Response: Overcoming Fear

There are many things that happen in life that we have a variance of control over and then there are these situations in which we have little to no control over. I know it is a tough cruel world out there and there many people becoming homeless due to this ailing economy.

But people who want a better life in the recession will ultimately have to make sacrifices to achieve it. This is a personal response to a guy that just got done asking me to help him get hired at Sam's Club. I have a few things I have to get off my chest.

1. This guy got a job offer in Japan in the engineering sector and was given a severance check of $10,000 when he left the site. His job supposedly paid 40K annually. I know that is low on engineering standards, but he was originally meant to do some other position. He did not save his cash. Right now, I have more disposable cash than he does.

2. This individual is closed minded towards working in other fields and only tries to take on any job only when it is necessary. Such as when his account hits zero.

3. He had the nerve to tell my room mate that "I was going to fail", when I got over there (meaning Japan) and "hit a glass ceiling".

4. He also said that "I was going to blow through my cash" after I just saved 12K last year.

5. Also he told me I should not invest in the stock market because it is risky even though I made a few grand out of doing so and continue to make money.

I just want to say a few things here. First off, this is the same guy that graduated with a engineering degree in honors. To him he values is success on degrees and accomplishments. I have gotten a vocation degree, an Associates Degree, and a double major B.A. I know it is not the same as a Bachelor's of Science and I do not care. I have more realistic things to worry about like growing my money more by next year. When you go to college for a prolonged period of time and you come from rock bottom like me, you will amass huge amounts of debt as you go on to the M.A. , M.S., PhD. etc. Unless you have a full ride with a healthy stipend that allows you to put away at least half of that per month, (I am serious when I say half because stipends tend to only be partial and full rides tend to only cover living expenses) I would not suggest going beyond a 4 year degree if you so choose to do college unless you have saved up to cover the later years in full. (Meaning you would have to go to school and work which your earnings go towards being a better employee.) That is the stark reality of it.

I do not want to hear financial advise from people that cannot live a frugal lifestyle. They are just living their perceived image of what it means to be "rich". My definition of rich is someone who has a) amassed a healthy amount of savings, and b) someone who is Stanley and Danko's classic definition of what a PAW is. PAW means Prodigious Accumulators of Wealth. This acronym can be further defined here.

Also it is considered rude to criticize someone who has already lived in that culture. I have lived in Okinawa prior to trying to apply for English teaching position jobs. I have received job offers while I was there and turned them down for educational reasons. I also have multiple phone conference interviews I have to make to the schools that are interested in me and I have only started getting my name out there.

Another assumption is that I will suddenly forget how hard it was to earn that money after a year of sacrifice and living below my means is to me insulting. I am in no way a UAW. I live within my means. For sake of debate over the Danko and Stanley terminology, I am a AAW for now because I am off to a late start due to college. I now have enough money to totally exclude myself from the workforce and just focus on job hunting, but I would not be earning continual income from multiple sources; just one secondary source which is my private online vendor IDs. But even if I did quit my job to become an English teacher, my money does not stop. And I will certainly not be eating out everyday like this critic.

If one thinks the laws of frugality cannot be applied in another culture then that is being financially closed minded. This is a dangerous trait to have overall. Being financially closed mined could leave to many problems in life such as rejecting different jobs and closing yourself off from avenues of success from the wage slave system.

Whenever you reject something out of fear, it is a lose-lose situation. There are no winners in fear. Fear has to be overcome in order to achieve real success with anything. I am being blunt here when I address this person. He is afraid of living with his dad even though he can get him jobs and help him get on his feet. If you have a way to get money that does not involve totally leaching off of someone, then use it. Do not be a victim of economic outpatient care. You will not become frugal easily. It will instead cripple you, instill fear in you. To get the things you want out of life we have to conquer our fears. If you need a moral crutch such as religion, other people, a book or an advisor, then so be it. Do whatever it takes to overcome it. Fear is detrimental to success. Be fearless.

There are prepaid phones in Japan, there are studio apartments in Japan, there are even those magical places called second hand stores and grocery stores in Japan. In fact, you can haggle for fruits and vegetables there! For electronics however, all the real "deals" are here in America. I will not and refuse to "blow through" my cash like it is toilet paper. I will only become richer in 2010. Believe that. I know people and I have my networks and will only continue to network more. I will start off with one English paid job and turn it into multiple. I will be able to make a well-timed exit from the rat race and will be able to set my own hours. (Meaning 50+/week since I am a workaholic) I will not be living above my means there, rest assured.I know that there is a high level of discrimination there. I went through my fair share of it, but if I have problems getting a good rental agreement, I will just find someone who will accommodate me. I lived there for one year. Japan is not perfect and America has its own fair share of problems. Overcoming fear goes hand and hand with adapting to various situations. Businesses go out every day because of the inherent ability to adapt to danger. Ever heard of adapt or die? It was a saying that decribed adjusting to obstacles thrown at you. It mainly applies to businesses, but I think the philosophy should also be adopted on a personal level.

On that note, for the "what-ifers" out there that would say that I could fail, yes I "could fail" at my job, but my life does not revolve around a single job. I would just get another or teach privately at that point and if I could not make ends meet that way, Taiwan which has a super low cost of living is just next door. In other words, I am financially getting to the point where I am becoming unstoppable as far as achieving goals is concerned. I do not fear failing. I do not fear momentary setbacks. I will find work in Japan and I will make it work.