How to Handle Hard Times

I tell my daughter, who is 23, to remember that what is practical for her, is not necessarily practical for anyone else.

Then I say, don't be afraid to do what is easiest for you.

Then, as well I have said; "The sooner you know life is hard, the easier it will be."

Though in general your advice, Dr. Doug is fine, but neither you or I have all the answers for everyone, at any stage, or unique situation.

Currently my strategy is to remember what things I did in my history of three different careers, and do those things that paid me the most for the least amount of physical effort.

I suppose if someone was to ask me, what the most universal advice, across all ages, is: it is: Build on your strengths.

well said Transcendian.

My advice to others would also be to understand that money, possensions and the status associated with your employment are three of the least important things in life. Sure, we all need money to survive, but the persuit of wealth in excess of need (which has been the major contributing factor in the global financial crisis) just takes more time away from the the more important things - family, friends, love and faith.

A balanced view of money and employment can help you cope with any financial difficulties you encounter - just put it into perspective...

I just picked up a book called "thanks!" by one Robert A. Emmons Ph.D.

Subtitle "How the new science of gratitude can make you happier."

I picked it up for 1$ at a library sale... and I am already a big believer in 'gratitude'. It is reported to have extremely beneficial and transformative effects upon one's circumstance and experience of life.

The opening quotation is this:

"I cannot tell you anything that, in a few minutes, will tell you how to be rich. But I can tell you how to feel rich, which is far better, let me tell you firsthand, than being rich. Be grateful... It's the only totally reliable get-rich-quick scheme."

-- Ben Stein, Actor, Comedian, Economist.

and I must concur.

and for myself, I had an eye opening experience a couple of years ago that significantly changed my life.. I was going through the worst of times.. and came to a moment of insight and gratitude, and came away with a synthesized understanding of that brilliant moment.. "Faith Is Gratitude".. for when you have asked for something in prayer and hope... and nothing happens... if you can visualize the reciept of that asked-for benefit, to the point of actually being able to feel gratitude, then it shall more certainly come to pass... and it did. I ended up doubliing my income inside a year, and finding a great love, and many other miscellaneous positive experiences...

and I have practiced this gratitude/faith since... and good things have happened to me.. and my whole attitude on life is different.

It is not that we aren't facing hard times... due to the evil forces in the world.. but that we have virtually untapped powers within us that can make amazing things happen.

I often forget about these powers.... for as Don Henley says in "New York Minute".. a person can be "too much in this world"... but when I do remember.. things get better quickly.

so that really is my coping mechanism.

Chris

Thats great Chris, thanks for sharing your experience with us.

It reminds me of one of my favourite scriptures - Hebrews 11:1

'Faith is the assured expectation of the things hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities, though not beheld."

Verse 6 is interesting too, if you are inclined to look it up.

Dear Dr. Doug, I have some problems with some of your advice, and will seek briefly to explain what they are. Let me add that the advice you have given is very similar to advice I got from my Mother, that produced for long my tag line: No Shame In Honest Work, till I changed it to: You don't get wise because you get old, you get old because you were wise.

Please understand that I am not realistically at the beginning of my life, or even in the middle considering common life expectancy, so am not operating on fictional time estimates. Again a consideration for me realistically is that though no job may necessarily be beneath me, I can no longer have value in positions for which brute strength, and control of my temper, or ego, allow for me to do any old thing.

In the past I always rolled with the punches, and would change careers. However, the truth is that no human being is really a robot, or a machine. There are jobs and work that we are good for, and jobs and work that we are not good for.

Part of my Ego has been to be confident enough to say, "I recommend Joe for your job."

Frankly I can't think of why any decent employer would want to hire me if I did not have a good sense of myself, and a good ego.

My brother in law is an investment banker. He is also a good cook. My sister is a good cook. My wife is a good cook.

I can cook. In fact at one point in my life I was a terrific Pizza cook. I mean I could really make a great pizza. Passion really had nothing at all to do with it.

