Signs and portents

What do you do when the signs and portents are confusing and contradictory? Do you search for answers or do you strike off in the most likely direction?

A quick sampling of recent observations made in Southwest Virginia:

  • Government grants (your taxpayer dollars coming back to you) are funding jobs and projects that help our local economy
  • The government and the United Auto Workers union are taking over General Motors to protect our "national interests"
  • Nationalization of banks is well underway
  • The servicing of our national debt requires a strong private economy, yet all signs point to increasing Federal control of the economy.
  • More layoffs are anticipated, but numbers of new business startups is on the rise in many areas
  • Some local businesses are going like gangbusters, while other local businesses are laying off employees

One can read the signs any way you choose, but reliance on external forces to solve your problems leaves you at a continuing disadvantage. You become effect instead of being at cause.

Sitting and worrying about things you cannot directly control achieves nothing and leaves you in a state of apathy toward life in general. Try taking life into your own hands and see how much better you feel at the end of each day.

There is a well-proven fact that a person or group's morale improves as worthwhile production is achieved.

Finding something that you can do which people need and want is a first step toward creating income. Joining a group that needs your skills or starting your own business is the next step toward creating an income flow.

Sooner than you expect, you will have to learn how to actually manage the business because people tend to support and buy from businesses that have a positive outlook and are providing excellent service.

Your concerns shift from "how to generate income" to the more challenging problems of "how do I get all the work done and am I covering my expenses?"

You may still be concerned with how things are being run at a national or state level, but your waking hours will be fully occupied with problems related to satisfying customers or corporate employers. Your morale may be improved and you will have the confidence that you are doing what is right for you.

I know this sounds counterintuitive, but producing worthwhile results will raise your spirits more effectively than anything else you might try. Leave the signs and portents for the media pundits and concentrate your energies on things you can do right now to improve your life and community.

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