ÿþ<title>Thriving in a Crumbling World</title>

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<h1>Thriving in a Crumbling World</h1>

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<p>For the last generation in the West, people have been happy to follow the life scripts that were handed to them by their school teachers and television broadcasters. After all, we had more food, medicine, and entertainment than ever before. So, people were willing to stay in line and follow along. It worked, and it was easier.

<p>Now "the system" is starting to crack. And, aside from temporary breaks, the hard times will generally continue and will generally worsen.

<p>Why am I so sure? Because people in the West have built their lives on promises that cannot be paid.

<p>Find the total financial obligations for your country and try to figure out how they will be paid. In almost every case, you'll find that it is not possible. In the United States of America, promises already made are worth approximately 113 trillion dollars (update: according to <a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/08/06/139027615/a-national-debt-of-14-trillion-try-211-trillion">a 2011 NPR article</a>, it's doubled since this was written: 211 trillion dollars), and the promises have been getting bigger over time without due increase in production. 113 trillion dollars will never be repaid by any normal method. The game will fall apart, one way or another.

<p>Granted, the people who run these schemes are very clever; they also have monopolies on printing currency. They may come up with some surprising ways to extend the game. Still, they will not be able to continue it forever  it comes down to a simple reason: They have made promises in excess of their production.

<p>So, how can you not merely survive, but thrive in a cracking world? Disobedience, adaptation, and leaving behind certainty.

<p><strong>Disobedience</strong> is grossly underrated. The images that may come to mind when I say the words, "civil disobedience" are not the ones I am talking about. I am talking about disobedience as a state of mind. You must generate and serve your own goals and purposes, instead of being a dog following his master.

<p>As the system degenerates and struggles to survive, it will suck you in. It will take more and more of you, telling you that in these hard times, you need the system more than ever. This is why you need to see the value in adaptation and uncertainty.

<p>Strange as it sounds, most people have arranged their lives with the goal of avoiding adaptation. They want <strong>security</strong>, and once they have it, they want to protect it. Their life is spent working continuously for security, watching TV after work, and then retiring. Huge numbers of them have focused on this to the exclusion of nearly all else. Then, when they finally do retire, they have nothing to do except "enjoy family." Enjoying one's family is certainly a nice thing, but a life spent working for retirement, then visiting children who are overly-busy working for their retirement, isn't much of a life.

<p>These people have lost track of how the world works, or more than likely, have never learned. As a result, they simply followed "important people." This is why they are now setup for difficult times. People who keep trying to play the old game will suffer and die. Those who give up on the old game will have a chance to escape and thrive.

<p>The secret to thriving in tough times is adaptation. You must quit the old mold and do new things. If the first new things don't work, you have to give them up and try other new things.

<p>There is no guarantee of success when doing new things, and you can never escape blame by saying, "I did the right things. I got a degree and took a corporate job." If you've built your life on avoiding shame, letting go of the "safe" route will be hard for you. Do it anyway.

<p>Another major part of thriving in tough times is uncertainty. One of the great promises during "good times" is that you can be certain of things: College graduates make a lot more than high school graduates; working for a big company is safe; listen to the experts; you will get a social security check and your IRA will be waiting for you when you retire.

<p>To adapt, however, you leave certainty behind, or at least a lot of it. You will not be positive that your plan will work; the plan probably won't work the way you intended it to, so adapt to what works as needed. You will certainly not be sure that other people will approve of you. This will require you to form your own opinions of right and wrong. It will not be easy, but it will be good for you.

<p>The truth is that almost everyone faces uncertainty during tough times. By accepting it and moving forward anyway, you make your way through it and you will attain role model status for other, weaker people who are intelligent enough to be looking outside the crowd. Even in a crumbling world, when people know they can trust your words, when they see honesty, decency, and an honest concern for others  when they see someone who's sincerity perseveres and authenticity remains uncorrupted, you become a burning flare in the night for lost souls.

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According to the CIA and IMF's 2009 statistics, the yearly production of all nations on earth is approximately 58 trillion. The entire world's production value would have to be sacrificed for nearly two years just to relieve the United States of its promises to pay.
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<br>Greece - 367 billion
<br>Ireland - 865 billion
<br>Spain - 1 trillion
<br>Italy - 1 trillion