Dear Friends and Customers of LUMA Resources

Last month I left you with a wish for a wonderful Holiday season and the time to reflect on the journey that lies ahead.  I hope you all had a chance to do just that, as well as a chance to relax and get ready for the challenges and opportunities of the New Year.

Sir Isaac Newton after discovering the law of physics is quoted “A body at rest tends to remain at rest and a body in motion tends to remain in motion.”  What better time than the start of a new year to get “in motion.”  Now more than ever before, we all need to begin and think about the many choices needed to be made for a successful and prosperous 2009.

The beginning of a new year is a natural time to reflect on what’s worked in the past and what hasn’t. It’s the right time to think about the possibilities of making needed changes.  With all of the economic turmoil the past few years it’s easy to be anxious and concerned about the future.

The constant media reporting of rising unemployment and descending consumer confidence continues to hammer away at our goals and dreams.  In times of anxiety, we tend to revert to our survival instincts. How many times have you heard a friend or business associate say when asked how they are doing “Oh I’m hanging in there like everyone else these days.”

 However, Bahram Akradi, Founder and CEO of Life Time Fitness Health Club in his “Letter from The Founder” in the January / February 2009 issue of Experience Life Magazine was quoted as saying, “we stop reaching for a better future and start grabbing for whatever we can get.”  If we do this, we are headed for more trouble.  Mr. Akradi continues to say;

“We hunker down and worry only about the most immediate, obvious and personal concerns.  We let go of our ideals and start defending our interest.  But taking this approach now would be a mistake.  Because when our perceptions of scarcity convince us to start restricting our ideas of what’s possible, we needlessly abandon some of our best ideas and inspirations.  And, too often, these are the very ideas and inspirations we need to move beyond our current quandaries.”

Mr. Akrradi goes on in his article to encourage his members to “embrace the opportunity to reinvent the way we live—personally, collectively, globally.”  He says, “the first important shift of consciousness involves a diversion of energy away from panic and toward our sense of potential.”  Well said Mr. Akrradi.

As I write this month’s letter I am thousands of feet above the surface of the earth on my way to the 2009 International Builders Show (IBS) in Las Vegas NV. Building and roofing contractors are two of the prime customer groups for LUMA Resources Solar Roof Kit.  We have already met many of you at past trade shows and I look forward to seeing you at this year’s show.  Some of our roofing contractor friends may be planning to come to the International Roofing Expo (IRE).  It’s the first week in February and back again this year in Las Vegas, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.  We will be in booth 2561.  If any of you are planning on coming to IRE we have a limited number of free passes that we will be happy to have for you when you get there.  Call the office on our toll free line (888-733-5862) to get your name on the list.

However, as I look out the window of the jetliner it’s hard to see economic turmoil at 28000 ft... looking down on our beautiful planet from this vantage point, it’s hard to be overly anxious about the future.  Rising unemployment and descending consumer confidence is hard to spot from up here.  I can’t see a single soul struggling to hang on and reverting to mere survival instincts.  All I can see from up here is light shining down on the planet that is home to us all.

In stark contrast to the rest of the economy, the solar industry has never looked better.  Those that get involved in the renewable energy industry are jumping on the fastest growing emerging market on earth.  The future of solar is bright and optimism about our industry continues to reach new heights.

In the words of the great philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”  As we all get ready to take on what lies ahead in 2009 may we find solutions to the problems of the past few years, there are always solutions if we look for them.  Find them with enthusiasm.  Because, as Emerson said, without enthusiasm there is no progress.

Wishing you all a new year full of progress.

As Ever,
Robert Allen
LUMA Resources