Staying Happy During Tough Times

I know articles like this are bad news.  People losing jobs is not good for their psyche or for the economy.  Or is it?

I’m an odd egg, I get that.  I see life in a slightly skewed way.  The result of this is that I love experiencing everything: the good, the bad and the ugly.  I have contigency plans.  Should I ever get to the point where I have no job or any leads at all in the tech field, I’m looking forward to trying my hand at selling cars and flipping burgers.

In regards to selling cars, I have a list of ideas I’d use to help me be a great salesman.  I even went to 3 dealerships one day to do research.  The experience was so bad at all 3 (low end, mid and high) that I wrote down all the things that I would do to make the experience better.

For burger flipping, I’ve always wanted to work at In-N-Out.  I realize that I’d be the oldest employee, but I’d have a blast.  Last I checked, working your way up through the ranks was the only way to open up your own In-N-Out.  Plus, managers make a hefty salary and have wonderful benefits.

Let’s get back to the issue at hand though.  Others, they don’t have plans like me.  They’d prefer to not sell cars or flip burgers, but rather keep on doing what they did.  I’m all for that.  I say send out the resumes, make the calls, etc.  Make finding a new job your full time job.  However, in the down time, do what you want to do with your life.

So many people spend their lives doing something they enjoy with their lives, but they don’t do the projects they like.  Someone may build homes for a living, but really would like to build awesome backyard playsets.  A car painter may do traditional flat tones, but really has ideas for a wild new fade.  Yet others, may do one thing for a living that they thoroughly enjoy (tech related) but secretly want to become the world’s next great chef.

My point is that I understand you need to make money.  Trust me, this past month I’ve learned that just as much as anyone.  However, don’t forget that bad times are often an opportunity in disguise.  My philosophy is “Do what you love and someone will love you for it.”  Whether that turns into riches, I can’t promise.  Making someone happy by doing something you love though is priceless.  It may just be the lift you need in a rather bleak and sad time.

Back to the article above, I can’t help but feel a few of those people are gonna go off and do something on their own.  One of them may start a new company and build a game that me or my kids will love dearly.  It’s ideas of that variety that make America great, even during the bad times.