So here we all are , the economy sucks, many of us have lost our jobs and cannot find a new one. We are despondent,depressed and lost. The good times have gone away for many of us and it seems like they will never return! Have we learned any thing? Well I know I have.I have learned that it it truly is the small stuff that can make you happy.I have learned that It could always be worse. I have that loosing the HBO channel is not going to kill me! In the past 30 years or so we have tied our happiness to our possessions and our ability to make money. get me right there is certainly nothing wrong with money! If getting back to where you were before the great recession is what will in the end make you happy, then by all means you should strive for it. One would hope that we could all learn a lesson from this and maybe change the way we think a little. The truth of the matter is that we have all lost touch with our basic humanity and sometimes do not have life’s priorities straight!.
During the recession of the early 80′s I lost everything I owned. I lost my nice truck, my fancy motorcycle and even had my television repossessed! This was the low point of my life and I’ve got to tell you I was borderline suicidal. That’s right, suicidal over a truck! At this time I was going to food banks to survive and had no unemployment or other means of income. I did a little engine work for a gal and was able to buy a $50.00 Dodge dart. the floor was rotted out and and required a little plywood repair so my feet wouldn’t fall through the floor! The old girl ran good but most of all she was MINE! no one was going to take her away I could now make it to the food bank without having to take a bus!. I was just ecstatic about this car and all thoughts of suicide and giving up went away. I found that I could have a barbecue with hot dogs and cheap beer and have just as much fun as would have with the best steaks and whiskey. The truth of the matter is that It was my friends that made me happy not what we were eating or what we drove. As time went on things got better for me and I found work .I was able to over a period of time get new possessions and recoup my way of life. I have never forgotten what I learned and I know that what is important is NOT what I possess , but the friends and family that I have. I also learned that no one is going to pull my fat out of the fire but me! Life does take hard work but I say to you NEVER GIVE UP. We can all start over again and again if necessary and we will succeed in life! If this was not true there would be dead people laying in ditches all over the place who just gave up. It is not in human nature to give up that easily and you will service. have faith, work hard and you WILL persevere!
Filed under Embrace the life you have! by on Aug 1st, 2010. Comment. 
Things they are a changing! We are now reaping the rewards of our past economic and social decisions and some of these “rewards” are not pleasant! I will not get on a political bandwagon here as as I have vowed not to turn this blog into a “Lets blame the president” forum. The fact of the matter is that it “is what it is” and we have to deal with it!. This is our “economic ecosystem” and we need to adapt! So the question is “What are we going to do about it ?” What we are going to do is survive it! Humans do not easily give up and I for one will never give up ! I know sometimes it can be overwhelming but we need to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and move forward! What has happened in the last 20 years or so is that we have sold the country down the river to enhance the profits of big corporations. We have trade deficits in the hundreds of billions of dollars per MONTH. This means that dollars that could be used to create jobs and foster a strong economy are no longer here ! We will never get ahead as long as we continue to send our money overseas, we must bring some of these dollars back into the fold! Now that many MILLIONS of talented people are unemployed and have time on there hands it is time to “retrain” them and let them use their talent to bring this economy home! We will NOT get a lot of these jobs back and must create a new subculture of internal producers entrepreneurs to not only market their talents, but to create millions of internal jobs ! This is the “New Economy” and the people who catch on will be the ones that “Survive and Thrive” . We can no longer sit on our hands and think that the government is going to “fix” the economy ! We have the power to to do this ourselves and quite frankly, we will be driven to do it whether we like it or not. We all have something to offer we just have to figure out what it is! It could be the hobby that we love doing and done right it could be our full time job. It could be the ebook we write and sell with grandmas recipes. It could be the small farm we have that sells organic garlic (checked on the price of organic garlic lately?) .Whatever it is it needs to be scaled up and kept “in-house”. We are the “Hidden Gems” of this economy and and the sooner we figure this out the faster we will get on our feet!
This blog points to many links that will help you decide where and how to find your niche in today’s “Economic Ecosystem” as I find new and better ways to help you I will post them.I am also VERY interested in hearing from anyone who has an idea/ product whatever who is interested in or has already moved this idea onto the web and can help all of us succeed in what I consider THE wave of our economic future!
Brad
Filed under Survive And Thrive! by on Aug 7th, 2010. Comment.
It seems to me that there is nothing but bad news about EVERYTHING these days. More people are losing their jobs,more people are losing their homes and our whole way of life seems to be slipping away! When we have no job and have lost are possessions it seems the next thing to go is our self worth and our pride. We have been so ingrained with the idea that what we have is who we are that the loss of possessions sometimes results in the loss of self! Once we allow this to happen, we can loose all power to rebuild our lives and will continue into a downward spiral! I absolutely know the feeling and know how it can devastate a person. The truth of the matter is that we are NOT our jobs or our possessions and the important things in our lives are still there! We still have our families and friends (Our True Friends!) . We still have the air that we breath and the sunshine on our faces! Deep down inside we know that it can always be a lot worse. I will not give examples as to how that can be so, because I feel that everyone with half a brain should knows that to be true. If we let our self doubt consume us, or get bogged down in self pity we will stop dead in our tracks and make no progress. I know that these are easy words to say and that actually embracing these ideas is easier said than done! I can only recommend that you separate you “being” from your possessions and realize that your life IS a precious gift. Do what i it take to find some kind of peace so that you can move forward on life’s journey! You DO have to work on it every day and you will be amazed at the power and strength you will gain. Once you accept the new environment you have been given you can move forward. Moving forward is what we must do to survive! Hang in there,Things will get better. You are one of the Hidden Gems of society!
Filed under Survive And Thrive! by on Aug 20th, 2010. 1 Comment.
I sit here writing about how to become one with the “new” environment and how to be at peace with oneself. I have been reading blogs on how to bring yourself out of the major “Funk” that being unemployed or underemployed has put so many people in. The fact of the matter is that a lot of people are not survivors. We have an entire generation of people that grew up in an era of easy credit and very good times. They have neither the experience or the drive to “Pull themselves up from their bootstraps” This is so sad to me as this generation is the one best equipped to deal with the “new” reality! The fact of the matter is that 95% of people are not leaders and though maybe hard workers, are expecting someone to setup some sort of infrastructure for them! Well I have news for them. The days of forever jobs and a great benefit package are over! The current job market and economy is an accumulation of things that finally reached a tipping point and a redo is in order! The government is not going to “save ” you. Your only hope is to adapt to the world and make your own way. I am aware that not everyone is capable of doing this, but the true entrepreneurs and innovators will persevere. The sad thing is that many people have so much to offer and so much knowledge and talent that is going to waste. So the question is; are you going to lay down and give up or are you going to take your talents and fight on? EVERYONE has a talent! EVERYONE has knowledge in some field! It does not matter if you use this knowledge directly or have someone use it for you, what matters is that you use it! I know that these are easy words to say but in practice it can be difficult to implement. There are many way to get this done and this web site is dedicated to finding and helping the “Hidden Gems” realize their potential. So the question is: Are You A Survivor Or a quitter? Adapt or die has always been a human thing. I am here to help you adapt! Look into yourself and see you self worth! Think about what you can give to the world and let me know.I will help you and encourage you because to me you are important! Please comment on the blog and keep your head up .Things are about to get better!
Brad
Filed under Survive And Thrive! by on Aug 30th, 2010. 1 Comment.
