Although it appears that I did two posts in the last two weeks (less than I normally do), I will admit now that I set those up in advance to post while I have been off the grid in French Polynesia.  This was a well-earned vacation (and much needed), but if you're like me, your mind doesn't shut down completely on vacation (although mine threatened to) and you bring a bit of your entrepreneurial mindset with you.

To give some context, we were traveling on the Paul Gauguin, a smaller, upscale ship that can anchor in the the lagoons that surround most of the islands.  During our journey, we visited Tahiti, Huahine, Aitutaki, Raratonga, Bora Bora, Taha'a, and Moorea.  Although each had similarities, half of the islands were part of the Cook Islands, influenced by New Zealand, and the other half were French, so the local culture was a bit different as were the dominant languages (Maori and English, Tahitian and French).  Clearly, the dominant economic force in the South Pacific  is tourism, and like any place that relies on the disposible income of tourists (South Dakota -think Mt. Rushmore- and Hawaii are U.S. examples), when the global economy is down, they suffer.  And we saw a lot of evidence that the South Pacific Islands are hurting.  Many well-known hotels in popular places like Bora Bora have closed their doors or are running at a loss.  Craftsman like the artist in the picture say that it's difficult to make a living when so few people are now making the long trek to the islands.

So, even on vacation, you really can't get away from the recognition that the global economy is in trouble.  Besides the economy, there were two ways that entrepreneurial thinking invaded my vacation. First, I noticed that everything runs on island time and generally in slow motion, and you quickly find yourself matching the local pace.  Even if you didn't want to, you would because the heat and humidity makes everyone sleepy (except when they're in the water).  If I lived there, I would certainly find it difficult to be productive in the same way I am at home.  But then U.S. ex-pats we met on some of the most primitive islands don't go there to be productive or become entrepreneurs.  They just want to be as far away from global politics as possible. Typically, this is their "retirement," but not always.  The second thing I noticed was that, for the most part, people start what we would call hobby-type or craft businesses to make enough money to get by and maintain their lifestyle, which by U.S. standards is pretty simple. Entrepreneurship has not yet influenced the islands in the same way it has countries like New Zealand and Australia.  But a new effort launched in New Zealand in 2009 under the auspices of the GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor) project is seeking to understand entrepreneurial activity in the fragile economies of the South Pacific. 

It's always interesting to visit cultures very different from your own and to talk to local business people. Although I probably wouldn't want to live there full time, I did notice that everyone seems happy - so many smiling people everywhere you go.  No one's in a hurry.  In the humblest of neighborhoods, people are laughing and singing. What a contrast to how people looked when I got back to Los Angeles.  Couldn't find a smile anywhere.  Maybe the South Pacific really is paradise.