These Are The Stories You Will Tell

Pandemic has put people in isolation and created difficult times. Working from home with family and distractions. Unemployment is climbing towards ~15%-20%. People laid off, forced to retire early, losing retirement investments, having to find different work, becoming a gig worker, possibly losing a car or home, or being homeless temporarily. 

These are the stories you will tell years down the road after you figure it out. Heard stories in my youth from elders and now tell mine. Intend to tell stories how I overcame issues and became more successful after this over.

The past is full of examples of people overcoming hardships: Mayflower. The westward expansion. Irish potato famine. WW1 trench warfare. Spanish flu infecting ~1/3 of the world’s population & killing 1 of 10. The Great Depression. WW2 warfare and British citizens surviving months of bombings. 9-11.  Terrorism.

Do you know the difference between being broke and being poor? Being broke is temporary. Being poor is life long. I have been broke and unemployed several times. My career has not been kind - periods of unemployment, pay cuts and self-employment failures. Changed industries (which I was told was impossible) and moved several times including cross-country to find work.

The difference is studied my skills and found ones was good at. Then tried to find industries and companies that need those skills. Constantly learning new technologies in demand. Asked people for help and networked. Failed often. Persisted in trying different ways.

Use this time to review your successes in life. What skills did you use? Which skills would you like to use daily? Study successful people in books or articles. Why were they successful? Which examples can you implement? Research what work is in demand. What low cost training can you do now? You don’t have to be perfect. You only need one job.

We are more resilient than we think. Hang in there. If you learn more and keep trying new ways, you eventually figure out how to succeed in parts of life. And we learn God loves us unconditionally. You have stories to tell.

Predicting Your Life

Blog post #300 - Thanks to all readers making this worthwhile

Most of us believe our life will turn out the best. “A great marriage. Nice house. 2 cars. Great careers. Our kids will be perfect.” Life is full of Unexpected Experiences:

• Addiction
• Cancer, Heart Attack, Stroke or Medical Issues
• Divorce
• Early deaths of loved ones
• Employer or your business closes
• Homelessness
• Jail time
• Losing your job after 50
• Mental health issues
• Moving to find work
• Severe pay cuts
• Spouse disabled
• Special needs children
• Suicide
• Unemployment stretching years

None of those things above are in our dreams growing up, yet most adults experience one or more or your family experiences several surprises. Most are out of our control. 

For example mental illness strikes 1 of 5 adults, 1 of 6 children, and 1 of 3 families.

You can do everything right and still have health problems. Hereditary and luck are part of health.

 However some of these are in your control. Start saying “No one will know” or “They’ll never catch me” and you are likely going to jail. 8.1% of federal prison inmates were college graduates. Harvard Graduate School encourages MBA students to stay out of jail.

What to do?

First realize you are not alone no matter what goes wrong in your life. Read advice columns like Ask Amy, Ask Carolyn and The Moneyist to learn about how people treat each other. Dear Abby helped prepare me for life, and she had a wonderful sense of humor.

Build Your Resilience

Be realistic and seek feedback about yourself. Create a list of all the things you have learned or overcome. No one is as great nor awful as they think. Even then you can still change.

Try Something New

Failing or flailing at new sports or hobbies expand your mind as well as humility.

Ask for Help

Everyone gets stuck. No one accomplishes it all on their own. Working with people can create miracles.

Spend Less

People in debt for spending struggle more often. Savings give you more options when things go wrong or your future. My WW2 mentors on first job told me to have a “FY” fund, in case a boss ever asked me to do something illegal or mistreated me.

Have Courage

Not trying to worry you. Worry is unproductive. No one can prepare for everything. Just ask any parent raising children how unprepared they were. Yet kids grow up to be good adults in spite of us.

When problem come up, sometimes we cry, sometimes we laugh and sometimes we pray. Then we Go Do Our Best.

#300 starting writing in 2007 with the ‘Success Ladder’. Have learned to communicate, have empathy, try new experiences, and met many wonderful people. You will be amazed how many people help you learn, and root for you. I root for you as well - to succeed, learn and share. Thanks for reading.