If this title didn’t offend you then I am sure that what follows is sure to offend. If you are offended then unsubscribe because I don’t want whiners, complainers, excuse-makers and pissers and moaners on my list. I only want to communicate and associate with those who have a real commitment to do what it takes to become rich by separating themselves from the 95% mass of mediocrity.
The economy is in the tank regardless of what CNBC says about green shoots and the fact that the stock market has had the biggest recovery bounce since November 1929. The housing overhang, the number of unsold inventory of homes, is north of one million. That doesn’t include homes that are underwater or in foreclosure. Real unemployment is flirting with 10%. My neighbor, a 64 year old professional, has been out of work for three years.
We are barely out of the biggest recession since the Great Depression. No one living who is under the age of 75 has ever lived through an economic climate that we are now in. And the bad news is that this climate is going to persist for years to come regardless of what the politicians and pundits say. There will be more losers than winners.
What to do. What to do. The smart business owners, sales professionals and entrepreneurs realize that it is time to bone up, go back to school and invest in acquiring new skills that will help them more easily extract money from the marketplace. Personally, I am studying and reading a minimum of two hours per day. Yes, two hours per day. You don’t have time to study two hours a day you say. Hey, you have got the same 24 hours as everyone else so that doesn’t wash. I am getting up a 4:00 am and reading and studying for two hours EVERY DAY except the days I go fishing when I get up at 3:00 am.
I am working harder than I have worked in 13 years. Putting in more hours. Making more phone calls. Writing more articles. Communicating with clients and prospects more frequently. Giving more talks. Conducting more TeleClasses. In short, I am working my ass off not because I like it but because that is what is required to maintain the income I am accustomed to.
I am not complaining because this sure beats roofing houses in July in the hot Florida sun.
If you are not willing to do something similar you run the risk of becoming one of the ones who are left behind wondering what happened. Although I don’t have a crystal ball, I can tell you unequivocally that there will be shrinkage in every business category and profession, including sales. Tens of thousands of businesses have or will be forced to close their doors or file for bankruptcy. Can you say Reader’s Digest? Millions have been laid off and there will be millions more laid off before this turns around.
If you sit on the sidelines and choose not to get serious about upgrading your skills you run the risk of being one of them. Consider this message your wakeup call.
