How To Not Only Survive But Thrive This Economic Crisis

This is the story of Dick.

Dick’s story is one that millions of American’s are facing today. With a down economy, a tight job market and many people in survival mode, the tale of Dick is one you may be able to relate to.

Dick was a good guy, a hard working guy and he always played the game of life by all the rules. Dick drove a conservative car, paid all of his taxes on time and was very faithful to his employer of 14 years. If you can picture the typical corporate employee, Dick is the guy who would come to mind.

Dick was at work one afternoon when he received some very troubling news. The company he worked for the past 14 years was laying off employees due to the sour economy and Dick had received his walking papers. Just like that he was out of work/he realized I lost my job; no more steady paycheck, no more secure job.

Dick suddenly found himself at a cross roads. What would he do about this most troubling situation? Would he rise above his personal economic crisis and accept it as a signal to improve his life or would the situation rise above Dick making him a victim of circumstance?

Although Dick knew in the back of his mind his 9 to 5 job was little more than a treadmill, he became addicted to the steady paycheck. Unfortunately for him, the addiction to the paycheck was stronger than the desire to finally get off the treadmill.

So, like millions of other jobless people, Dick rewrote his resume and began his job search.

The obvious question to me is why would Dick – or anybody for that matter – ever entertain the thought of going back to the same system which left them in this position to begin with? Nobody ever OWNS their job when it can be taken away in an instant. Why would anybody ever want to put so much of their valuable time and effort into something which is never really theirs?

Always in the back of his mind Dick knew he deserved more out of life but he lacked the initiative necessary to do anything about. Again, like millions of others, Dick felt getting anything more out of life was just too much trouble.

Sadly, months went by as Dick pursued one dead end job interview after the other. As more and more companies were downsizing and going under, there were suddenly more and more people competing for fewer and fewer jobs.

With his jobless benefits running out and no promising employment prospects on the horizon, desperation was setting in. Dick was now in a far more dangerous position than he was before. Instead of just being stuck on a treadmill, he was now clinging to the past. Dick was stuck on the idea of job security when, in fact, such a concept was now extinct.

Dick was in denial of the fact that Corporate American no longer can offer job security or a steady pay. Most sadly, Dick chose to go into panic mode over his crisis rather than seeing it as an opportunity to change his life for the better.

Had Dick only put some of the effort into his own business over the past 9 months which he’d put into his job search, he’d be much further along in life than he is now.