This is a video that I created to help those who are going through tough times financially. Please forward to anyone you know who may be going through some tough times. As this is my first attempt at this, please email me with any comments you might have. I already know the lighting could be better. Best I could do on a limited budget.

Part I

Part II

Part III

All the Best,
All the Time,
JT

Ok – you lost your job. Now what?

As I was listening to NPR the other day I heard a story that impacted me in a way that really surprised me. I was listening to a woman who had attempted suicide, because she didn’t know what to do after losing her job. She was a single mom making $55,000 as a supervisor in a small office. She was let go one day with no notice at all. She has since tried applying at Walmart, Target, McDonalds and other retail outlets – with no luck. She hid her situation from her teenage kids, not wanting them to worry. She wondered how she was going to get them the things they wanted, and had a argument with them over something they wanted at the store. In desperation, she finally decided to try to take her own life by overdosing on something… but luckily just woke up the next morning… feeling terrible but still alive. Of course she felt even worse then, because of the guilt she now carried for her suicide attempt.

What this made me realize is that many Americans who have lost their jobs are totally lost. I was stunned. How can this be? Worse yet – how do we help them get over this. So here are some thoughts that I hope you find helpful and can pass on to others you know in this situation.

1. Remember – you have value beyond your income. I just saw a little clip on YouTube from the movie Glengary Glen Ross. I haven’t seen the movie, but am going to rent it. Before you read the rest of this, go look at the clip (fyi – there is language in the clip that some of you may find offensive – not appropriate for young kids!). I understand the perspective that Blake was giving to the others. He was trying to motivate/intimidate the salesmen into action. If you work for a company, they have the right to expect you to be productive. However, this attitude – that either you sell – or are inadequate – is the start of the brainwashing that Americans have undergone about their value. Yes, we need to work hard. However, our value cannot be measured in money.

   It is only within the last 80 years or so that the American standard of living has risen to the point that most of us can be considered wealthy. Did you know that in general, Americans live in the top 5% of the worlds population as far as wealth and quality of life? Try telling a child that works in a factory in Bangladesh, making a few dollars a week… that since you lost your job, your life sucks. You have been brainwashed into thinking that just because you can’t buy a McMansion, XBox 360, Wii, Playstation 3, IPOD, I Phone, Flat screen TV, Boat, RV, Motorcycle, vacation to Hawaii, Surround Sound, new car, movies every week, dining out once a week, a pizza to be delivered – that you suck. You don’t suck. You’ve been brainwashed. You’ve been brainwashed by people like Blake into thinking that financial success = wealth. Wealth comes from knowing who you are. I will have to agree with Blake though – we should all stop making excuses for inaction.

   It was only a few generations ago (people in their 70s and older will remember – go ask them!) that people were valued for just putting food on the table and keeping a roof over their heads. It was only a few generations ago when an estimated 400,000 AMERICAN men, women and children lost their lives in WWII. That people were valued for the sacrifices they made for our freedom and that life wasn’t measured by what they owned. That there were rations for all sorts of things that we take for granted now. During these tough times, it was great to be financially rich, but most people just got by. AND… they were ok with it. They knew that value can be measured in their willingness to do hard work, not just the fact that they were actually working. During the great depression, there were people who stood in soup lines and work lines, some of who had little self worth, but others who held their head high. Why? Because these people knew they had worth.

2. No one is going to take care of you. You have to take care of yourself. Our country was founded on the basic dream that you can make a life for yourself, if you are willing to work hard. You can complain all you want, but the bottom line is that YOU must take care of yourself. Not your boss, not your co-workers, not your union, not your spouse, not even your country. YOU must take action. YOU are responsible for doing something.

   You can complain about how and why you got in this situation, but that is not going to put food on the table. I’m a great listener, and if I heard your story, I would probably empathize with you. I might even shed a few tears. But… then I am going to say… what next? I don’t want to hear your story again. I don’t think you should be telling it to a lot of people. Tell your story ONCE to someone who cares. Then, move on. If you find yourself hanging out with other people in your situation, and everyone just keeps complaining about how they got there… STOP. Get away from the group. They are going to bring you down and prevent you from doing what you have to do now… which is get up, dust yourself off, and go do something!

3. Here’s the next question… what to do? First…. if you have lost a job.. get out of denial. Cut back as much as you possibly can. I had an interesting conversation with someone at a recent seminar of mine about what was really necessary in life. I relayed a story that I think I told in a previous blog, about a woman who wouldn’t give up her cable TV to get some money from a church. I thought this woman was foolish for not giving it up. However, this other woman at my seminar said that perhaps this was the only thing that allowed this other woman to keep her sanity. That she had given up everything else but needed some escape from reality to keep her sanity. Perhaps she is right. I don’t know. My point is, give up as much as you can.

   The next thing you need to do is to get into a routine. Do NOT sleep in. In fact, get up early. You also need to start exercising and to eat right. For those of you that have been brainwashed (again!) into thinking you need to go the gym or use some kind of machine like a stairmaster or stationary bike… don’t forget that you can just go running – or, you can do sit ups, push ups, etc. at home!! No cost!!

