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Strengthen The Things That Remain

Guest post by: Michael Hume

Article Overview: I've been saying for more than a year that a global depression was on the way, and that it would make the Great Depression of the 1930s look like the salad days. It's not beyond imagining that the recent world economic events are the beginning of just such a depression. But it's only money....

Strengthen The Things That Remain

When Bad Times Loom, Inspiration Is Key Don't panic. The recent U.S. debt downgrade, along with the unfortunate (but completely rational and predictable) reaction of the world's markets, is more than a bummer. But it isn't the end of the world.

I've been saying for more than a year that a global depression was on the way, and that it would make the Great Depression of the 1930s look like the salad days. It's not beyond imagining that the recent world economic events are the beginning of just such a depression. But it's only money.

If you read the words "it's only money" and react with scorn, as though that's a sarcastic thought, you are not ready for the gathering economic storm. The most important thing you can do right now, as the global economy crumbles around you, is to re-think your life and your priorities to the extent that you, too, can say "it's only money" - and mean it.

First, strengthen your relationships. Aren't the key relationships in your life MUCH more important than money? Maybe you think some of your most important relationships depend upon money, or upon your personal wealth... if they do, they aren't true relationships. Get to know your spouse, your kids, your friends, your parents, whomever. Build the relationships. The ones that depend on money? If you can't create (or rediscover) a deeper foundation for those relationships, jettison them. Sounds cruel, but only those with true, meaningful relationships can mean it when they say "it's just money."

Strengthen yourself. Build your physical health and vitality, so you can weather the storm. Wouldn't you much rather be afflicted with poverty than with, say, cancer? Build your emotional and mental health - rethink your personal priorities and values. And build your professional skills, to make yourself valuable and competitive in the marketplace for talent.

And, of course, strengthen your wealth. This is a much lower priority than strengthening yourself and your relationships, though many will get the priority wrong. But it's still worth doing, and it isn't too late. If you have a job, keep it... this is a very bad time to be in the unemployment line. But if you haven't already done so, start a business, even a business on the side. Do it now. Have at least one viable revenue stream you can call your own, so you aren't beholden to your employer for the entire livelihood of your family. Get smart about the global conspiracy against wealth. And learn how to make solid investments that will help you weather the storm (and take care of those around you who are less prepared for what's coming).

We will all get through this, together. It's going to get much rougher, but if you strengthen the truly important things in your life, you'll be able to laugh in the face of diversity, and to deride the Devil with a sincere pronouncement that "it's just money."

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Article Tags: entrepreneurship, health wealth and happiness, inspirational leadership, personal responsibility



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