No one can argue that the economy has suffered some severe setbacks over the last few years. The total loss of accumulated wealth is astronomical.
But despite all of the problems facing economic growth, recovery will occur at some point. Many believe that the keystone to positive indicators is “consumer confidence.”
Confidence piggybacks attitude and as we have become a society of victims that believe that the SYSTEM failed us, and that there is nothing they we do to climb out of the doldrums of economic collapse.
Individuals that fail of their own volition, however, learn from their own mistakes are start afresh, and many a success story has been spawned by multiple failures.
There is NO shame in failure. It happens to the best of us. But failures always provide new opportunities as long as the spirit is resilient and willing.
But when “someone else is at fault,” hopelessness ensues and the hapless victim will be relegated to waiting for a political solution.
When the right to fail is repealed, the corresponding opportunity to bounce back and recover is impeded.
As the society of victims sits and waits for things to turn around, I can’t help but wonder how many potential new ideas have been squelched and lost to the ages.
How much better it would be if we took matters into our own hands and saved the economy one failure at a time!
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I have a favorite song that I play in my car--CANNOT KEEP A GOOD MAN DOWN. I am here for the fight. If I get knocked down, then I get back up stronger. Great post
Richard- so well said and very very true. Your blog truly hit home. As a realtor we deal with people everyday and you can tell the ones who have tried and failed will turn it around, the ones who have a bucket full of excuses and all fingers pointed at everyone else except themselves will always wait for someone to "rescue" them because after all it wasn't their fault.
Richard,
I'm pretty sure you didn't intend this as a political post so I'll just say...you're right my friend.
Rich
Harry...
You hit the nail on the head, that is exactly what I am saying here. Thanks so much.
Kim...
And don't forget that one of the biggest failure segments of our society is real estate agents. So I am trying to inspire my fallen colleagues to "rise up!" THX
Rich...
It's an ANTI-POLITICAL post. I'm saying that waiting on a political solution is an impediment to progress, but the individual can take action regardless of which way the political winds are blowing!
I'm with RICH * AND I agree that we need to make the CHANGE in NOVEMBER to elect officials who will GET OUT OF OUR WAY so we can BRING this COUNTRY back to GREATNESS!!!
Richard, as I look at the real estate market I'm seeing great opportunity for people switching gears in their investment strategies...buy property...buy a better return on your investment.
Take control of your own destiny & Live to fight another day! Another great post Richard!
Richard, this is so eloquently put! And it's so on the mark. There are so many people trying to use victim strategies to get through life. A responsibility strategy might be a whole lot better.
Right on! There is NO SHAME in failure (but its pretty hard to convince yourself sometimes!)
Quit the VICTIM mentality! Failure is the best teacher for SUCCESS if we just let it be that way.
Great post! If we're not failing, that means we're doing the same old, same old. In our business, THAT is failure! Adapt and survive!
HI RICHARD , iT'S NOT MY FAULT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED WITH , sTUFF HAPPENS AND WE HAVE TO FIX IT. YOU ARE RIGHT IN YOUR ANALYSYS
Richard truer words have never been spoken.
Now THAT is an excellent post. Individual responsibility. Do or don't, it's completely up to you. This mentality, IMHO, that the government should fix everything is wrong. The LESS government tries to fix the better. Thank you for writing this.
You are a victum only as long as you act like one. It is up to you to change your life, not someone else. A big change in Novenmber could make changing our lives much easier!
Maybe this is part of what I am so frustrated over. I get accused of being a doom and gloomster by many people. I think you can't possibly fix things until you are realistic about the situation. Unfortunately in many societies and cultures there is shame in failure, although I wish it were different. Too many people wait too long try to fix their personal or business situations and then feel their only alternative is to blame "the man", "the gov", or "the banks". Like an illness, early intervention is better, but even difficult diagnoses can have a positive outcome if you work hard enough and are smart enough.
Richard....what a relevant and meaty post....thank you
Adversity in the gym builds muscles. Why would it not build or help in other realms? We were not put here to be defeated. In addition, we are well equipped to survive and learn as we go. Human beings can do anything they put their energies to. It is the change and the letting go of comfort that we resist. Fear distorts the recovery process as well....As long as we are above ground, WE CAN DO......(and you fill in the blank)
Richard: I vote for you. Oh wait... are you a member of the party I like?? Ha, ha - great post.
Richard, since the LBJ years, politics has been a continuous campaign against the other guy who is totally responsible for all that is bad. That climate has impeded our nation from achieving its highest potential. It has tainted our individual and collective attitudes, and you have identified the best way for us to succeed. It's a big ship to turn around though.
Richard: Good, thought-provoking post. You are correct. Eventually things will recover. It make be quite a few years down the pike but we'll get there. In the meantime, there is work and failure to do!
This is a cycle... albiet and exxaggerated one. Take matters into your own hands, adjust your business model and keep moving. And yes, Vote this fall.
Agreed. I know a couple who are missionaries in Uganda, I've heard them talking about the 'orphan spirit' that they see in the people there. Now, they're seeing the same mind set in Americans. We can't count on our universities or our media to help people change their thinking, we need to help each other.
