It took me a while, but I finally got my chance to leave and moved to South Florida in 1999, where I lived for seven years. At first it was great- sunny climate every day. The beach was 20 minutes away, and you had to remind yourself what month it was because they, for the most part, were all the same. When you got in the car and burned your thighs on the vinyl seats and had to wait for the AC to kick in before you could touch the steering wheel, you knew it must be August. But, other than that, no seasons, except one that mattered- hurricane season.
    The main thing, though, was that I “got out of the area.”
    To my surprise, simply living in Florida didn’t solve all of my problems. The longer I lived there, the more life seemed very familiar– clients were still a challenge, local newspapers complained about local problems, politicians were prone to corruption, you still got stuck in traffic, teenagers still talked back to their parents. There was the beach, but I started going there less and less.
    Then something odd occurred. I was talking to a 20-something kid that grew up in that area when he said, “Man, I got to get out of this area.” And it struck me funny. How can he be trying to get out of that area, when that area is the area that I went to when I wanted to get out of my area?

    I recall a parable someone once told me or I read somewhere. It was sometime in the long-ago when there were gates around cities. There was a guard that was assigned to let foreign travelers in and out of the city gate. A traveler approached and stopped at the gate. He asked, “What are the people like in your city?” The guard replied with a question, “What are they like where you come from?”  The traveler replied, “Well, the people where I come from are selfish, back stabbers that are out to take advantage of you.” The guard said “You’ll find that they’re the same way here.” Later, another traveler approached with the same question. “What are the people like in your city? The guard replied the same way, “What are they like where you come from?” He replied, “Oh, they’re great. For the most part, everyone gets along, lends a hand, and contributes to make things better.”  He replied, “You’ll find that they’re the same way here.”
    It occurred to me that maybe it had nothing to do with geography. It had more to do with the land mass between my ears. What you seek you find. I would encourage any young person, or any person of any age for that matter, to satisfy his or her wanderlust. In my experience, changing geography didn’t change a mindset. My point is not to convince anyone why here is better than there or there is better than here. It’s that you can prosper or struggle anywhere equally.

    The Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area has an estimated population of 549,430. Many people cite corruption of local political leadership as a reason the area fails to progress. I figure if you take all the corrupt politicians and judges and combine them with the criminals what would that total? It would be
a relatively small percentage of the entire population. How could such a minority have such an influence on a majority?
    This area has natural beauty all its own with four great seasons. It is strategically located at the intersection of two interstate highways that are a short drive to two major US cities- New York City and Philadelphia. We boast four great educational institutions- Wilkes University, Misericordia University, King’s College, and Penn State University. Aside from the occasional flood threat, we are immune to natural disasters. We don’t have hurricanes or mud slides or tornadoes. The same internet comes into the area that goes throughout the country. We fill up our cars with the same gas, drive the same cars, watch the same TV shows, eat the same food. The trees, hills, and lakes are all the same.
    So what, then, is the limiting factor that is holding the area back from thriving? The only thing left is perception.The resource that seems to be missing the most is the ability for the majority to inspire strong leadership, organize, be creative, and problem solve. This majority maintains a persistent mindset that it is the victim of the minority and has no means to overcome it. The thinking is if there’s going to be a solution, it must come from the outside. However, there is nothing happening outside the area that can’t happen inside the area. How is it that individuals who are raised in our area can thrive outside the area, but somehow living locally acts as a kryptonite-like limitation?
    For a long time the area has branded itself as backwards. If the area was a friend, you’d see him coming and say you’re busy because you don’t want to sit there and listen to him complain about why he can’t succeed at anything. You’d want to say,  “Dude, the past is the past, let it go. Move on, do something with your life. Talk about stuff that’s positive so people want to hang out with you. Change your shirt. You’ve been wearing that since the ‘60s.”
       Change can begin simply from the realization that change is possible. That can’t happen if members of the community perpetuate a collective low self-esteem.

    I have a friend who moved to the area from Philly because he and his wife wanted to raise their children in a family-friendly community. He’s not from the area, but he told me that one thing you notice about the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area is the people. He said the people are great. They’re genuine. He said you don’t find that in a lot of other areas. I think it’s much harder to create a culture of genuine people in an area than to change it economically. He recently launched an entrepreneurial venture locally.
    I was in the process of writing this article and was talking with my niece’s boyfriend, who grew up in New Jersey. He has lived in this area since attending Penn State/Wilkes-Barre. He also mentioned how much stronger the community involvement is in the area, which was different from where he was raised. He told me he was talking with someone locally about job opportunities. The advice he was given was, “If you want to make any money, you have to get out of the area.” It seems people who relocate to the area have a much better view than those who are raised here.
    When local kids move to another area to work for a company that offers opportunity and benefits, you have to wonder. Who created the company? An individual. Why do we think that only happens elsewhere and you have to go there to do it?
    Here’s what Forbes and Business Week recently had to say about the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/ Hazleton metropolitan area:

    The First Amendment gives us the cherished right to choose to say anything we want. Listening to talk radio and watching news channels, most people seem to be using their freedom to complain about problems. As if talking about the problem alone is contributing to the solution. Let me tell you the problem so YOU can fix it. There’s another expression that seems to fit. There are those who curse the darkness, and there are those who turn on lights.
    The other side of the freedom of speech coin gives us the right to express solutions. It’s just that creating solutions is much harder than complaining about problems. It doesn’t take a genius to see a problem. Holding politicians’ feet to the fire and demanding accountability is vital, but I think we can rest assured that enough people are covering the “identifying the problem” side. What we need are thinkers and innovators to openly express solutions.

