Diary: Economic adjustments my foot!

Last week, my local newspaper ran a story that really got under my skin. The story, "Consumers Face Economic Adjustments," written by AP journalist, Anne D'Innocenzio, was about how one police officer in Connecticut would "like to be able to buy books and take his family to dinner but can't because he has to budget for the increase in gasoline prices." With the cost of Connecticut real estate, this is no big surprise. This pissed me off on several levels. For openers, having been raised in a family of police officers, I am appalled at the very idea that someone who risks his life daily, protecting the rest of us, has to think about how he can afford to take his family out for a meal. Obviously, we're not paying cops enough. As an author, it bothers me that people have to choose between buying books, (mine or any else's) or getting to work. But . . . what really gets to me is how we have created a society where people feel they are not in control of their own income. I won't even touch on the fact that big oil posted record profits the same week. That might put me over the edge:-) A century ago, most people were self-employed. Then, along came the industrial revolution and giant companies hired these people, saying, "Don't worry, we'll take care of you. Just come to work for us" This all worked reasonably well for a while. A century even, until the world changed and companies became more interested in the bottom line than the people who helped them build the business. This may even be a necessary evil for these companies to survive in a world economy. Although I have serious doubts considering the salaries of top executives in these same companies. The unfortunate thing is that no one told the worker that they were now, more or less, responsible for their own earning potential. No one has encouraged 9 to 5 employees to find creative ways to give themselves a raise by supplementing their income and lowering debt. Probably because once you realize you're not dependent on your company to live, they lose the ability to manipulate you. This is what is necessary for people to continue to afford the lifestyle they've become accustomed to living. Or, they are stuck waiting for the price of gas to drop. Fat chance. Waiting for the government, your company, whomever, to change leaves you powerless. On the other hand, as soon as you take responsibility, you have reclaimed your power and are in control of your own destiny. The reason I'm writing what will probably become a book and is definitely a new seminar and workshop is that the people who are hurting financially need to understand that they can increase their income and make more money in any of several ways, in their spare time, without giving up their primary source of income. If you want to learn how to make more money, first you have to develop a success mindset. To help you start creating this mental attitude, I've written a simple, easy to read ebook, http://www.jimdonovan.com/free_wealth_ebook.html> Wealth Without Struggle - just click here to get your copy