Disclaimer: I’m not an economist or a financial advisor. If you think you are an expert on what is going on with the economy (where were you six months ago, genius) I’m not going to debate you. Particularly impulsive or financially gullible people might want to look elsewhere for advice.
You certainly don’t have to look very hard to realize that times are tough. The headlines (that’s so like on the homepage of a totally old school newspaper or whatever for those of you born after 1980) say it all. On any given day they describe, in order:
1- The latest giant company reporting bad earnings and laying off 10,000 people
2- An economic indicator that is identical to the Depression years
3- A particularly grisly murder, abduction or other bizarre crime that seems to sum up a desperate population
4- An environmental trend or weather anomaly that signals the Apocalypse (extreme cold, locusts, dead ocean)
5- Steroids, affairs and other sports/celebrity scandals (even the escape pages are depressing)
Or maybe just look at your personal balance sheet, which is undoubtedly in the dumper compared to 6 months ago. Everywhere you look – doom and gloom, woe is us, what are we going to do.
COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, SHUT UP AND START DEALING, THAT’S WHAT. First of all, if you are reading this, you are lucky. Your 401K lost half its value? Too bad- are you 59 ½ yet? Investments or house value down? Over what time period? I bet you’re up overall and at least you have investments and a house! Lost your job? Salespeople interview for a living- sell sell sell yourself into a better job. You in credit card debt? Join the crowd! If you want to start talking about real problems stop averting your eyes from the world news and realize that you are lucky as hell that you don’t live in 98 % of the other land masses in the world. Watch Slumdog Millionaire or read Kite Runner or The Lost Boys of Somalia. Find something you have to be thankful for (I know you don’t have to look very far) and get back to living your blessed 21st Century top 1% life.
For all the sales people- the world is counting on you to help turn the tide. Here’s why. The economy rides up and down according to confidence. Compared to most people, sales people have confidence spilling out of their ears. Every day you sell around all the holes in your product, through the contract “misunderstandings,” over the website demo crashes, ignoring the fact that your company’s ship is sinking or that your candidate is a moron with sexual harassment bibliography or whatever comes up in the daily customer crisis roulette wheel. You do this buoyed by a good attitude and a relentlessly positive outlook. At the risk of sounding like Dale Carnegie (or maybe Richard Simmons)- get out there and start spreading the good cheer!
Another thing a healthy economy needs is money movement. Sales people make the revenue for companies and are similarly notorious spenders. Work harder (and smarter), make more money for your company and yourself, and spend it! Now is not the time to channel that inner worry wart. Things will only get better if people think they are going to get better-and most people are sheep. Lead the charge. Buy some stuff- and save the economy!
“Got money-and you know it- take it outcha ya pocket and show it then throw it…”
Got Money by L’il Wayne
