5 Steps To Prosper In Hard Economic Times

Posted by: Joshua on

As I write this article the stock market has seen historic declines, property values are declining, unemployment is on the rise, and inflation is increasing. A lot of people are justifiably worried and glued to the TV news every chance they can get. So what can you do about all this? Actually, quite a lot. You may not be able to change what’s happening in the world, but you can absolutely change how it affects you and actually profit by it in a big way.

First of all, stop watching the news so much. There is nothing you can do to change the times we now live in. They are here. We will be in a recession for the next few years. The news of the day is irrelevant. The more you watch the news the worse you will feel. The worse you feel the less likely you will be to take proactive steps to secure your own future.

So the first thing you must do is turn off the TV. Stop filling your mind with doom and gloom. I’m not saying to ignore what is happening. I’m say that you already know we’re in a recession and you don’t need the nightly news to tell you so.

The first and last 20 minutes of your day are called “your golden 20 minutes” because that is when you are most receptive to suggestion. You are in a naturally hypnotic state during those periods. If you spend that time dwelling on bad news then you will influence your day and your dreams negatively.

This is so very important that I will say it again – stop dwelling on all the bad news. You’re just disempowering yourself.

OK. Now that that is out of the way, let me give you some ways that you can empower yourself to deal with the present economic crisis as it pertains to your own finances and family.

Five Steps To Prosper In Hard Economic Times

1. Take excellent care of yourself.

In psychology there is a theory called Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It states that people need 6 things in order to survive.

Breathing
Drinking
Eating
Excretion
Sleep
Shelter

These are the basic human needs required for your survival. Do not cut back in any of these areas. When these needs go unmet all of your energy will turn toward finding a way to acquire them. Attend to these needs daily in order to nurture your own well being and provide a strong base from which to grow and prosper.

Breathe slowly and deeply for at least 20 minutes a day. If you have any of my self hypnosis CDs that is an excellent way to systemize this process.

Eat good, nutritious foods. Give your body the proper fuel it needs maintain health and well being. If you get sick then all of your energy will get diverted to becoming well and your other goals fall by the wayside. Read my book for lots more info on this subject.

Drink plenty of water. It will clear your mind, increase your energy, and help you achieve your ideal weight. See this article for more info on this subject.

Exert your body daily. Stretching, aerobic exercise, and some light weight lifting will do wonders for your mood, outlook, and energy. In my weight loss book I lay out an exercise plan that relies primarily on walking, but the best method when it comes to the subject at hand is actually sex.

If you have a sexual partner give that person lots of love and attention and have more sex. Many people have less sex when they are depressed. Having more will stimulate your serotonin levels which will put you in a more positive frame of mind. It’s also good for your relationship, fun, and free!

Sleep peacefully. Clear your mind before you go to sleep and truly rest during the night (that means no news before bedtime!) Also, let go of any unfinished business and planning by using my super simple “must do list”. See the video here.

Shelter. Is your home your own or does it belong to your bank? The best thing you can do to reduce your stress and attain peace of mind in regards to this need is to…

2. Pay off your debt.

In the past few years it has been very fashionable to carry a lot of debt and tell yourself it’s leverage. It is not. It is slavery.

Debt = Slavery.

You will never be mentally or emotionally free to pursue your ideal future while you are still saddled with the burden of debts owed to other people. So make a plan to pay off your debt in the following order:

• credit cards

• car loan

• mortgage

• student loans

Once you are debt free, economic gyrations will have less of an effect on you and you will be able to see the hidden opportunities that they present.

3. Look for the silver lining.

More fortunes are made during economic downturns than during times of robust growth. Less people are looking for opportunity during times of economic hardship because their basic human needs are not being met.

With less competition comes greater opportunity

Instead of reacting emotionally to the news of the day and basing your actions on negativity, endeavor to create a positive, proactive mindset that perceives hidden treasures all around you. You can’t find then if you don’t look for them and you will only look for them if you believe they are there.

