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Insights
When Sprinkling Fairy
Dust Fails
THINK it and it will happen. Affirm
your abundance. Visualize your desires. If all else fails, sprinkle
gold fairy dust over yourself and light a green prosperity candle.
Ah, if only it were that simple
we'd all be on easy street.
Before I delve into the meat of
this column, let it be known; I believe in affirmations, visualization
and the power of positive thinking. I'm a little skeptical of fairy
dust but with my granddaughter I have sprinkled it in the garden to
attract fairies, which, by the way, she has seen.
But sometimes there is just not
enough "magic" to clear the bounced check.
I have yet to talk to one person
who has not felt the effects of our slowing economy. From my friend
the baker who has seen the cost of dairy and flour rise faster than
her croissants to others who are surviving on over-extended credit and
false hope.
In the last year we have witnessed
tumbling home prices, soaring mortgage defaults, record oil prices and
the worst stock market decline since 2000-02. We have been thrust out
of our comfort zone. And with our eyes wide open we are traveling in
the dark.
Turn on the finance channel. Don't
even look at the TV - just listen. You can actually tell by the tone
of their voices if the market is up or down. When it's down they talk
faster and even the guys produce something similar to a high-pitched
squeal.
When I asked my son the stockbroker
what the veterans in his office think of the current market, he replied,
"They're as dumbfounded as the rest of us."
Traveling in the dark - even the
suits. Scary.
As we move
into uncharted territory it looks like this time around no one is going
to be exempt. If you closely resemble an adult - Tag! The free ride
around utopia has abruptly ended. You are now responsible and accountable
for your personal finances - like it or not.
Are you filling up your gas tank
with credit cards while falling behind on your payments? If so, ask
yourself just how rich you want to make MasterCard and Visa? Lenders
collected a record $18.1 billion in credit card penalty fees last year,
up 69% from 2003, according to R.K Hammer Investment Bankers in Thousand
Oaks.
Americans carry $2.56 trillion
in consumer debt - up 22% since 2000. College debt has more than doubled
since 1995. The average student emerges from college carrying $20,000
in educational debt.
Cash and carry went out the window
years ago. Why? Because sometimes it's easier to stay in the dark then
see clearly where we're headed.
Through coaching and teaching I
show people how the power of the mind is the foundation for personal
and professional success. But the power of the mind cannot be accessed
when you're in the dark and traveling in fear - especially in the area
of your finances.
The power of positive thinking
cannot be applied like a band-aid over years of irresponsible behavior
with money. Every action has a consequence, which, we are now having
to look closely at - collectively and individually.
Self-responsibility
will lead us out of the dark and into the solutions that are critically
needed. We need to restore order and balance to the environment, to
our bank accounts and to our lives. Through careful appraisal of our
relationship to money and a careful assessment of checks and balances,
we can find the needed clarity to begin using the power of the mind
constructively.
We can redefine prosperity to
mean more than becoming a millionaire. We can take charge of our personal
finances and begin living within our means instead of wishful thinking.
Daily we can express gratitude for what we have and quit spending more
than we have and can responsibly take care of.
What will you choose - to be part
of the problem or part of the solution?
If the thought of a living a balanced,
healthy life in which you are accountable and responsible for your actions
is asking too much, then I know of a place that sells gold fairy dust.
Oh, wait a minute, they lost their lease last week. Oh well…I've also
heard that whistling in the dark helps.
Published
in Pasadena Star-News 9-7-08 ©
Copyright 2008 Susan Ann Darley
"The
Cavalry Ain't Coming"
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