When f88ted over, become a cook? To equate this with freedom of choice is not fully impressive to me.

3- What make you confident that my next employer will pay me fairly for my efforts? A mental mistake has no impact on me. What if there is no market at all for my services, as if I was a soldier, and all wars were ended? Possibly I ought to show up at all interviews with a gun on my hip to illustrate I wasn't kidding around, and didn't have any "mental" problems. [this tract of thought is influenced by pictures of Patton, who wore a cell phone in one holster, and a pearlhandled Colt six shooter in the other, and commanded a tank army.] 4- When working at getting a job, for me to be come incommunicado, has not worked in the past. In fact, as an example, when I was in very much in need of work, there was a Solar Flare that knocked out my beeper, that changed the course of my life. I had been working on a PBS show as a Key, and needed to line up another job, but had moved out of the home I shared with a "Temporary wife." In the freelance life, one job leads to another and communications are important. Cutting off communications links may well be one of the worst things to do.

As a balance to this I have to say I was in a position to hire someone, and called the last number I had for them.

It was cut off.

In the past when there was a significant depression in the US there was a lot of reliance on guns.

Urbanization and some acorn dearth does inhibit my married, "Hey, here's a squirrel, I didn't have money for beef."

"Well honey, I guess you'll have to join the Union and get us a 40 hour week."

I know I did handle hard times without a missed beat, and hardly noticed a couple.

There were times when I wasted time doing whatever I got paid to do.

Once the pay gets so low, nothing is worth doing...what good is your advice.

Hence I have worked lately to fully understand how an International Minimum Wage could be both traded, understood, and instituted.

Hope you will gain enough TV stature to ask Dick Gephardt to explain it to you on TV. '

Dude, you started out pretty strong, then descended into incoherence. Were you drinking when you wrote this?

Actually I thought I'd gotten too serious, and attempted to lighten up, then returned to a story about what to let go of, and what not to let go of.

Possibly my humor escaped me and you as well.

Have to admit I had some trouble wrapping the post up neatly.

What I am struggling with in this particular thread is how to put Dr. Doug's advice into perspective, and context.

Eventually I have been caused to look back at the literature that tells the stories of what people did during "Hard Times". I have also been caused to remember what my Grandfather did during The Depression.

During that period he was an Engineer, and worked on Factory Floors, as an Efficiency Expert. (For those here, I hope this is a cheery report.) The news of the actions of IBM, are the place to test Dr. Dougs advice of this blog thread.

If persons being fired by IBM, and then offered jobs in India take Dr. Dougs advice completely and whole hog, then they ought to move to India.

However the way this touchstone event plays out would seem to be that whomever takes that deal, will effectively be in exile, and ought to once taking that deal, and on their own dime, moving to India, become a citizen of India.

When I look back on my own history, I have sometimes regretted that I did not stay in Canada, and become Canadian when I was up there scoping things out before my lottery number came up.

The legal immigrant has enough problems new to any country. Having experienced being an illegal resident, I am aware further of realities.

I am aware that at my age, with my skill sets, should I get work in India, I would never be able to afford to come back if all my pay was in their money.

Herman Melville wrote a book about a guy that was captured off a ship during the war of 1812, and never made it home from England.

I liked it better than Moby Dick.

I found it heart wrenching, for it is a big deal to give up, or lose your country.

The advice is probably correct for the helpless, inexperienced, or isolated and compromised individual.

To what degree is it proper to recommend "Surrender".

At what point does one advise, "Revolt"? Barter Brokering and Closed Community Currency are on the rise.

Other than direct confrontation with a stronger or more entrenched force, the flanking strategy is recommended.

It is a time of Hardball, and if past is prologue, then pick from the past the stories you want to relive.

Of these four points, I would summarize them as this:

You have to make more money than you spend. There are two ways to adjust this, by either increasing income or decreasing spending. If you are currently making $0, obviously just about anything is an improvement over that.