4. Invest for the future.

When things look their worst that’s when they are the best… for savvy investors. I bought my first house during the last economic downturn and got a great deal on it. It was a foreclosure and the bank was practically giving it away. We are entering such a climate again. If you can acquire a valuable asset when it is on sale and hold it until it is priced at a premium then you can change your life in a major way. I sold that house a couple of years ago during the last month that real estate values were increasing in California and realized a substantial profit. I then moved to the Midwest, where I grew up and where property values had never increased in the first place. Sort of like personal real estate arbitrage!

This wasn’t market timing. It was just common sense. The sale happened to coincide with my desire to move at the time and people were aggressively overbidding on already inflated asking prices. The only time you make a profit is when you sell. The amount in your 401k or your IRA or written on your other investment papers is just a guess of what someone else might be willing to pay for your positions. It is only when you sell that that potential money becomes real and you find out what you really have.

When you buy an asset that is undervalued and sell it when it is overvalued you lock in real tangible gains. People tend to do the opposite. They buy stocks and houses and other “investments” when they have been increasing in value for a while and it looks as though they will always go up. Of course, every asset class moves up and down in cycles. Waves actually. There is something called the Elliot wave theory that may be of interest to the more technically minded of you.

Suffice it to say that what goes up must come down. It tends to come down about half as much as it went up. Two steps forward and one step back as it were. But people buy emotionally and then sell when there is blood in the streets and everyone is panicked that the given asset class will never recover.

Do the opposite.

When everyone gives up on the stock market and is pumping gold, look for stock bargains in strong companies that have become undervalued. I was a proponent of gold when everyone though the good times would never end. Now that everyone is certain we are in for economic troubles for the foreseeable future I will look elsewhere for investment opportunities. When people are convinced that real estate will never recover and that sentiment is on the front page of every newspaper for awhile, head down to your local bank and take a look at the bargains. There will be plenty of them.

In order to position yourself now to take advantage of these opportunities in the future…

5. Acquire the skills necessary to excel in any economic climate.

It’s easy to prosper when money and credit are flowing freely. It’s in times like these that only the strong survive. The single most important skill that I have used to profit in all of my endeavors throughout the years is the ability to influence and persuade.

Imagine how your life would change if you knew how to communicate what you want in such a way that other people will gladly give it to you. Whatever you want in life, whether it’s to get out of debt, recession proof your job or business, or acquire the extra money you’ll need to take advantage of all the investment opportunities yet to come, you can get it when you learn to approach other people the right way.

You must act with integrity in order for this to work long term though. It’s not manipulation. It’s more subtle than that. It’s applying hypnotic techniques to the communication process to create win-win outcomes for everyone. As Zig Ziglar says “You can get anything you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want”.

I want to help you secure a bright future for you and your family by showing you exactly how to do this. When you learn effective persuasion and influence techniques the sky’s the limit in any economic climate.

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9 Responses to “5 Steps To Prosper In Hard Economic Times”

Grace on October 16th, 2008 5:22 pm (Edit) Yay! You’re back! Good to see everything has been sorted out w/your website. I think there was a nasty internet bug going around when your site went down, as we ended up having some serious issues on our end as well.Thank you for the advice in this entry. It is very important for us to stop dwelling on what has already come to pass, and instead, be proactive about making positive changes for our future.
I will be sure to have my hubby sit with me and watch your “to-do list” video. That is something we could definitely work on.

Oh…and on the subject of “exercise”….have you been speaking with my husband? I could SWEAR he told you to say that, knowing I’d be reading this
~Grace
Joyce Higgins on October 18th, 2008 8:11 am (Edit) Great to see you back. We tend to think alike. I’ve been telling my children and grandchildren we are already in a recession and may actually be headed for a depression. Hope not. My mother told me about the last one. It was bad unless you lived on a farm and even then it wasn’t that good.So how many people out there know how to plant a garden? My husband told me he may have to do that if it gets worse. Oh how I hate gardening. But a person does what must be done to survive. That and trust in the Lord.
Your advice is really good and I’m passing it on to my relatives.
Hope to see you soon on one of your speaking tours. On a cruise, I hope. I saw you in April of 2007 on a Trans-Atlantic cruise and really enjoyed your shows.
Joyce
Sherin – Investinternals on October 18th, 2008 8:51 am (Edit) Very good and excellent article. This is very useful as well as the writing style is classic. Appreciated.
Sherin
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