Economic Crisis….Terrorist Attacks….The Sky is falling Down
By, Danoosh Kapadia

Do you remember that childhood tale when Chicken Little ran around screaming, the sky is falling … ? Turn on your television set and you'll see the same hysteria perpetuating itself today. Two months ago Hurricane Ike destroyed Texas' Gulf Coast. Following that, in the last six months the price of oil has fallen nearly a $100 a barrel. Being employed in the oil and gas industry, I can ensure you that the fall in gas prices hit business in the gulf coast harder than Ike.

The week after Ike, the model of investment banking—Wall Street as we know it—collapsed. Before Washington could even deal with this crisis, the big three auto giants decided they could no longer stand on their own. They needed a financial crutch to prevent them from collapsing and take out most of the jobs and industries in the Mid-West. Then, the devastating terrorist attack in Mumbai struck and essentially destabilized South Asia. This attack brought the Indian sub-continent on the brink of what many fear—a nuclear standoff. All I can say at this point is that my sympathies lie with President-Elect Obama and his crew. They are expected to be saviors from heaven and alleviate the world of this pain and economic devastation.

Truth be told, we're in a depression. The government would like to make us believe it's a recession, a recession in its final stage. With the misery index being the worst in a decade and a half though, it seems that we are at the bottom of a deep hole and it is going to take some time to dig out of it. Having personally witnessed three major calamities within the last two years, from the Virginia Tech massacre, to Hurricane Ike, and now the terrorist attacks on Mumbai, I have learned a few lessons.

1. What seems like the end of the world today will be old, forgotten news tomorrow.

2. If you were directly hit by the tragedy, seek immediate help and begin the long road to recovery.

3. If you were lucky and managed to escape unscathed, shed your tears, take time to accept what has happened, then get up, dust off your hands and get back onto the bicycle of life and move forward—just like you did when you were a kid.

4. Lastly, the most difficult but most crucial thing is: do not become engulfed by fear. Just because a tragedy happened once does not mean it will happen again. Just because your neighbor got hit, doesn't mean you're next. Remember, the only thing to fear is fear itself.

5. In times like this, good leaders are the ones that shine through and steer the floundering crowds. It's time to put your Boy Scout skills to use and lead the pack.

So all in all, if you've been laid-off take time to enjoy the things you wish you could do if you had time on your hands. Most of it doesn't cost a ton of money. Think about that business plan that's been on the back burner because you got caught up in the monotony of the nine to five. Pick up that skill you wish you could lean but never had the time. If you were unhappy with your career, take the time to do what's necessary to make a change.

If you weren't laid off, and perhaps your industry has slowed down a little, but you're relatively un-affected, please go out and spend your hard earned money on gifts and other fun things that make the holidays memorable. Any investment you would otherwise put it into will probably spend the money for you. Go and buy yourself a new car, a new home, or some new clothes, because by God you may never see these deals in your lifetime again. Just make sure you have enough cushion to carry you through if things get worse. If you panic just because the Wall Street Journal says not to spend money, who's going to stimulate our economy and bring us out of this mess?

Lastly, know that this is a good time to learn a few lessons especially if we're not paying the price. We are living in difficult times. Tough times don't last—tough people do.