Such an interesting post. I actually pulled my oldest out of public school over this issue. The principal was not allowing the kids to check out books that were "too hard for them." I called her and asked her why she was stifling the kids' mental curiosity. She actually said "We can't let them check out just anything, they might fail." To which I replied, "Fortune 500 CEOs all say that they learned more from their failures than their successes." He was in a new school the next term. (BTW: The real reason behind the policy is they tested for comprehension and she did not want her scores to suffer. But the message that was sent was just intolerable.)
Thomas Edison was once asked, how many times he had failed before he had invented the light bulb? His reply was simply, I now know 2000 ways not to make a light bulb. He didn't look at those attempts as failures but instead as learning opportunities. He went on to say, "to become successful you need to have 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration". This is so true.
I like that piece that was written about Abe Lincoln. It is a long list of one "unknown" man's failures and at the bottom you realize it is Abe Lincoln.
Richard - Personal Responsibility is the only way to go.
Right on, Richard! Blame someone or someTHING else and it becomes the "cause" of your life and you become small as a result. The more responsibility we take for ourselves, each other and life in general...the bigger we become. You're always such an inspiration.
Thanks for writing this Richard. Personal responsibility is what its all about. Our Constitution guarantees equal opportunity, not equal stuff.
Richard, you just said what needs to be said. Big government isn't the answer for our failures. My hope is we all learn from this financial crisis. If we didn't fail at something it means we didn't try. I learn the most from my failures and I am not afraid to admit that. Thanks for this post, it is a must-read!
Richard - I used to work for a company that rewarded risk. It recognizes that success does not come with a few failures. If you could make an excellent case for your proposal, you got funding and support. If it failed for other reasons than incompetence, it was not held against you.
Great post! You haven't truly failed until you quit trying.
Richard, very well said! We are responsible for our ownselves!
BTW, is that the picture you got in trouble for taking?
Richard this is awesome! People who sit around and blame everyone else for their misfortunes never get anywhere in life!!!
Richard - Great message! I too just recently blogged about how we choose our own circumstances and that those who feel like a victim of their circumstances feel like they don't have a choice - when they do! This is America and we do have the freedom of choice.
Anyway, even though I am struggling and I am not where I want to be personally as well as professionally, I do have a choice on what I want to do and how I want to run my business in order to improve my myself and my business.
Your post reminds me of two different sayings, one is a print I have in my office and the other is a quote from an extraordinary man.
CHANGE - In today's world there are two kinds of companies - the quick and the dead! - Anonymous
I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. - Michael Jordan
Show me a guy who has struck out 1000 times and I'll show you Babe Ruth.
I'm in dire need of this advice right now. I'm encouraged by the many positive comments I get in here when I do come. It just goes to show that we have good people in the real estate professions and in America, there is salt, thenceforth wherewith it shall be salted.
WHEW -- glad I never believed (trusted) in "the system" My disappointment is marginal. Or, my expectations were MET admirably!!
Richard: Every sentence and paragraph you wrote should be framed and saved for posterity---these are the things that we as a society will be confronting and hopefully handling in the next decade. Only then will we survive the onslaught of those who wish to enslave us by their attempts to take financial control of our futures and our childrens futures! Blame is the name of the game right now as the fiddler fiddles and the city burns. Great Post!!
I agree... Save the economy one failure at a time... How? Simply by getting involved, helping out, staying committed to an ideal, being a good human being.
Wow... That is a good post. I have to commend you on your wisdom!
Richard, well said! Reminds me of the Thomas Edison quote. "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."
Failures are part of life. Rather than slowing the failure of some industires, banks, etc....let it happen. The recovery woudl be quicker.
Reminds me of a cat named Henry Ford who filed BK twice on the way to success... Keep grinding! Perseverance wins every time!
I love all of the positive thinkers on here. Opportunity surrounds us in these times (and most others), you just have to look for them and GO GET IT!
This is a hard economy to kill. I am afraid of the huge national debt we have run up over the years. I don't really know what problems it will cause down the road.
Great post - I'm glad a couple commenters have brought up Edison and Ford -- those are great examples to cite. There have been libraries worth of books written about those people in our nations history that have fallen, just to get up again and go on to greatness.
I realize more and more everyday why our grandparents generation was "The Greatest". So little of that victim mentality. It was pull up your bootstraps, grab your lunchpail and do what needs to be done...
COMRADES UNITE!!! Until all of us are rich, all should suffer!!! Each should work according to their abilities and receive according to their needs!!! The workers should own the means of production!!! Who should decide our needs? An isolated ruling class who lives in mansions and vacations in Spain while the rest of us work 60+ hours per week!!! Doesn't that just FEEL right? Yes, that's the kind of change we can believe in!!! Higher taxes, more debt, that's the way to run any home, business or country!!! But we can only succeed when everyone falls in line and puts the rights of the ruling class ahead of their rights!!!
"Unless we blindly follow our leaders, how can we be truly free?" Major Frank Burns, MASH 4077
Yeah, I'm not serious. But there are many who believe all this and they've elected a government that is forcing it upon us. Don't blame the government, blame the voters who elected them. The right to fail or succeed should be as natural as the right to breath.
Richard - you are so right - it is always easier to blame somebody else and complain! To make a real difference people need to take matters into their own hands - one person at a time!