When I was growing up, my parents did a great job of keeping me involved in activities outside of the house which included baseball, basketball, football and the Boy Scouts.
One of the things that sticks out about the Boy Scouts was their motto: Be Prepared.
Two words. Only two words.
Be Prepared.
Now like with most of the things that are simple to follow, this is also very simple not to follow through on as well.
Here are a couple of examples of situations that being prepared would have helped:
1. In the early 2000’s Ford Motor Company had a problem with the Ford Explorer and the Firestone tires causing rollovers of their popular SUV. This was on every news broadcast and the publicity was horrible for that company. If you were selling Ford’s in those days, you were pretty much starving because of the bad name that Ford had.
You would like to believe that a company as big as Ford would have had systems in place that would have stopped this thing from happening. And if you didn’t have any savings and you were a salesman, you were starving while that was going on.
And right now, you have Toyota in the same boat more or less.
2.If you are paying attention to the news lately, you be be seeing Greece is in turmoil right now because of governmental issues. Again you would think that a government with all those smart and elected people would be able to run things a little smoother than what is happening in Greece. Right now you have people in the streets marching against the government with people dying in the streets almost daily.
This is a little more extreme example but one that is very important.
I have written in this blog over and over again about how important it is to have yourself prepared for anything that can happen. And now with the things going on around us it is even more important than ever to… Be Prepared!
If you were relying on Ford Motor Company or Greece for your living and you didn’t have any savings or something to fall back on, then you probably found yourself in some very hard times or worse… getting killed in the streets.
What can you do to start getting yourself prepared:
1. Get out of debt – Do not owe any money to anyone. This is the ultimate form of freedom. If things go bad and you find yourself out of work, by not owing anyone you cost of living is a lot lower and easier to bridge then if you owe a lot of money to others.
2. Make sure to keep your job skills up to date and in demand – If your industry goes to the way side, you’ll need to transfer to another industry. So you have to make sure that you have skills that are in demand.
3. Make sure to settle any grievances with those who are close to you – If things happen to go bad, you are going to have to have a strong network of people close to you. You are going to have to have a tight network. You are need others and they are going to need you.
I know that this is a little heavier message then I normally write but it is extremely important to be prepared.
I believe the saying goes… “Prepare for the worse but expect the best.”
This way you have both sides covered.
As Always, Here’s to Your LIfetoSuccess,
John Clark
P.S. Make sure to pass this on to everyone in your mail list. And GET PREPARED!!
I'm in between on the being prepared thing John. As much as I agree with being ready life is going to throw curve balls. To be honest, when I was in debt a while back it drove like an animal to succeed whereas if I wasn't it debt I would have been comfortable and never would have reached this point. Adversity fuels a fire that prosperity could never form.
That being said I see the need to prepare as much as possible. Prepare being the person you want to be but be ready to deal with situations to learn from – AKA adversity or hardship – along the way cause they'll teach lessons which you never could have or would have learned if you were fully prepared to handle them. It's good to be on edge 😉
Hi Ryan,
I certainly agree with a couple of your points. Getting into trouble is certainly a great motivator sometimes.
But what I am referring to in this case is being prepared just in case the bottom falls out and everything we know is not the same anymore.
In the case of Ford that I mentioned above, there were people I know personally that lost big money when those Explorers lost virtually all their value. That was a real eye opener to me.
And let's take a look at our government, we have people who are living their lives right now that are counting on Social Security to be there when they get to retirement. What if they get there and there is nothing left for them. The time to prepare at that point is over.
All I am saying is prepare for the worst but expect the best.
What is the worst case scenario if that person who is expecting Social Security to be there, saves enough to live on the interest of his own savings. Then the Social Security will be a little bonus but if they don't save and there is nothing there, then they will be shocked and dismayed and starting to blame others.
Keep the comments coming, Ryan!
I appreciate it!
JC
Curve balls can't always be hit into home runs but you're right being prepared is never something one regrets.
I like your points Ryan however I'm not sure I know ANYONE who is foolish enough to expect social security to “be there” However there are always those looking for a handout.
Jason,
I'm glad that you don't know anyone foolish enough to be waiting for social security for their retirement income but they are out there. And these are not only people looking for a handout but just misinformed people that weren't exposed to information that would have helped them to make different decisions.
The most important thing about this post is that “stuff” happens and the more prepared you are either financially or by keeping your job skills current and needed. Or both is even better.
Thank you for your comments, Jason!
I appreciate your input.
JC
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