Taking personal responsibility for our own mess.

I talk to a lot people everyday and ask many questions about how they feel concerning the economic crisis affecting our country. This is what I hear: Life sucks, the government is corrupt, they don't care about us, life is not fair, and the list goes on.

So far I have not heard anyone saying: You know, we have to take some of the responsibility for this mess. I have been spending way beyond my revenues or resources, creating debt (the 800 pound gorilla sitting on your shoulders and causing a tremendous amount of fear and stress).

Marriages are breaking up due to the arguments caused by the lack of money to pay the bills. We have failed to save for a "rainy day" and now we blame anyone but ourselves. Of course, there are circumstances out of our control. So, let's stop worrying about things we can't change and concentrate on how we can get out of this crisis. The Chinese language has a symbol with dual meaning: one way spells crisis and the other one opportunity.

The way I see it, this is a wake-up call. We need to change our spending habits, we have become a nation of spenders with instant gratification. If the trinket doesn't love you back, don't buy it. If you already have it, sell it and save the money.

If unemployed, take advantage of this opportunity, go back to school and learn another skill, change careers, get another job in another industry, move to another city. When you are at the bottom of the pit, you have no place to go but up.

Surround yourself with people who see life as a painting canvass, creating their own destiny. Stay away from toxic people, even if they are relatives.

If you are employed and the money is not enough, you have two choices: Create more revenue, cut costs or do both. You can't print money. If you tell me that jobs are hard to find, then explain to me how immigrants have two and sometimes 3 jobs.

Start a think tank with other people to find out what people need and provide it. I always said that you can knock out the competition if: You provide 110 % service to your customer, love what your do, have fun doing it and expect a reasonable profit--because without a profit you can not stay in business. This you can apply to any business. Think out of the box-- something blue, something new. I have a friend who started a business cleaning windows and toilets for small commercial companies and he is doing rather well. He now has three employees. I forgot to tell you that he used to be a Project manager for a computer company.

Above all, be kind to yourself and others. You are not your job. Trust me, there is a way out. But we have to start with ourselves.

Do you know what you want?

If you read most of the books on the subject of self-help, the majority of them deal with helping you to get what you want. The problem is that most adults don't know what they want. We used to know when we were growing up. If you ask a young child what he or she wants to do when they grow up, most likely they will tell you two or three choices. So what went wrong? I think that in the process of growing up we heard millions of negative comments from our own parents, teachers, siblings, friends and the media.

If you are one of those who had parents or mentors who encouraged you to experiment and follow your dreams, I envy you. Most of my experiences came from trying different approaches, some worked, some failed. It would have been much easier if I had a tested and successful road map. Well, my parents did the best they could with the experience they had.

The cartoon character Pogo said: "I don't know what I want, but I know I haven't got enough." And that's the problem. We are bombarded with tons of information and ideas, but we don't focus on what we want. Nowadays we are plugged in, whether is TV, headphones or the cellular phone. I think that we know what we would like to do, but it is buried in the deep recess of our mind. We are afraid to try, after all, we were told that it wouldn't work, remember?

I just came back from Chicago where I used to live. I love to observe people and couldn't help but to see that most people are in a world of their own, when it's not the headphones, it is the cellular phone. And another thing, it seems that most people are on their way to a non existent fire. Can you spell STRESS?

I can't tell you what to do with your life, but I will tell to find out real quick, life is short. Be happy, live your life like there is no tomorrow, and above all, be awake. Be in the moment.

The importance of knowing another language

Yesterday I had the opportunity of being able to help a friend who got hurt badly. She doesn't speak English and didn't know what to do. She called me and we managed to communicate by using a language other than English. I placed a 911 call and the paramedics came to her rescue. It felt great to be able to help her---all possible by knowing her language.

It's not the first time that I have been able to help someone who doesn't speak English. Sometimes people get lost, need help to find the nearest restaurant or medical attention. I know that very well, I have been at the receiving end. I remember the first time that I got lost in a strange city and someone helped me by talking to me in my native language.

Learning another language is a personal satisfaction, it's not done for the benefit of others. Some people say: Let them learn my language, why should I learn theirs? Well, that's a narrow view. We grow when we learn. As I said before, the learning of a language doesn't have to be difficult. Learn what you need or like, then use it.