   Yes, you must also start to eat right for two reasons. The first is that your grocery bill will go down. It’s amazing what soda (no, this is not part of a staple diet), chips, brownies, candy, ice cream etc… can cost. Now, don’t avoid all treats… but start eating better. You’ll feel better and have more energy.

4. The next thing you need to do is to make some money. Notice I didn’t necessarily say go get a job. There are lots of ways to make money. Again – many of us have been brainwashed into thinking that a j-o-b is the only way to make money. Not. There are a ton of ways to make money. Perhaps not enough to live on, but still enough to help stretch whatever savings you have into lasting until you get your next job… which you will! How can you make money? There is babysitting, dog walking, creating websites, helping people get organized, running errands for people, mowing lawns, shoveling snow, cooking dinner, cleaning someones house.

   There are more sophisticated ways such as selling on ebay, day trading (if you dare take the plunge – not for the novice, but if you came out of the financial industry… perhaps this is something you could try… but… be careful), selling things on consignment, helping people pour concrete or work around their house. Perhaps you can bake pies or cakes and sell them in your neighborhood (check out local healthcare safety codes).

   There are a TON of ways to make some extra cash while you try to get a job. I’m not going to go into job hunting here… there are tons of experts at that already. But… I will say this… you have to… have to… have to… keep trying to find a job. You cannot quit. You cannot do it for an hour a day. You have to be committed to getting a new job.

5. You should not be ashamed for the situation that you are in. It happens. It has happened to me before. More than once. I know what you are going through. If there are people in your life who are putting you down, go get some new friends. Now – I also know that this can create a tremendous amount of stress on a relationship. Perhaps that is material for another blog. My only comment for the moment, is to be gracious if your partner is the one who has lost a job. It is very hard. They need your support. If you are having trouble with your partner and are the one out of work – email me, or wait for a future blog about this. So – don’t be ashamed. In fact, don’t be afraid to ask people you know for leads or help. God put people on this earth to help us. You don’t have to do this alone.

This was a lengthy blog. But here is what you have to know in summary. 1) YOU have worth! 2) YOU have to do something! 3) YOU have to create a budget, eat well and exercise. 4) YOU have to go out and make some money.

I will close with this, if you reset your expectations and don’t give up, you WILL be ok. You WILL find another job. Just put one foot in front of the other… and keep going.

All the best,
All the time,
JT

In my last posting, I posed the question “why do you want to Lead With Honor?” To continue this series, I’d like to persuade you that we MUST Lead With Honor if we want to maintain our quality of life. This sounds like a pretty drastic statement, but to move the world in a positive direction requires that we believe, without a doubt, that this is true. Why?? When attempting to bring about change of any sort, if there is no urgent need for action the attempt at change fails. In this case, if change fails the world will eventually devolve into a level of chaos that will likely be deeper and longer lasting than the last era known as the Dark Ages.

You’re probably asking yourself if you should keep reading or if I’m some sort of fanatic. I like to think that I’m a pragmatic optimist. So… please keep reading. I am not trying to be a Doom and Gloom naysayer. But… think it will be worth your while to hear me out. Here are my reasons for believing that we must change or face a bleak future.

1. Information Technology has accelerated the impact that our actions bring about. Consider that 2,000 years ago a war took months or years to start. Troops had to be mustered, supplies had to be collected and letters sent by courier between kings as negotiations took place. Today, a single push of a button could instantly change the future of our planet.
2. The proliferation of nuclear and biological weapons. Have you heard of the Doomsday Clock? The clock measures how close we are to nuclear war, based on global economic and political conditions. This clock is not maintained by a group of wackos, but the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists at the University of Chicago. When the clock hits midnight, we will be looking at the third use of nuclear weapons in a war. Here is a graphic representation of where the clock stands today.


Doomsday Clock

3. We live on a planet with limited resources. Check out The Story of Stuff to see why our way of life of unbridled consumerism is not sustainable. In the past, the population of the earth was insignificant compared to the amount of resources we consumed. Check out the projections for the World’s Population. If we don’t change the way we live, we ARE going to run out of stuff. Then what?
4. The increase in religious intolerance. I believe that freedom of religion should be a fundamental right of every man, woman, and child. I happen to be a Christian and am thankful for the freedom I have to believe what I want. I am also smart enough to understand that I do not know it all. That for me to claim to have sole knowledge of God and his plans is heresy. Having said that, there are many people of all religions and faiths that believe they have THE answer. In theory, this is acceptable, until one group tries to impose its beliefs on another. The result? Conflict. War. Suffering.
   
   I understand that this is a very personal matter. That parents fear their children will stray from what they (the parents) believe, possibly risking a loss of eternal life. This can be a very strong motivator for trying to limit the freedom of other religions in spreading their doctrine in your neighborhood. However, there is also another problem. Should every religion be accepted? I would argue no. I cannot believe that God would call for the persecution of women, children or others because they are different. A good example would be the Mayan practice of human sacrifice. Is human sacrifice ok? I don’t think so!