While this is probably good advice, it can be quite a bit of tough love I think. It would also pay to mention that now is where that "rainy day" fund can really come in and help you out. Even if you can't get a job that pays as much as it used to, maybe you can get a job that combined with periodic withdrawls from the rainy day fund can at least keep you and your family in your house while you try and ride out this storm with something "less than ideal".

I always try and implement #4 as it always pays to live below your means. I haven't paid for my cell phone in years (company pays for it) and it would be one of the first things out the door if I had to cut expenses and I was out of a job. Cable TV would be another early victim, in addition to the other perks in life.

A little off-topic but right now (at least in Austin), the people getting absolutely shelled by this downturn is anyone associated with the construction industry. Civil engineers, architects, landscape architects, and other similar professions seem to be losing jobs much more quickly than others (several relatives and friends are looking at reduced wages or no job at all). Are others seeing this same area take the biggest hit or is it just me?

all good points, Roger.

yes, I have written artricles about this. And regularly do keynotes and workshops on the topic (I will be doing one next week for the Young Presidents Organization in New York next week)

yes, I have mentioned it numerous times on CNBC when talking about fear and irrational decision making. I even did my recent Video Blog on CNBC about this exact concept...and it had thousands of hits so it seemed to strike a chord with viewers.

Over the years, I have learned that my top performing trading clients (no they are not the madoff's of the world) make their decisions precisely the way you just oulined. They make investment decisions based on the facts and on the data and not based on their emotions. When the facts change, then so do their opinions (i think john maynard keynes said that).

I believe and have build my career supporting that this same process translates well to any decision a person makes in life (buying a house, selling a house, career decisions, relationship decisions).

And this is precisely what my book is about...meaning how to THINK smart and not let your fears get in the way of your decisions. By the way, the new title is "8 Ways to Great"....the publisher pulled the plug on "8 Principles of Excellence"

As you all realize, the reality is the media is very reactive. People are very reactive as well and tend to get caught up in their own world and the problems right in front of them.

You have identified my purpose for doing this blog. For doing what I do in life. My mission is to educate people. Wake them up. Show them how they can think smarter, better - all on their own.

The path is slow - but I am making progress. I am just not big enough yet (soon...) to make a large scale (Oprah-type) impact - but it will happen...just takes time to build the following. To build the brand.

This blog is part of the genesis of Dr Doug. We will smile about it as the years go onward and until I am able to build a platform large enough to spread the message about empowerment, self-awareness and making your own smart choices, well, we will watch in frustration while knowing the light will eventually shine.

You know what I would like to do....maybe we could organize a retreat. does not have to be fancy or expensive...but just a central location to meet, talk, share meals as a group. If someone at CR4 is so inclined to organize it, I would be honored to join.

Thanks for the response, Roger...and thank you all who have taken the time to post to this blog entry - I am reading all your posts.

Doug

I appreciate your response.

I guess my frustration is mostly that I have a hard time watching t.v. anymore and I used to really love watching t.v.

Totally agree. Right time to buy shares in the blue chips too

DrD:

1) and 3) Letting go 'ego' or attachments and preconceptions about your self is a good experience, because when you let go, (a) you are free, you experience true freedom from the expectations we burden ourselves with, and (b) you realize that when 'everything is lost' there is still something left. The something left is your life, your self, your freedom. (c) there is a feeling of relief when you let go these things, take a deep breath and let go feelings of hurt and loss, because you can fall no further. You have reached the bottom. Therefore, there is nothing but solid ground beneath you, to stand on. So are the humbled mighty.

2) and 4) Learn something you wanted to, or need to learn: develop a new skill. Using your skills (old or new) to reduce expenses is better than 'trimming budgets' IMO. It can enrich your quality of life much more.

