Great news…

3 posts in one day!!! ha!

Okay friends, some great news. I am proud to say that one of my good friends and published author will be guest blogging  very soon. Some (perhaps most) will have read his work in a different incarnation. He is a very insightful, thought-provoking writer who has had work published and had  a column in a highly respected UK newspaper.

He had recently emailed commending the blog  and i replied back requesting if he could write and he immediately consented.

You will really enjoy his articles and i cannot wait…WATCH THIS SPACE!

Keep on watching, i mean winning

I remain. KD

Responses

Remember, all responses to posts are always welcome. Thanks

Survival of the fittest…

Sorry, missed deadline on this entry, but wanted to wait for the official news. According to the Government, the recession is over but let’s not celebrate just yet because complete recovery will take some time, but we are headed in the right direction!

The title of this entry may not seem appropriate to the subject, because survival of the fittest refers to the evolutionary timeline where only the strongest survived; where the stone was superseded by bronze and the bronze by the iron, but if we give it a different spin then this does hold up. Of course, we need to maintain the basics food, shelter and clothing but as we are still caught in a financial vice-like grip until full recovery takes place, it is survival but not just of the fittest, but the smartest as well. So, here are some tips.

• Well, time for serious belt-tightening and common sense. Taking any money you have and putting into a high interest account is a great step which will help in an emergency.

• Okay, with corporate downsizing, be realistic and look outside your chosen vocation. This one hurts the most, but one needs to eat humble pie. Sorry corporate rats, but we have to be realists.  Survival is less about the game than it is about changing the rules of the game.
• Networking at FREE events doesn’t hurt either. A resume can only get us so far but people can only see us as we are in person.
• Another option is to see whether any existing talent you have can be monetized.  Good writer? Perhaps, trying our luck at some paid freelance writing might help. What about consulting? Can you take your experience and offer consultation to others?  Knock on doors; introduce how you can add value. For example, if good at marketing, tell businesses how to create a brand, increase the bottom line; prove it, by offering a discounted service or trial basis. Print out cheap flyers/cards and move around your own area where some of the business owners may even know you. Have a sounding board and ask a friend or peer for advice and a problem shared is a problem halved.

• One key reason why one needs to be creative; if need be, take a part-time job even if it means manning a call center, because for one, the longer you are out of work,  the more our self-esteem suffers; trust me, having been there, sitting at home watching daytime TV does nothing to help one’s situation and you quickly find out why TV is chewing gum for the mind.

• Also, rather than sitting at home, for our own sanity, let’s volunteer somewhere. The worst thing is being inactive, because that leads to feeling “dumbed down”, useless and losing our creative spark.

• Reduce discretionary spending on non-essential items and disable the cable because you will save 1000’s over the year. Opt for online entertainment as most of the TV channels are also streaming content on the net. In any case, how much do we REALLY watch? The answer may surprise us and compel us to cut the cable television umbilical cord for good.

• Don’t eat out! It might be surprising to learn that it might cost much more eating out than making food at home. Yes, outmoded huh? Honestly, one can sacrifice a little time and make simple yet nutritious meals. Take a leaf out of Cathy Erway’s book and see how she stopped and saved money through simple little recipes. The atmosphere argument doesn’t hold up either-go ahead, invite friends and share your newly found culinary skills. Your body will also thank you for it as well.
• Cut out any unnecessary expenses. For a long time, in my housing division, there was no stable internet connection, so I had to buy an internet card, but after about a year we finally had internet and as the economy down turned, I realized that i still had the internet card and was giving away money for no reason. Turned out, it was cheaper for me to make my home wireless. If we look for the small print, we can always cut out a few things.

• Cell phones. We should all analyze our cell phone plan. Cut out any data plans that we are signed up for. They are less a necessity than a luxury. People that really want to communicate can call your phone there is no need for internet or any fancy paid services that are not needed. CUT THEM OUT.

Well, there you go, just some tips. Remember,  remain positive, be creative and keep on winning…

Next up: Survival of the fittest…

Dateline

Tuesday

Saturday-Sunday Smiles

Keeping in line with the economy, but remember the words from the last post-we are NOT in a depression (Have you seen any lines like below yet? No-so, no depression)

• The economy is so bad, my niece told me she wants to dress up as a 401-K for Halloween so that she can turn invisible.
• The economy is so bad that 7 of 10 houses on Sesame Street are in foreclosure
• The economy is so bad that, I saw four CEOs playing miniature golf
• The economy is so bad that I went to my bank to get a loan, they said, “What a coincidence! That’s just what we were going to ask you!”
• The economy is so bad that parents in Bevery Hills are considering raising their own children
• The economy is so bad, Bill Gates had to switch to dial up
• The economy is so bad, my ATM gave me an IOU!

Keep on winning…it is the ONLY choice for champions!

Finding your feet..

Finding your feet…

Established family businesses being shuttered; banks being bailed out by the Government; housing market slumps. Doom and gloom-the end is nigh!

Well, that pretty much sums up all that we hear and see right now. The once robust American economy has tanked and we are facing the next depression. Well, as somebody once said when America catches a cold the whole world sneezes and so right now the entire world is nursing a cold.

As promised friends, we will focus on a series of articles centered on the recession and give tips on what to do and NOT to do. Okay, so now to cast my mind back to my Economics training, and no i did not study with Adam Smith!

There is an old joke among economists that states:

A recession is when your neighbor loses his job.

A depression is when you lose your job.

Recession: We look at changes in business activity output looking at real income, employment, production and wholesale retail sales. Whenever activity peaks it is followed by a “bottoming-out”-a trough- a  period where it slowly declines and once it rises again this is called the expansionary phase.

Depression: the last was in the 1930’s (and no i wasn’t around ha!) when Gross Domestic Product (GDP) dropped by more than 30% (anything more than 10% is defined as a depression);unemployment peaked at 33%. a depression is mor prolonged.

Let me just say to counter those who say that we are in a depression-we are categorically NOT. Lessons were learned during the great depression so that  history would not repeat itself.

So, first step in these dire times is to understand that we are NOT in a depression-write it, put it on a post-note, etch it in your minds-whatever you need to do, but start off with that thought in mind. Hard as it maybe to believe but as we shall see during this series of articles, good things can come from a recession.

Apologies

Factors conspire against an early blog, but i will return soon…

Thanks for your patience, nudging and prodding…

This week

Hello,

It is a hectic week due to cultural celebrations and with the spectacle and color will be involved in helping out once more so will be as regular as possible this week; expect a blog tomorrow and perhaps one a day later…

Forgive me for falling short. Will be back…

Keep on winning…

Friday’s Funnies…

A President of a democracy is a man who is always ready, willing, and able to lay down your life for his country.

A bird in the hand is always safer than one overhead.

A committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours. –

(Milton Berle)

A committee is twelve men doing the work of one.

A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.

A bird in the hand is dead.

A bird in the hand makes it hard to blow your nose.

A boss with no humor is like a job that is no fun.

A clean tie attracts the soup of the day.

A closed mouth gathers no foot.

Keep on smiling…

Coming soon…

Hello friends,

The next few blogs will be a series  dedicated to survival tips and strategies for surviving in the economic downturn…

Next: ‘ Finding your feet…”