The late radio host, author and professional speaker, Earl Nightingale said, “Luck is when preparedness meets opportunity and opportunity is there all the time.”

He added, when we have a great opportunity and aren’t prepared we can look foolish.

The Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half Marathon was run two weeks ago. As a runner I’m sure there are people who were disappointed with their finish and wish they had trained differently. Others were pleased with their finish and felt good about how they trained.

After running over 40 half marathons I have experienced the pain and cramps of poor preparation. I have also experienced the thrill of a strong finish and a personal record (PR). Running is an individual sport. I can’t blame my team mates, my opponents or the refs if I don’t like my results. I can only blame the man in the mirror. I can’t control the weather or temperature at race time. I can control my preparation for the weather, distance and race course.

Last weekend our soccer team won two hard fought games in the eastern panhandle. It was hot and humid. A big factor in both wins was our team’s fitness, hydration and diet.

Coach stresses working hard during practice on the training drills. We practice in heat. The boys stay hydrated. Coach stresses fitness, hydration, rest and proper diet. Both of our opponents struggled with cramps. We didn’t.

This week we were at the West Virginia Chamber’s Business Summit at the Greenbrier. It was very up-beat. Companies are coming to West Virginia as in Ohio and Pennsylvania bringing high wage jobs. In addition to Greenpower in Charleston making electric school buses and Nucor Steel in Mason County, numerous other new companies are coming to West Virginia. American Medicine Company will make pharmaceuticals. This is important since over 80% of our prescription drugs are currently made overseas. Pure Watercraft is coming to Brooke County to make electric boats. Star Plastics isn’t new to West Virginia. They operate two plants in Jackson County. They told me they were adding two more production lines to be operational in 2023, in addition to the lines they added in 2021 and 2022. Pre-pandemic China was part of their supply chain. It is now 100% American. They are hiring. All of this current success is the result of years of preparation by a lot of people and organizations.

New jobs are here. More are coming. The problem now isn’t creating jobs. It is finding qualified people to fill them. Workers will be needed to build and operate the new facilities. The biggest challenge I continue to hear from companies is workforce. The time for people to start preparing for these new jobs is now. Training takes time. Maybe you know friends or family who want to come back to the area. Are there young people in the area who would do better at two-year technical college or working in a trade than going to a four-year college?

SCUSA learned from research this week, the most googled search term in Germany is “firewood”. People there are worried about keeping warm this winter. We can live without air conditioning. People die without heat in winter. Growing up in Pittsburgh we didn’t have air conditioning. We had one fan for our family. Hot summer nights were miserable but not deadly. In winter we always had heat. If our power went out in winter my mother would light the natural gas oven to keep the house warm enough. In Germany people are cutting down trees for their wood. In Poland people are waiting in long lines at coal mines to buy coal.

Russia is planning to take their Nord Stream One pipeline to Germany down for maintenance. Europe is now relying on coal and oil for electricity and storing as much natural gas as they can underground for heating this winter. Renewables have a place but can’t be counted on for

guaranteed power. In running I learned the hard way to prepare for weather extremes. Europe may be learning that same hard lesson. In my case poor preparation was a slow time and pain. In Europe’s case lack preparation may be deadly.

Europe wasn’t prepared for the wind not to blow as much as planned. They didn’t have a dependable 24/7 backup for their wind power. They never thought Russia would restrict their natural gas supply. Fortunately, Europe had only shut down but hadn’t dismantled all their coal power plants. Europe’s supply problem and high prices started long before the Ukraine War. The war has made it worse. We talked to a company this week in Romania. When I asked the CEO about heat this winter he said they would be okay. “Remember during the cold war we were under Russian control. We are used to planning for cold winters without heat. If it got really cold Moscow got gas ahead of us.” I didn’t know they developed their own oil and gas production and reserves. The CEO said, “We are better off than most of Europe. We never went green.”

The same natural gas we pay $8 per MCF for, costs over $70 per MCF in Europe. We can live without a lot of things, we can’t live without energy. High energy prices can eliminate our discretionary income for entertainment, eating out, clothing, lattes and vacations. High energy prices make it difficult for European businesses stay profitable, compete with the world and provide jobs.

Preparation is essential whether we are preparing for a race like a half marathon, the bar exam, our career, retirement or our energy for winter. We can learn from Europe’s and our own mistakes. Winning and success is the result of preparation. I tell our players, “Championships are won in August.” That is when the preparation starts and good habits and attitudes are developed.

We can all get lucky by preparing for the opportunities coming our way.

Greg Kozera, gkozera@shalecrescentusa.com, is the director of marketing and sales for Shale Crescent USA, www.shalecrescentusa.com. He is a professional engineer with a master’s in environmental engineering and over 40 years’ experience in the energy industry. He is a professional speaker and author of four books and numerous published articles.