In depression economics, the bottom line is real needs. If you can supply your own real needs in some way with the time on your hands: plant vegetables and tend a garden, go hunting with a buddy and put deer in your freezer; fix something that is broken; make something new from old parts... make something useful from the raw materials that are available and free.... these are the real securities. They will reduce your expense and also increase your feeling of self-confidence, and provide the reward of being productive and active, which is worth more than money.

Personally, I get the most satisfaction from physical work or production of some kind. Making something tangible is satisfying to me and calms my anxieties. Other people get the same reward by fixing things, or by salvage work. It's all good...

Perspective...can you equate the philosophy of the principle character in the article to you're own?

http://www.detnews.com/article/20090402/METRO08/904020395/To+urban+hunter++next+meal+is+scampering+by

Should I?

Less stick and more carrot...

Fractures in the social contract between labor and capital, or corporations and their loyal employees have been going on for a good while. Your post of the profile about the Urban Hunter reminded me of Roger Moore's scene in Roger and Me, where the woman shows off her rabbit hutch.

Has Detroit really lost half its population?

Wow!

US History was for a long time, that when things went to hell in one industry, in one region, the solution was to move to another part of the nation, to another state, where things were not so bad.

The end of the country was in California.

-will pick up later.

The Telegraph News, 07 Apr 2009

"The world is a step closer to a global currency, backed by a global central bank, running monetary policy for all humanity."

Change is all about these days, the G20 having authorized a global currency:

"A single clause in Point 19 of the communique issued by the G20 leaders' amounts to revolution in the global financial order.

'We have agreed to support a general SDR allocation which will inject $250bn (£170bn) into the world economy and increase global liquidity', it said. SDRs are Special Drawing Rights, a synthetic paper currency issued by the International Monetary Fund that has lain dormant for half a century.'

"In effect, the G20 leaders have activated the IMF's power to create money and begin global 'quantitative easing'. In doing so, they are putting a de facto world currency into play. It is outside the control of any sovereign body."

Big swings are allowing a tide of good news coming from our teflon president and his obedient mass media.

Begin to anticipate rather than react.

Forget about eating good in the neighborhood instead go to the bulk store and put up at least six months supply of dry-goods. Acquire the means to stay warm and turn down the thermostat as the coming winters defy the polictal warming issue and energy costs increase dramatically. Every time the FED injects money into the economy inflation increases 90% (actual); in effect a devaluation of the currency, our energy costs will more than triple due the last three injections.

Are you ready? Are you even aware what is happening?

NEWS BRIEF:

By Retired U.S. Navy Physicist and Engineer James A. Marusek , Ice Age Now News, 2 April 2009

"The sun has gone very quiet as it transitions to Solar Cycle 24. 'Since the current transition now exceeds 568 spotless days, it is becoming clear that sun has undergone a state change. It is now evident that the Grand Maxima state that has persisted during most of the 20th century has come to an abrupt end."

"(The sun) might: (1) revert to the old solar cycles or (2) the sun might go even quieter into a 'Dalton Minimum' or a Grand Minima such as the 'Maunder Minimum'. It is still a little early to predict which way it will swing. Each of these two possibilities holds a great threat to our nation. 'We are now at a crossroad. Two paths lie before us. Both are marked with a signpost that reads 'Danger'! Down one path lies monstrous solar storms. Down the other path lies several decades of crushing cold temperatures and global famine'."

"Climate change is primarily driven by nature. It has been true in the days of my father and his father and all those that came before us. Because of science, not junk science, we have slowly uncovered some of the fundamental mysteries of nature."

Scientists all over the world have warned people not to believe the Global Warming propaganda because real hard science does not support this claim; indeed, the reality is that real science possesses real hard evidence that Global Cooling lies in our future.

Interesting...

