THERE’S SO MUCH CONFUSION

HILLARY
Do you believe that our world is more complicated now then when you were growing up?

JACK
Life is infinitely more complicated than it was when I was a kid, and even when you were a kid.

HILLARY
How do we contend with it?

JACK
There is no single answer except as to your state of mind. I suggest keeping it simple. Be in reality, not what you are hoping or praying for. Find the reality of your situation and go for a real solution. Be honest with yourself, and acknowledge if something is unworkable. Whatever heavy problem you have you must attack it from the positive side, and if you are in a predicament look at yourself for how you got into this mess. Of course there are always a number of people who can bear some of the responsibility, at the end of the day YOU are the one that must be responsible for your own destiny. We can spend a lot of time talking about conditions and the world around us, but unfortunately they will not change. I also feel that the outside forces with which we contend do grow increasingly more complicated and difficult. In the face of all this, as individuals, we must be convinced that we have within us the power to improve our situation.

In today’s commercial world most people are dealing with less opportunity. The autoworker in Detroit loses his or her job of the past twenty years. Now, how does he support himself and his family? There is a world of opportunity, but sometimes you have to think “out of the box”. For example, an architect being employed by a major firm loses his job. He then must ask himself, what his training and his skills are to do something else. There are many new opportunities with government contractors, where there has been a huge infusion of funds to build roads, bridges and other structures. If you cannot get a job with one of these people, why not set yourself up as an independent contractor performing services for them. For many, the problem can become an opportunity to get away from a dead end job, and pursue a new career. The prime rules that I would put to it are 1) it has to be something that you really enjoy doing, 2) there are multiple opportunities, and 3) money is being spent in large enough sums to attract your attention. The worst thing that you can do is throw your hands up in the air and complain about how bad things are. The difference between recognizing the opportunities and despairing over the conditions is in your state of mind.

Yes, the world is definitely more complicated but the opportunities are far greater, partly due to these complications.

HILLARY
So if we try to live positively, and seek out success where we can conceive of looking, you think that we’ll have another period of peace and prosperity?

JACK
I cannot speak for the world at large, but as individuals we will definitely have a better life with a positive outlook. I have one thing to add to it – you can’t fake a positive outlook, and you can’t try to convince yourself if you don’t have it. You just have to make the necessary changes that will allow you to deal with reality, contend with the problems, and keep all the positive influences at your side.

HILLARY
What’s a positive influence in your mind?

JACK
You must be convinced that there is an answer to your problem. Sometimes the qualities that you look for are hidden, and you really have to search for them. The other part of it is we must understand that we cannot change other people, or often our situation; we can only change our attitude towards it.

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