I was stuck...

I was stuck for nearly 12 hours this weekend... and it wasn't at the airport.

Charlotte, North Carolina is having a fuel shortage, and I happened to be caught by it.

It was slightly before 5am and as I pull into the parking lot of a major gas station, my car sputters out, dies, and I coast into a parking spot. I didn't expect to be there for almost 12 hours.

When I spoke with people at the gas station, they told me that they expected a shipment of fuel to come in the previous night and it never showed up, "It should be here any minute..."

That didn't happen.

This was an interesting experience to watch other people.

Many people were very calm, sleeping in there cars pulled up next to a pump and waiting for gas to show up. Others were driving in with over half a tank, looking to top their tank off, and panicking because their was no fuel. One lady even started crying because she had to drive 18 miles home, and only had half a tank... I was shocked.

When the fuel truck did show up, at 4pm, 22 hours late, everyone at the gas station was ecstatic. They quickly blocked off every entrance and exit to the station, as to allow the people currently in the station to fill up, and formed a one way in, one way out entrance and exit. Only 16 cars were allowed in the station at once, and if only wanted coffee, you still went to the end of the almost 1 mile long line.

I watched people move barricades, drive over curbs and cones, and even almost run over an employee to try to force their way in. The staff handled themselves incredibly well, reasoning with all the reasonable people, and kicking out all the idiots. Good for them.

Overall, roughly 95% of the people that waited in line were very happy that things were as organized as they were. People bragged about the staff, boasted about the organization, and were thankful for kicking out the jerks.

I saw a number of employees who will, should they desire, go on to become much more than a parking attendant or gas station clerk. They handled themselves incredibly well, dealt with increasing difficult situations, were thorough in their precedure, and much more.

I am however scared. I saw our nations dependency of oil firsthand, and saw what would happen should our supply become further disrupted. It fears were strengthened when I started to do the math about the amount of carbon dioxide that this one gas station alone was producing.

After numerous fuel trucks showed up, they said they had 27,000 gallons of fuel in there tanks. That's a lot. Some quick math makes it even more scary.

One gallon of gasoline weighs 6 pounds. So this station had 162,000 pounds of fuel in their tanks. When burned, this amounts to roughly 486,000 pounds of carbon dioxide (for more information click here).

I know, a weird post for a blog on success right? I disagree.

Successful people don't necessarily have to have a lot of money, power or fame. In fact, they need none of the above. Success in this case was measured by how well these no-doubt under trained employees handled themselves in these situations. They were a success weather they knew it or not, and everyone wanting fuel, all several hundred people in line, depended these employees to successfully get home, to work, or anywhere else they were going.

Plus, this exposed a huge concern for the environment. I had never before realized just how much fuel is used, as its something you never see. It goes through that black hose, into a whole you don't see. All you do is watch that little needle move around, and go get more.

When I began to think about the amount of CO2 that we product on a daily basis, I was scared for the environment. I took this fear and began to think about how ti could be translated into success. How could I change this?

Using less fuel could be an option, buying a car that gets better gas mileage, or better yet doesn't use any, like Elon Musk's Tesla Car.

Could I change this at my house? Absolutely. The price of solar electricity is declining increasing quickly as scientists are figuring out how to make solar power less expensive and simultaneously more powerful. The government has billions of dollars in grants to help fund this, as do most cities and states. Visit www.dsireusa.org for more information on these programs.

So what do I plan on doing? I'm putting together a plan for a concept solar electric power plant. One on a much smaller scale than what you would normally hear about.

Those seeking financial success need to look into the needs of the environment, learn to embrace change, and build a business focused on servicing others first, and let the financial return come on it's own, as it well. In others, turn green technology into green cash.