In the midst of the controversy I intend to have even if I don't need

Someone gave this post an 'Off Topic'.. but I've countered that.. I think that if you wish to Handle the Hard Times.. you have to be somewhat aware and realistic about it.. and the message of anticipation is what it is all about.. the old boy scout motto of "Be Prepared" does not hinge on "Be In Denial and Hide Your Head in the Sand".... so this message has great relevance.

everything bwire has posted is true.. and mild compared to some of the things I've read...

global currency isn't just a common sense idea.. its the crowning acheivement so far in the domination of the evil empire. (NWO)

Chris.

-picking up where I left off: What lessons do we get from the Literature of the 1930s? How Hard Times where handled, is likely how they will be handled.

Can one move, still sitting right where you are?

Roger has mentioned the great opportunity to buy now.

Last blip of a Recession seems the Japanese came in and bought.

Lately I have been focused on economics and economic theory.

My current suggestions have been that an International Minimum Wage was really called for.

Another was that Whole Life Insurance Policies offered valuation of a "life", so as to offer parity for labor, with capital.

Another thing I have suggested, has been Statehood for Russia.

And one thing I have not mentioned much recently, was my belief that labor ought to have the same sort of legal mobility as international corporations do.

I'm in the weird set of worker who actually has economic reasons to be pissed at the Canadians.

This happened once as an individual writer, and then again as part of a labor force.

When I was at the height of my career potential, much of the work in North Carolina went to Canada, where I had a hard time once already over a work visa, and was told "we" were not welcome for work in Canada.

The report that IBM is firing people and then turning around and saying, if you move yourself to India, and take in India the wage we pay there, in their money, you can have a job is a touchstone event.

To what country, what company should anyone forced into that sort of choice have loyalty?

"Hey, how about I say here in Binghamton, and you just give me Indian Citizenship, and pay me in Euros?"

"Hey let's merge the US and Russian Car Industry!"

Socialism and Labor Unions rose in the last depression. That's what happened in the last hard times.

For a feeling of what the US National mood was prior to WWII, and what the war rescued the power elites from, I suggest you read The Naked and The Dead, by Norman Mailer paying close attention to what the General tells Lieutenant Hearn.

So then who individually handled hard times of the past, best?

What did happen was individuals banded together, and there was war.

In this time of some already War, and Wars, I strongly recommend Statehood for Russia!

Very well said, especially in engineering I think the moving somewhere other than the US is becoming increasingly common as more and more industry leaves these shores for cheaper pastures. I think it is also interesting that you note that the best opportunities not being in America is "a reality that America helped to create". I couldn't agree with you more, the "how can we be more competitive?/how can we squeeze more blood out of this rock?" question is the heart of the American business model.

Dr. Doug.. I believe what you are calling for is honest self appraisal... which reminds me of this thing I wrote some years ago....

To: Me
From: Me

Be honest with yourself about your warm, glowing sensuousness
and you will have Love.

Be honest with yourself about your roasting, flaming anger
and you will change from ruled into ruler.

Be honest with yourself about your putrid, revolting disgusts
and you will have purity.

Be honest with yourself about your peaking, encompassing divinity
and you will have humility.

Be honest with yourself about your heartbreaking eternal sorrow
and you will have compassion.

Be honest with yourself about the value of your words
and you will have audience.

Be honest with yourself about your cringeing, hiding fear
and you will have courage.

Be honest with yourself about your hungering, desperate desire
and you will have balance.

Be honest with yourself about your piercing, blinding intelligence
and you will have purpose.

Be honest with yourself about your vaulting, cartwheeling joy
and you will have power.

Be honest with yourself about your throbbing, pulsating lust
and you will have beauty.

Be honest with yourself about your craving, needing addiction
and you will have understanding.

Be honest with yourself about your frail, timid mortality
and you will live.

Most of all

Be!

Chris

I have long said, "Live where you have a job."

Historically for the worker, the reason to move was to make more money, and therefore have a better quality of life, than to move to make less money.

I am very interested in how thing work out for IBM.

I've looked at moving to other countries.

