Today I will deviate from the travel information I normally dispense and branch off to discuss something more relevant: your future. I write this because I have become convinced as I study the economy and world outlook today that jobs will continue to shrink in the years ahead and those who do not seek to find another source of income soon may be left behind in 5 years.
Years ago, I was laid off from Charles Schwab (twice) and the outplacement employment service they used gave us strange news: You should update your resume every 18 months, search for jobs every 2 years because you will switch jobs every 3 years (on average). Now of course they were addressing the corporate world and yet the sign of the times is upon us and those signs tell us that government jobs and seemingly secure jobs like engineering or finance are no longer safe havens, the high tech area has busted for the 2nd time in 8 years and even teachers and service workers are at risk in this economy.
Think about it - since 1987, the U.S. has endured a stock market crash and a severe market downturn, 3 recessions, 9/11, $4 gal. gas and a totally collapsing economy. Numerous severe events - "100 year" events have happened 5 times. Unemployment in California is approaching 10%, 401k's have been halved, home equity has dropped 50% in many places and the stock market is down 40%. Social security is slated to run out of money by 2016 to put the icing on the cake for those relying on the government to help you out.
It is no coincidence that many people have taken to starting an online business since 2001 but the fact that we didn't get in on this market till later is irrelevant. The money will still be there (even more as the Web grows around the world) and there is no reason why millions of people can't make money, either with active or passive income, for years to come. Think about it - if I made 100k per year, I would have about 3 times more money to buy YOUR THINGS. And people who already made millions are exactly the ones who buy OUR things right now.
So you need to position yourself for your future or I guarantee you will be trampled by the thousands applying for a simple entry level job in the years to come. Many people start online as a fling too. All you have to have is a passion for something that can help others. Even if it is just your expertise and experience, they have value to people who haven't 'been there-done that' yet. I started just that way - a passion to help others save money and enjoy travel more and in less than a year, MSNBC used one of my tips in their 2009 Travel Strategies piece and I was interviewed on live radio. How did I develop enough of a reputation in less than a year for this to happen?
I grinded. But more important - I hired a mentor to keep me out of the quicksand. Hiring a mentor for many fast tracks your success because you aren't wasting time chasing down rabbit holes and having to constantly start over.
Tomorrow I outline where I've been and where I am headed and how having a mentor has been responsible for any success I've had.
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