I'm tired of being the messenger of bad news, so this week
I'm going to talk about something different... something
positive!
Hey, it wasn't me who burned the economy by allowing banks
to leverage their assets by 30:1, I'm just the spectator
trying to make my way through the aftermath. Politicians
and economists are clowns in a circus- all I can do is
watch and be entertained by them.
Right now, you're hoping for the best. You're hoping that
everything will be okay soon and your lifestyle will return
to normal. You'll have income security, the value of your
home and assets restored and life will get back to normal.
Great.
But what if life is trying to teach us something?
A wise man once told me that whenever you feel life pushing
you around, don't get upset; it's trying to give you a
lesson... to make you a better and happier person.
It's one thing to learn from our mistakes, but there's
something even more special about seeing an inner message
in those mistakes...
What I'm saying is: instead of stressing about your
lifestyle being threatened, perhaps the greater lesson is
that your lifestyle was flawed in the first place.
We as a people lost our way long ago. For many, hardship
has become not being able to show off the latest Chanel
purse, or not being able to trade up to a house with the
same square footage as your buddy's or not having the
newest cell phone.
As a society, we got addicted to 'stuff'. Material
possessions. The world grew to count on Americans as the
chumps of last resort to sell crap to. China's economy was
built on the fact. All the time Americans use credit cards
in shopping malls, the world continued to turn.
Life is teaching the brief inhabitants of the third rock
from the sun a lesson. Maybe it's to stop us blowing each
other up. After all, if we're prepared to fight an illegal
war (i.e. a war that the U.N. did not sanction) to keep gas
prices down so we can drive ludicrous gas-guzzlers, it's
fair to argue something needed to change. On a side note, I
don't care what car you drive, just don't bitch about gas
prices if you drive a Suburban! And no, I don't drive a
Prius.
Maybe you've lost your job. Maybe it's threatened (and you
usually won't know it's threatened until you're actually
fired).
What's the worst that can happen? Will you starve?
Maybe in the last depression, but not this one. If you and
your loved ones have shelter, food and water you're in
better shape than a lot of the world.
And did/do you actually enjoy that job anyway?!
Did you need a certain level of salary just so you could
live in the good part of the town where your job was? Well
guess what, now you don't need to live in that town! In
fact, you may not even want to live in a town at all. Now
you can move somewhere you've always wanted to.
Life is giving us a chance to re-evaluate our lives. To
take a step back.
Many are saying crime will now rise and I don't doubt it
will and the media will enjoy reporting this. What you
won't read is the GOOD that will come out of this;
community spirit will strengthen...
A person's true colors come out in a crisis. Some yes, will
turn to the dark side, but you'll also see the better side
of human nature. Life is making us connect with each other
once again; we've not only lost touch with what life's all
about, we've lost touch with each other.
A long period of prosperity as we had until recently can
actually be very stressful. People feel pressured to get
indebted just to keep up with everyone else.
I for one try to maintain a reasonably modest lifestyle,
though towards the end of the boom I succumbed to certain
pressures to keep up with the Jones's. But the Jones's
lifestyle was a big façade...
As the saying goes, "When the tide goes out, you see who's
been swimming naked."
Well, you're about to see so many naked bodies you'll think
you're in a nudist colony! As the savage process of
de-leveraging goes on, the people who had the American
Dream on revolving credit will be forced to give it all up.
The good news is we're all on a level playing field again.
No facades, the tide has gone out. No more BS.
In other words, peoples' egos got ahead of them and now
they're being made to reel it back in. Again, life's
lesson. Interesting to note that Buddhists constantly teach
a person to let go of the ego as it's a path to destruction.
I know there's all those toys, but take it from someone
who's been there and done it, toys don't fill the soul. And
they make you a lot poorer!
If you've been sucked too far in to the 'game', I don't
doubt your family missed you. Their Mom and/or Dad were
gone for a while there, but now they're back- physically
and mentally... THAT IS, if you can let go and basically
get off the merry go round and OPT OUT of the race with the
Jones's. Re-evaluate what you actually need and want from
life.
As Jesse Jackson once said, "Your children need your
presence, not your presents."
Yes, this is an ugly recession that will get uglier. You
may or may not lose your job or business. But this will
pass, just like it always has and I'll be guiding you every
step of the way to not just survive, but also to prosper.
But just take a moment to wonder if this isn't a blessing
in disguise. Maybe life's giving you a second chance or
giving you time-out to regroup and reconnect. Maybe the
thing you feel you're clinging on to by the fingernails
right now isn't worth clinging to.
"Failing" is a subjective word. Until next time,
Mark Patricks
----------------------------------------------------
Mark Patricks is an author, publisher, and businessman. You
can read his weekly writings in Freedom by Friday a
newsletter published by the League of Power. To learn more
about this newsletter or the exclusive secret society The
League of Power please visit http://www.leagueofpower.com
While there you can also claim a free $27 gift.
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