   We now have a problem. Which religions are ok, and, how can we all get along in a very diverse world? With the increase in rhetoric from Christians, Jews and Muslims, we are heading for a storm of significant proportions. To give this statistical credence, check out the 2008 Hate Crime Survey performed by Human Rights First. Because of the increase in biological and nuclear weapons, if we are going to survive, we are going to have to become more tolerant of other beliefs.

5. The increase in corporate scandals that is increasing the gap between the rich and the poor. Especially in America. For more information, check out the statistics on World Poverty. While poverty always has, and always will be with us, what concerns me is that Leading Without Honor increases this gap to the point it becomes unbearable. What happens then? Revolution. It is the burden of the rich to ensure that the middle and lower income classes have enough to sustain themselves with a quality of living that is acceptable. Refuse to accept this responsibility, and chaos will eventually increase.
6. The growing ineffectiveness of the US Government. We need government. That is a given. However the problem has always been how much power should the government have, and what is the appropriate balance of federal, state, local and personal government. Politics are, well, politics. This is understandable. However, the system has now broken down significantly. An example, the recent voting on the finanical recovery plans passed by both the House and the Senate this past week. While many of the criticisms have been focused on the lack of Republican buy-in, something just as ominous has been overlooked. The fact that not one Democrat voted against the plan. You can’t tell me that every Democrat was in favor of these packages. No – there was a lot of arm twisting by Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Party to ensure that no one broke rank. This kind of voting and government is not looking out for the best interest of the people.

Ok – I could go on and on but I’ll stop here which brings me to the point of this posting. All is not lost – if we all learn to – LEAD WITH HONOR! This includes politicians, business leaders, fathers, mothers, religious leaders, teachers, fireman, policeman, government workers, union workers… the list is endless. A new focus on leading with honor needs to be emphasized to create a world where all are valued. Is this not the point of our existence?To learn to love one another. To be responsible. To help our fellow man.

There is plenty of evidence that man has the capability to do these things. People like Mother Teresa, Mahatma Ghandi, Confucious, Christ, Mohammed, Buddha, Desmond Tutu, Dalai Lama, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, and countless other religious and political leaders have shown us that we can overcome our differences and be more accepting of each other. We have business leaders who lead with honor and create places of work where people are valued and meaningful work gets done. We have doctors and health care professionals who donate time and money to help the poor and needy. There are people like you and me who volunteer in organizations that protect or help others. We build houses, dontate food and equipment to others less fortunate than ourselves. There is hope. However – we MUST begin to LEAD WITH HONOR if we are to make the world a safer, better place to live for all.

All the best,
All the time,
JT

Follow this link to download a free worksheet from my Seminar on Living a Life of Excellence.

I ended my last post with this question – Are you leading with honor? More importantly, how do you know? To answer this question requires us to define both leading and honor. I don’t want to approach this question academically, but from a perspective that will enable you to take something away that will improve your life, your business, and the lives of others.

The first step towards Leading With Honor begins with you. Why do you want to lead with honor? Good intentions or doing the right thing are not acceptable here. Why? Because good intentions and doing the right thing, along with $1.70, will only get you a great cup of coffee at Peets. While admirable, these reasons won’t cut it in the real world. Shocked? Don’t be.

To Lead with Honor, you have to have purpose. Purpose begins with Clarity. Clarity – A clear understanding of where you are along your life’s journey, and, where you are going. For example, different paths might include developing your family or it might be to develop your company, department or team. It may be to create a product or deliver a service. The point here, is that you must have some goal in front of you in order to lead others towards it. Without clarity of purpose, it makes no sense to focus on leading.

Think about it. What leader can you think of, that didn’t have clarity and focus? On the 50th anniversary of his death, I was listening to Buddy Holly’s widow, Maria Elena, describe his work ethic. She said she had to pry him away from his music. He ate, slept, and lived – music. Buddy knew what he was trying to do. Do you?

Another way to look at this is to ask yourself the following question – Where are you going, and is it a place that others will find worthy to follow you to? Clarity. If you don’t have purpose – you won’t be able to Lead With Honor.

The best way to find clarity in your life, is to be in a state of relaxation and to let your mind quietly wander. The busy-ness of life often clouds our ability to think clearly. Our fears, anxieties, troubles, and the general pressures of life prevent us from focusing on clarity. So do yourself a big favor, go and relax. If you can afford the luxury of a weekend retreat somewhere – then treat yourself to some down time. If that is beyond your means at the moment, go to a quiet place like the beach, a park or the mountains. If all you have is a few hours, take a hot bath or go down to your local coffee shop and just hang out.

While relaxing just ask yourself what you want to accomplish with your life. I have found it helpful to keep a journal to jot down what comes to mind. You don’t have to write in it every day – but you should write down what your goals in life are, and what you want to accomplish.

If you want a worksheet to help you with this, follow this link to download a free worksheet from my Seminar on Living a Life of Excellence.

Purpose – Vision – Excellence!
JT