Actually I attempted to do it twice, well maybe three times since I asked the Netherlands if they wanted me.

As a backup, I have worked to make up my own country.

At some point I feel it is becoming for workers to feel duty bound to offend.

During the period of the last Big Hard Times, normally called, "The Great Depression", US Workers ended up fighting for their rights.

"My Past, Is Your Future." -defines the US to much of the world.

Twisted now is the prospect, of "My future is your Past."

An excellent post.

There is a strong argument to be made that Europe is taking the lead in Scientific Research. We still have a great University system in the United States, but Europe's commitment to fundamental science, exemplified by the Large Hadron Collider and ITER projects stands in stark contrast to the actions of the United State's reducing the funding of science year after year both in the public and private sectors (The Superconducting Super Collider cancelled in 1993).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconducting_Super_Collider
We live in a country where our commitment to science, among other factors, in the early 20th century, created a super-power. Now, even as we enjoy the fruits of that progress, the usefullness of Science is constantly questioned and Scientific organizations are derided, both in government and private industry (R and D budgets).

I like to point out the fact that during that famous speech by Eisenhower warning of the "Military- Industrial Complex", he also warned of a "Scientific - Industrial Complex" where large national laboratories held extraordinary political power, the same way the military industrial complex does now. Just as he saw a well funding standing army as inevitable in the modern world, so did he see government funded science. The irony is that today the military's budget is 100 times larger than the science budget. What was taken by Eisenhower to be a given for a successful modern nation, so much so that he felt the need to warn about it on equal footing as the military industrial complex, has all but disappeared. Truly a dramatic example of how far Science has fallen out of favor in this country.

Eisenhower's Speech

Here is an excerpt:

On the military industrial complex:

"...In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist....."

On the Scientific industrial complex in the same speech:

"...Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture, has been the technological revolution during recent decades.

In this revolution, research has become central; it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government.

Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers.

The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present

• and is gravely to be regarded.

Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientifictechnological elite."

Hi DrDoug. Well written and thoughtful. A bit on the noncomittal side regarding the ethics of the IBM "Offer" but thats Ok.

How ever as an aspiiring talking head, you too easily provide "entitled" as the synonym for what many people may think of as "deserved" or "earned."

By choosing the semantically loaded term "entitled" instead of a more neutral and perhaps more appropriate to the situation term, "earned," you do incite a bit of emotion despite your opening disclaimer.

"Deserved or earned" might be a realistic attitude in an employee who has been a loyal and steadfast contributor to the company only to find that no appreciation or "implied contract" of respect or deservedness of continued employment was really there, despite the employers actions hinting at same.

It is Agreed that markets change and that is out of many employers control.

But the take it or leave it of You go to India to work, when our own country has its panties in a wad about guest worker visas for professionals let alone immigrants, smacks of hypocrisy to this critical thinkers mind.

I welcome talent. Any age, any ethinicity. Any religion. Work hard. Do your best. We got problems to solve, and your brains and hands are welcome too. It is what built this country, and yes my forebears were displaced by the times and ended up doing the on foot crossing of the alleghenies by oxcart tour in the 18 th century. They handled it . So can we.

I do not agree that when people get emotional their focus and purpose oftentimes gets lost. To the contrary, where there is no passion, there is no focus, there is no purpose. That was Descartes' error, and it is one that has been foisted upon the last several generations.

I was lucky to have a great professor to show me that with out emotional intelligence, there is none...

Enjoyed your post.

milo

Ah...thank you for a straight forward awareness of the actual nature of circumstance.

A culturally induced belief of citizens of the US of A that we may pass on to our descendants a circumstance better than our own is an ideal which taken for granted in the past is not now certain in the minds of many. Some may attribute this circumstance indicative of moral decline in our culture, regardless a paradigm shift has occurred in our corporate thinking. We have exchanged value for fortune, now we are experiencing a check; an event of cultural value realignment because it is quality of life we may endow to future generations.