{"id":155,"date":"2009-04-03T05:13:55","date_gmt":"2009-04-03T12:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/?p=155"},"modified":"2009-04-03T05:13:55","modified_gmt":"2009-04-03T12:13:55","slug":"thriving-in-tough-times-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/success\/thriving-in-tough-times-3","title":{"rendered":"Thriving in Tough Times 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Attending to Physical Priorities<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> (Luke 12:25-26)<\/p>\n

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I read the paper yesterday. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something I try not to do too often. The news ain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t so good. GM is talking bankruptcy, all major economic indicators say things are bleak, getting bleaker and won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t change any time soon, and the governor of Michigan says the state has lost three times more jobs (760,000) than were lost in the hurricane Katrina disaster.<\/p>\n

But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not worried. Aware \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 but not worried. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m as affected as anyone else by the world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s current \u00e2\u20ac\u02dceconomic downturn.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t had a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcjob\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> in almost four years. Our neighbors think we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re retired \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re just happily unemployed.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m kidding about the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcunemployed\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> part. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in the book business. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just not one of those businesses the neighbors can see easily (unless a delivery truck is blocking the road \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just a truck blocking the road, not Steve and Elaine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s business in action). It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like we have a restaurant or a gas station or an automobile factory \u00e2\u20ac\u201c those things you can see \u00e2\u20ac\u201c everybody knows you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re working for a living.<\/p>\n

Most of what I do happens between my ears and the raw materials inventory is stored on hard drives. The only \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcevidence\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 that we work for a living is the line of pallets stacked with boxes, filled with books, stashed in the barn, in the garage or at the printer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s. The neighbors don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see me go to work in the morning \u00e2\u20ac\u201c they do see me go to the barn occasionally \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why they think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m retired.<\/p>\n

Outside of fooling the neighbors, our book business is like any other small business. We make stuff and sell it; hopefully for more than it cost us to make. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re pretty good at making stuff \u00e2\u20ac\u201c now we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re trying to get good at selling stuff. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve heard that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a very important part of any small business.<\/p>\n

Which (finally) brings us back to my point: when the economy hits the dumpster, people generally stop buying stuff. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s problematic. Businesses and people who work in them rely on other people to buy their stuff so that they can get paid and, in turn, go buy other people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s stuff. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a cycle. When people stop buying stuff, other people don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get paid. The other people then stop buying stuff and still other people don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get paid; all of a sudden we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in an \u00e2\u20ac\u02dceconomic downturn.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> I tend to agree with the governor of Michigan; we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re really in a financial disaster. But \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcfinancial disaster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> sounds too depressing to put on TV.<\/p>\n

Our current president believes that if he gives everybody a lot of money we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll start buying stuff again and we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll all get back to normal. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not an economist so I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t figured out his logic yet, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know anybody who would give him all that money to give to us; but he knows more people than I do, so he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably got it all worked out. But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not my point either, so let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s get back on track.<\/p>\n

Each of us has our own personal economy to look after. When our personal economy suffers from \u00e2\u20ac\u02dceconomic downturns\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> or \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcfinancial disasters\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> in the big economy we call it \u00e2\u20ac\u02dctough times.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> Hearing about lay-offs on the television news is one thing; getting laid off is another. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like the old joke, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the difference between minor surgery and major surgery?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> Major surgery is when they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing it on me!<\/p>\n

So what do we do when troubles in the big economy affect our personal economies? How do we survive the tough times we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in now and learn to thrive in tough times ahead? We began this series with the two most important steps: 1) know who you are and who God is \u00e2\u20ac\u201c \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Adopting a Christian Worldview\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em>. 2) know the difference between the source and the mechanism \u00e2\u20ac\u201c \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Putting Spiritual Priorities Ahead of Physical Priorities.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/p>\n

This week I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to give you a few tips about attending to physical priorities. Namely what you can do for your own personal economy to help you thrive in tough times. Here we go:<\/p>\n

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  1. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics says that unemployment rose to 8.1% in February (numbers for March aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t in yet, but let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s assume they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re higher). Some estimates put the actual unemployment rate at 11%. If you take the highest number the employment<\/em> rate is still at 89%. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not much comfort if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re one of the 11%; your personal unemployment rate is 100%. But the fact remains that there are jobs for nearly nine out of ten people. Companies need employees to operate. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been an employee and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been an employer. As an employer I was always aware of the employees that were absolutely crucial to our operations and those the company could live without. As an employee I always strove to be one of those crucial to the operation (that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how I became an employer). Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the key to being the last employee let go and the first one hired: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> (Colossians 3:23)<\/li>\n
  2. If you own a small business, the advice above works just as well. Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the best way I know to grow a small business, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Do to others as you would have them do to you.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> (Luke 6:31) In the Bible, this is called the Golden Rule. In business, this is called the Golden Rule. Some things translate perfectly. Your expectations as a customer aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t any different than your customers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 expectations as customers. Pretend you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re your own customer; what would the perfect customer experience be to you? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s your target. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Do to others as you would have them do to you.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/li>\n
  3. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a reason for everything; you just may have not received the memo. Tough circumstances push us into new opportunities. When it looks like a change is coming your way, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ask, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Why am I being pushed out?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> Ask \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What am I being pushed in to?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> The most successful business I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever started came from not being able to work another day in the most miserable job I ever had. The most meaningful<\/em> business I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever been in (this one) came as a result of being miserable in the most successful business I ever started. Almost every new start or huge step forward is birthed out of a traumatic exit. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because we won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go otherwise. Why do you think mama eagle tosses baby eagle out of the nest? If Joseph hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t been sold into slavery and tossed into prison he would never have become the prime minister of Egypt. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> (Genesis 50:20).<\/li>\n
  4. More important than any of these is what I said last week. Know the difference between the source and the mechanism<\/em>. Your job, your business, your income, your savings account are all just mechanisms through which your physical needs are met. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not your source. God promised that He<\/em> would meet all your needs. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> (Philippians 4:19)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Next week I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to give you a 100% guaranteed way to achieve success in everything you do \u00e2\u20ac\u201c actually it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the only 100% guaranteed way to achieve success. Until then:<\/p>\n

    \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> (I Thessalonians 4:11)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Attending to Physical Priorities \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (Luke 12:25-26) I read the paper yesterday. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something I try not to do too often. The news ain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t so good. GM is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[186,15],"tags":[454,455,449,452,453,451,457,450,448,175,437,456],"class_list":["post-155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-money","category-success","tag-book-business","tag-bureau-of-labor-statistics","tag-career","tag-economic-downturn","tag-financial-disaster","tag-general-motors","tag-golden-rule","tag-lay-offs","tag-luke-12","tag-michigan","tag-tough-times","tag-unemployment-rate"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}