Make Yourself!

 

“If you really want to live, why not try and make yourself”

Lyrics by Incubus

The modern world we occupy is all invented; everything we experience outside of nature has been created, designed, and manufactured. Since everything is invented, we might as well choose to invent things that improve our lives and those around us. Now, more than ever, you have the need and opportunity to “Make Yourself” in ways that benefit your family, your communities, and yourselves.

 

According to Bill Maher, host of “Real Time with Bill Maher” in a recent Salon.com interview, “the root problem, I think, is that Americans stopped making stuff. We used to make cars, houses, furniture. We were a manufacturing country. Now we just push numbers around on a computer screen. It's all about debt and margins and short-selling. Eventually that house of cards is going to come down.”

 

Well, that house of cards is definitely coming down, which means that engineers are needed more than ever to rebuild it, not out of cardboard this time, but out of industrial strength materials.

 

A Raging Rapid

Clearly, we are in a challenging environment that is causing major dislocations for thousands of manufacturing and design engineers. Many companies and people are experiencing a feeling of hopelessness and powerlessness that makes them very uncomfortable. It is kind of like falling out of a boat during a white water expedition. All of a sudden you are cold, wet, gasping for breath, and looking around for someone to save you.

 

I don’t know if this has ever happened to you, either suddenly finding yourself dislocated from the bearings of your career or out of the boat in raging rapids. I have experienced both and they are quite uncomfortable. Without warning your illusion of control and power is swept away and you realize that you are at the mercy of the elements, be they cold wet water or an economic tempest. Later, when you have time to reflect on what just happened you realize that you were never really in control and in fact that you are powerless to absolutely manage your situation and your life in every circumstance. Things can in fact change quickly and without warning.

 

Humans naturally tend to think that they are in a stable situation, that the sun comes up every day, that they drive to work in the same traffic patterns, do the same tasks every day, but never realizing that everything is in constant flux and that feelings of power and control are simply illusions made possible by the stability of the moment. The only thing certain in life (besides death and taxes) is change and change happens whether we are ready for it or not.

 

If you go on a white water rafting trip your guide will caution you about what to do if you fall out of the boat, and it is actually fairly simple advice. They will say something like “If you fall out of the boat, it is very important that you pull your feet up so that you don’t get a foot caught in the rocks below. Think toes to nose and then look for the boat. If you can’t reach the boat, face downstream, floating on your back with your feet just under the surface, knees bent, and your bottom as the lowest point of your body. Look downstream for an opportunity to guide yourself to the bank and just go with the flow until you can reach shore, the rapids don’t go on forever.”

 

I think this is actually pretty good advice for life in general. Realize that your situation may seem stable and comfortable, but in reality life is a ride down the rapids and we could fall out of the boat at any time. If you fall out of the boat in your business or personal life, pull your feet up, face downstream, and go with the flow, guiding yourself to dry land. Even though you are cold and wet, you are alive and you now have the opportunity to reengage the river of life.

 

Scarcity and Abundance

Here is a little story about how important perspective is to the recognition of opportunity.

 

A shoe factory sends two marketing representatives to a region of Africa to study the prospects for expanding business.

 One sends back an email saying, “Situation hopeless, no one wears shoes!”

The other writes back triumphantly, “Glorious business opportunity, they have no shoes!”

 

Most experiences in life are like this story, there are always two ways to look at things, and the glass can be half-empty or half-full. We can be a victim of scarcity or a beneficiary of abundance. Life can be a zero-sum game or offer infinite possibilities. Unexpected and unwelcome change reminds us that we are not truly in control and that the only thing we can truly change is ourselves.

 

If you are a manufacturing or design engineer you can contribute to the health and wealth of the economy through your unique ability to conceive, design, and manufacture innovative new products, product improvements, and manufacturing processes that are an essential driving element of entrepreneurial capitalism.

 

The tools of the trade, modern 3D CAD software like Alibre Design, enable engineers like you to create three dimensional virtual prototypes of physical products that they want to make. Engineers are able to precisely create three dimensional parts and assemble them into complete working models prior to making a physical prototype. Various product configurations and analyses can be completed on the computer to validate the design before spending a single dollar to manufacture. This means that ideas can be turned into reality much faster and less expensively than by manual design and manufacturing techniques.

 

Until recently powerful 3D design software was almost completely out of the reach of small companies and average designers due to its cost and complexity. Thankfully, we are now living in a new world of abundantly available personal computers and broadband Internet connections. Powerful PCs capable of running 3D CAD software are now available for $500 or less instead of the $5,000 to $10,000 cost of only a few years ago.

 

And even more importantly, powerful 3D design software can be downloaded and used for free over the Internet thanks to companies like Google and Alibre, two of the leading providers of completely free 3D design software. Both companies employ a “Freemium” business model which enables customers to download a highly functional and completely “Free” starter version of their design solutions and then upgrade to a paid “Premium” version if their needs span commercial opportunities.

 

Google offers Google SketchUp, a 3D design program best suited for architectural and interior and exterior design while Alibre offers Alibre Design Xpress, a 3D design program that is best suited for mechanical design of precise parts and assemblies. And customers won’t break their budgets when they move up to the premium versions: both Google and Alibre sell their commercial products for $1,000 or less instead of the $5,000 to $10,000 cost traditionally associated with 3D design programs.

 

What this means is that engineers regardless of budget now have access to powerful 3D design programs that enables them to take their ideas and turn them into reality, creating innovative new products, new companies, and new careers for themselves and jobs for their employees.

 

A New Reality

So, in spite of the many far-reaching social and cultural implications of the current economic crisis, I am optimistic.  For the first time in my memory businesses and individuals will be forced to put their goals and objectives, their plans and desires into perspective. The age of excess is over, and our economy will have to restore its balance and focus on necessities and not just desires. And entrepreneurs that start and run small businesses will be the driving force.

 

I believe that this new reality will penetrate our psyches and forever change our perspective so that we may move forward and rebuild our economy and society based on real and lasting value.