Thinking Rich in Poor Economic Times

There’s hope. It doesn’t cost a thing to smile. You don’t have to pay to laugh. You better thank God for that.

In the song, she talks about meeting a man in Brazil. Just like Arie, this young man loved to sing:
He had no windows and no doors. He lived a simple life and was extremely poor. On top of all that he had no eyesight. But that didn’t keep him from seeing the light. He said, “What’s it like in the USA?” And all I did was complain. He said, “Living here is paradise.” He taught me paradise is in your mind.

When Arie penned and released this song, the economy was just beginning to make a downturn. Her message is even more important today. I may be our family’s CEO (aka bookkeeper) but I’m no economist. I have no remedies for what we hear on the news each night. I have no financial solutions for you.

What I do have is a firm belief that our MINDSET plays a huge role in what happens to us, or rather, how we experience what happens to us. Don’t get me wrong. I love money. I want lots of it. This was no more apparent than the day I was floating in my friend’s sailboat, when I visited her in San Diego recently. I started to think about the economy and how its downturn threatens the very things that make us feel stable. Our homes, our jobs… the little things that add a little something extra to our quality of life, like $4 lattes, trips to California and sailboat rides.

I had this thought: What if we all lost everything and found ourselves living in a tent at the KOA campground? Let’s assume we each had enough money for matches to light the fire and cook s’mores, but that’s about it. What would we have then? I challenge you to really think about this and start making a list. I have, and it has helped me count my blessings, release the things I can’t control and -this is key- remember those things I can do to be an active participant in my destiny.

I don’t wish the KOA campground on any of us (no offense to die-hard campers, this is just an analogy) but I believe we must be okay with our fundamental nature… who we are and what we have beneath the external. People can thrive in struggling economies.

You may have lost your job, but you’re still the talented, gifted and unique individual that landed the job in the first place. You may risk losing your house, but you’re still the same person who laughed and loved under the roof of that house.

The question is– do you believe it? If so, then what are you going to do about it? Campers start making that list and post it here!