    When it comes to  creating change, I believe that people fall into different categories. You have the creators, the joiners, and the skeptics. The creators come up with an idea, they tell the joiners and the joiners think, “Hey, that sounds great!”  The skeptics think, “Ah, that’ll never work.” But the creators and the joiners start off on their venture. Inevitably, there are setbacks, problems, etc. So, some joiners start having doubts and abandon the idea. An idea has to get through this threshold in order to achieve the numbers needed to stick, or it dies. During this time the skeptics are standing by with the, “See, I told you so”, if it collapses. However, once an idea becomes established, then people feel they can join believing that their contributions will have an impact and their time won’t be wasted.
    Everyone has a million commitments. The last thing anyone can afford is to become part of a group or cause that is spinning its wheels. That’s why it’s important for enough people to step up to allow change to reach the tipping point that creates the needed momentum. The synergy of the group is then no longer dependent on any one person or persons. When the opposite happens, people feel by not being a part, they’re missing out on opportunity.

    I attended a seminar that was offered by a local business association last year. The topic was strategic alliances. The concept was, how you can work with another business to find mutual opportunities. For example, a newspaper will work with local hotels to offer complimentary papers. It was a great seminar. One thing the speaker said stuck with me. He said that locally, it seems like businesses try to figure out how to best compete with each other, to fight over a small piece of the market. In other areas, the cities work to compete against other areas. So instead of Business A competing against Business B, it would be Scranton/Wilkes-Barre competing against Albuquerque or Tulsa. The area can become known for an expertise the way Silicon Valley is known for technology.

    Can it happen? Take Pittsburgh for example. I recall that when I was in grade school, Pittsburgh was this dirty, old, steel town, a place that author/writer James Parton dubbed “hell with the lid off.”  When I went to college there in the late ‘80s, it was being transformed into a white-collar city. Shortly after that, it was named the most livable city in America. What caused the change? If I were to guess, it wouldn’t be random fate. It would be a change in attitude, leadership, and hard work.
    Take the country of Ireland. I’m sure that since the great Potato famine, Irish parents have told their children, “Laddie, if ya want to be a success, ya have to leave the island, don’cha know.”
    When you think of Ireland, you don’t think of high tech. But, Ireland had a period of rapid economic growth between 1995 and 2007 that transformed the country. Economist magazine called it “The Celtic Tiger, Europe’s shining light.”  In today’s technology-driven information age, geography is no longer a limitation. The only limitation becomes the ability to innovate.

    On my way to work every day, I would drive over the Pierce Street Bridge and through the intersection at North Main. There was an old, abandoned building that used to house a printing company. It was boarded up, with cracked windows– symbolic of an area in decay. One day, demolition crews appeared and started tearing it down. There was this feeling of an old scar being removed. It was replaced by an empty lot, which by itself was an improvement. Then the construction of the new King’s College Gateway Corners began. The building was developed by local nonprofit Kinship Square, made up of former King’s College alumni, and features student housing, retail, and a daycare facility. Each day, as I passed, I would see more and more progress. It was uplifting. Then they installed the final signage and added landscaping. In the corner of the building is a coffee shop for students. It’s now filled with young people who are there to build their futures. At night, there’s a warm glow coming from the corner of the street. Now, when I drive by there, it’s no longer a symbol of decay, but rebirth.

    There are new beginnings:
    Downtown Wilkes-Barre is coming alive again with nightlife and interesting new restaurants, like Cafe Toscana, Oyster Seafood & Steakhouse, and Thai Thai.
    Visionaries like Doug Ayers from The Lands at Hillside Farms are forging interesting, unique, local destinations.
    Entrepreneurs like Awais Ahmad are creating unique new business concepts by innovating food home delivery from local farms and bakeries.
    Young college grads are starting their own business ventures, like Rebecca Janerich of Beccaina’s Cafe, in Dallas.
    Companies like i2M, in Mountaintop, are proving that a manufacturing business can go from the brink of bankruptcy to recovery in a year.
    Vibrant local business groups are beginning to thrive, like the South Wilkes-Barre Business Alliance, Downtown Business Association, and the Back Mountain Business Association/Back Mountain Economic Development Council.
    How about Downtown Luzerne–  a small town that the Cross Valley by-passed, like in the movie Cars, now it’s a quaint, little town with unique shops and restaurants.

    The recent scandals and corruption that have occurred in and around the Luzerne County Courthouse are a heavy blow to an already cynical area. It could serve as a sign that things can’t change and that we will forever be victims who are at the mercy of those who hold office. Or, it can be seen as an opportunity to be seized. If the courthouse is being cleared out, then it leaves a vacuum that will need to be filled- an opportunity for accountable leadership with individuals who possess a clear, positive vision. It’s time for the silent majority to speak up and set a new tone. Carpe diem.
    I believe that battle is won with ideas, creativity, cooperation, optimism, and problem solving. It’s a new vision, a better vision– one that we can be proud to create and pass to the next generation. Instead of our resources coming from mining for coal, we need to mine ideas from young minds.

    Imagine, if you will, a future in which you can relay to your children or grandchildren...There was a time, long ago,when the area was corrupt, when no one thought it would ever change. Then there was a time of change, growth, and innovation. A new generation emerged, with a new leadership and the community united together. Do you know how the Downtown has all these great shops and interesting things to do? Well, it used to be empty. You know that high-tech company that was created in the area by those local entrepreneurs? Well, no one believed it could happen here. Get an education, see the world and come back and take advantage of all the great things the area has to offer.
    Instead of saying, “In order to succeed you need to get out of the area,” say, “You need to get the most out of the area.”

    Have ideas? Express your ideas for solutions online at www.IndependentNEPA.com/whatithink and we’ll post them online.