Normally, you would read that line, adapted from a famous Winston Churchill speech, on a yearbook (like it was for my senior year) or graduation pamphlet. It’s an attempt to turn a rather sad event into hope for the future. But it’s also very much appropriate for something else we thought was coming to an end last week, and that was Donald Trump’s time in the spotlight. Instead, as president-elect, we will now only begin to watch an epic reality television show unfold, with the greatest of all stakes – the American system of government and U.S. citizens – in the crosshairs. Hopefully, we all win in the end, but it’s off to a rough start.

But this isn’t my political forum, nor is this a political post. Instead, it’s an explanation for how the media missed this call, entirely. Besides pollsters, it’s hard to imagine a single entity deserving of the black eye it now wears than what’s on the face of most news organizations. After all, Trump wasn’t suppose to have a chance to win, right. That’s what we were told for months now. It’ll be interesting to see if this mammoth mistake impacts the bottom line. Will New York Times customers unsubscribe? Will Huffington Post readers turn away? Will CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and all the likes have viewers click to new channels? It’s possible, but too early to say. Still, it’s worth figuring out what went wrong.

And there’s plenty of what went wrong to go around, from taking reports from Clinton’s camp as fact, to treating Donald Trump like a sideshow clown, as opposed to someone seriously vying for the most powerful position in the world. But you can hear about that from other corners of the Internet. Instead, I’ll focus on the growing gap between those living in cities, particularly coastal ones, and the rest of America.

As someone that was born in Kansas, grew up in a Texas suburb and lived in Austin, Washington, D.C. and New York City, and is currently living in a New York suburb (in a county that went for Trump, by the way), I hear all sorts of opinions. My Facebook feed, which I barely use, is filled with extremely conservative high school classmates, swearing that we’re falling into Socialism. On the flip side of the coin, I’ve met with and conversed with those that truly believe the Christian right has the heart of blackness. But most of what I see and read throughout the day from friends and family members come from opinions that land somewhere in the middle. Reasonable solutions, coming from reasonable thoughts; not soundbites, polling data or stereotypes.

But that’s not the case for media. It has become a badge of honor to post headlines that are absolutes, similar to the extreme friends above. By doing so, they’re not only devaluing their own job – in that they’re essentially laughing off the most ridiculous of comments – but the media is also ignoring and pushing further left or right, all those people who see room for compromise. They’re doing this, because every time someone turns on the news or flips through the paper, there’s no sign of compromise anywhere.

What the media isn’t doing, is going out to these areas that have become staunchly conservative (in this case) to see how Americans really feel about the presidency or the issues involved. Instead, it’s a quick denunciation of those that voted for Trump, labeling them as racists. There’s no doubt, that race played a role in this election, and based on certain comments Trump made in the campaign, it’s shocking he ended up winning. But it’s also avoiding a tougher conversation to have, one that’s addressing why people are concerned about their security, job and livelihood. Sadly, the media ignored this, instead jumping for the quick headline, and allowing shock-jock tactics to shape the election conversation.

Yet, Americans are having less and less chance to partake in these talks between reasonable people who seek compromise. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, in a TED Talk, explains this in further detail, but essentially we’re moving to areas that match our ideology more than ever before. This means, we may go through an entire election, living in a bubble, completely void of hearing what reasonable people from the other side of the aisle have to say on certain issues. And there are plenty of reasonable people on both sides of most issues.

The media should have provided that bridge between these areas, where the access to a wide variety of voices isn’t available. Instead, it just fanned the flames. And as a member of the media, it’s highly embarrassing, one that will be difficult to recover from until we’ve proven we deserve another chance.

But, I did want to take time to call out some of my interesting pieces of work over the first half of this year. I’ve updated my content page with the latest links. Here’s a little more detail on a few of them:

• How Construction Stocks Could Rebuild Your Portfolio, Fortune Magazine – This was a three-page spread in Fortune Magazine, that was also published on the web. It’s an interesting look into how Congress’s lack of action on funding national highways over the past few years have hurt a number of construction firms. But, in late 2015, Congress finally passed a multi-year plan, which has turned around the prospects of some companies focused on construction. However, the one concern for these businesses remains oil. Take a read, it’s an investing approach to our troubled infrastructure.
• Lowe’s vs. Home Depot: Which is The Best Home-Improvement Stock to Own, Fortune Magazine – Another Fortune Magazine piece that takes a look at the competition between Home Depot and Lowe’s. The two companies have an interesting dynamic that I’ve long enjoyed watching – one, now that I live in the burbs myself, is something I witness more often. You can get in a real heated discussion over which one is best. But, as you can tell from the piece, there’s a clear leader from an investing standpoint.
• Personal Finance Content – Over the past couple months, I’ve continued my personal finance coverage for both U.S. News & World Report and Fortune.com. These pieces, out of all my work, I feel bring the most value to individual readers because the topics can impact their personal life. That’s why I enjoy doing these. And there’s real insight to be had for those considering a move for sunnier weather in retirement, those without a traditional 401(k) and those who fear stock ownership as they approach retirement.
• Project Management – I’ve also had the opportunity to boost my project management experience in 2016. I’m working with a great set of clients – ones that I can’t discuss due to NDAs. But it certainly mixes up the day, providing me with a new challenge.

Hopefully, the rest of the year proves just as interesting. I’m hoping to update this blog a little more often. And, as always If you’re looking for a writer or need content development help, you can feel free to reach me here.

In development of the website, I’ve created a number of short stories and posts that build upon the world first introduced in The Office of Time Control. Every week, you will find a new longer-form short story discussing a character in the book. Also, every week, I’ll discuss a new term. Since The Office of Time Control is a historical look at our future, it’s only fitting that it should also include an encyclopedia of sorts, detailing the history of many of mankind’s most important and mundane inventions and norms.

One of the best things I did before launching the website was commission artist Alec Kalthoff to create a cover for the book. As you can see below, it turned out fantastic!

What’s The Office of Time Control about

The 58th century time traveler Rorak O’Shea Khan seeks to unlock the cure for unhappiness for his boss, the ageless Shelly Bates. To do so, he searches the prehistoric era of the 21st century for the cure: Toothpaste. Along the way, he recruits an inflexible entrepreneur, Tim, and a Worlds War III military captain, Elsie, among others to help with his mission.

All the while, a secretive government agency known as The Office of Time Control, headed by the most powerful man in the history of the world, Angelus Mallet, tracks Rorak and his crew. But what will Rorak do once he faces the realities that hinder personal fulfillment?

Next Steps

While this is just the next step in a long, long process, it’s great to see the product coming together. If you’re interested in reading the first two chapters of The Office of Time Control, sign up to follow the Unofficial OTC Record blog by adding your email in the appropriate spot on the right sidebar here.

You can also follow along on Twitter or Facebook.

I’m currently looking for a publisher, so please pass this along to anyone you think might be interested!

The brand new Power Sheet will deliver you timely news in the leadership and management space. We discuss all sorts of big-picture topics, from what Warren Buffett’s next move will be, what type of company it takes to succeed in this day-and-age and the 2016 presidential race. Included in the newsletter will be tidbits to better help you lead your team or company and better your career. Check out an example of the Power Sheet.

Geoff Colvin, who’s the lead on the project, is Fortune’s senior editor-at-large, speaker and best-selling author. His books include Talent is Overrated and Humans are Underrated.

I’m working with Geoff and Fortune to produce the newsletter on a daily basis. You can read more about me here.

It’s a project I’m excited about and I hope you will sign up!

From Fortune.com:

There’s a fine line between a busy day and feeling overwhelmed. Lately though, many of us think our workloads have taken an even bigger leap.

As our work hours stretch longer—up 4% from a regular day just four years ago—more than half of us now say our jobs have become too busy, according to a recent Staples survey of U.S. employees.

And it can get worse if your company is going through layoffs or churn. Suddenly, your boss unloads the extra job duties of an exiting employee onto you. Now you’ve got two jobs, but you’re still getting paid for one.

“When churn happens, they may find a replacement,” says career strategist and creator of Careerealism.com J.T. O’Donnell, but “they are not going to be able to find the right person immediately.”

That can leave you picking up the slack for the lack of quality bodies in the workplace. But if you don’t want the new tasks combined with your old duties to become a permanent position, you’ll have to tread lightly, since you also want to prove you’re a team player who can handle the trust. “It’s an opportunity to show your employer you have the capacity to do more,” says O’Donnell.

It’s never an easy balance to strike, but here’s how to walk that line if your boss asks you to do two jobs for the price of one, while making sure it doesn’t stay that way. Read how at Fortune.com.