was delivered in the depth of the Depression.  “This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper.  “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.     In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory.  I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days. “In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties.  They concern, thank God, only material things.  Values have

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Autumn Contemplations, Financial Chaos, and Spring

By Kate Phillips October 15 Inspiration, Receiving, the economy, The Frugal Saver

The chaos in our financial markets seems to stand in contrast to the serenity of a beautiful fall day, with many-colored leaves on display and the gentlest of breezes giving them breath.  But look closely… I often find that my life tends to mirror and follow the season, both in exterior patterns and interior rhythms.  And perhaps the financial markets, which at a glance appear to be such a contrast to this autumn beauty, are doing the same.

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The Cure for the Recession (article)

By Kate Phillips August 11 Articles, Inspiration, the economy

“The quality of our life is the quality of our emotions.”   Gas is over $4 a gallon, meanwhile foreclosures are up, workers are being laid off, and business owners are tightening their belts.  The word “recession” is bandied about, sometimes in whispers (as if we’re afraid the economy might hear us), other times in not-so-soft complaints.    I’m a prosperity coach, not an all-powerful genie who can cure this country of what ails it.  However, I may have some “cures” that may help our individual suffering in a measurable way.

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