Gordon....I'm curious....

I've seen your messages on these boards for maybe 4 or 5 yrs now and I'm curious;
You say you're thinking about retiring....what has been your main income source these past number of years...your "day" job?

I make my money selling my products and programs both on and off the Internet.....and earn a nice income at home, with an occasional helper.

Also...re the economy;
Many respected economists have been saying that stocks are WAY overpriced...in fact when the DOW hit 7,000 it was overpriced. So what we are seeing is a "settling back to what prices SHOULD be".

There are about 290 MILLION people in our country now. In 1929 there were probably around 100 million. BIG difference. These 290 mil need to eat, drink, clothe and house themselves and they are used to having NICE things...NICE cars, homes, clothes...etc. I believe there are just TOO MANY Americans now for the country to go in the tank like it did in '29. I do NOT believe there will be "soup" lines and people barely making it on $15 a week (like my dad existed on)

Sure...companies have "laid off" a couple hundred thousand with the airlines but hey...these folks will be getting money from the Fed and...many of these have the wherewithall and are smart enough to try something else. They are NOT going to be sitting around waiting for handouts.

The economy has taken a tremendous "shaking" and people WILL find their own "niches"...probably in totally different fields.

Anyway...in my life I've had to 'adjust" many times and I will probably have to "adjust" again. It will be interesting to see what a lot of us will be doing next year.

Don Alm

> There seems to be several "camps"
> evolving.

> One is the 'nothing is going to change camp,
> once we bomb someone'...sort of like the
> Goldwater Hawks of the 60's. Solutions are
> simple, basic, and bombing someone seems to
> keep these campers in a status quo mood. I
> think they are in for a surprise.

> OH, I should throw in a disclaimer up front,
> but you all should know by now, this is only
> MY opinion and you of course are free to
> share yours too.

> Another camp is the BEGINNING OF THE END
> folks, those that want this to be the start
> of an Apocalypse. These folks appear to
> fluctuate between being joyous that the end
> is near to "the sky is falling"
> types...Gary North has headed this camp for
> almost 30 years, and what Y2K didn't
> deliver, Gary and people who share his
> religious views hope the terrorists can.

> Still another group believes this is a time
> that can bring people together, it is the
> GIVE PEACE A CHANCE crowd...

> IMAGINE...all the people, living as one...

> these people are like the hippies of
> yesteryear and they are in for a very rude
> awakening.

> There are several other groups out there,
> and at any given time any of us could find
> ourselves leaning toward one way or the
> other.

> I tend to be in the camp that believes the
> worst is going to happen...

> but we should make the best out of it. The
> best that we can. What would you call that,
> pessimistic optimism?

> My brother thinks nothing is going to
> happen. We'll rebound quickly from this, and
> our economy will get even stronger. He's not
> alone with his thinking and many economists
> are touting that line of thinking too.

> We don't want our lives changed. Too late.
> They have been.

> Last week I wrote about the dominoes that
> would fall, and we've seen 100,000 people
> lose their jobs in that week. Industries
> have been thrown into near bankruptcy and
> chaos.

> The airline industry effects tourism,
> destination vacationing, and business.

> The hospitality industry has been seriously
> hurt, and can't continue in this direction
> for much longer, and I'm talking a few
> weeks, let alone months or longer.

> Empty rooms mean the laying off of staff. We
> can probably manage if it is short term, and
> you'll be seeing some incredible travel
> deals coming soon, if you haven't already.

> This week major auto makers had plant
> closings and slow downs, and the dominos
> continue to fall. The suppliers to the auto
> makers, tire manufacturing, steel, all
> industries that are already hurting and
> can't take much more stress.

> Consumer spending and retail is down, and
> many believe we are seeing the beginning of
> people holding on to their money. Again,
> caution is the watchword.

> We seem to have caught our breath, having
> been suckered punched right in the gut (or
> heart) and it took our breath away.

> Will there be more terrorists attacks? Well,
> what do you think?

> President Bush and Congress are preparing us
> for a WAR. We probably won't have to wait
> very long before the next wave comes
> although I hope and pray I'm WRONG.

> But the easiest thing in the world to do is
> to put on some rose colored or even Red,
> White and Blue glasses and see every think
> as being OK again. It isn't OK. It won't be
> OK for quite some time.

> As the economy slows, and more people lose
> their jobs, we'll see more and more
> industries teetering toward the cliffs of
> closing up. We are waiting. We want to see
> something soon, but the powers that be know
> and realize how measured our response must
> be.

> Some radio commentator said, "What
> haven't we thought about?" These
> terrorists have had years to sit around and
> dream up ways of attacking us, we try to
> protect and defend against those things we
> can think of, but, what haven't we thought
> about?

> NO one thought about 4 hi-jacked planes on
> the same day with civilian and military
> targets...that should indicate these
> terrorists have thought and conceived of
> every possible way to attack us. We don't
> even know what is possible.

> We are on high alert as we should be. We are
> aware. We are awake at the helm. But we are
> vulnerable to the smaller scale attacks
> against private citizens that terror groups
> like to use.

> I've said we answer that call with the
> action of Carrying On, of not letting
> terrorists change our lives or lifestyle.
> I've said that, I want to practice that. But
> the truth is, and maybe will be, our lives
> have changed, and as the economic dominos
> continue to topple one another, we are all
> going to be seeing some changes in the very
> near future.

> America is building it's case against the
> terrorists, and when it has conclusive
> evidence will take some sort of action, but
> it must be controlled and carefully measured
> (I've said that already but it bears
> repeating). I agree with John Raabe about
> how the wrong action could create a more
> committed and even scarier terrorist for
> generations to come.

> I don't think business is going to be
> "as usual" as I and everyone else
> would like it to be. There is going to be
> some immense competition for the dollar, and
> as another thread discussed, you'll see a
> lot of items that look familiar from past
> times. Like the religious jewelry, good luck
> charms, good luck coins.

> You can bet the mints are fast at work on
> commemorative coins, replicas of the twin
> towers (waiting when it would be
> "appropriate" to introduce them
> {my opinion, never; but to each her/his
> own}) and there will be all kinds of things
> in the near future. That isn't a bad thing
> in and of itself, filling a demand for the
> most part can be a prosperous endeavor.

> And there are many new demands in the
> making, many new markets emerging.

> You will undoubtedly hear me say this over
> and over. I tend to be redundant. I do
> repeat myself (originally said a few years
> ago). It is a great time to build your
> COMMUNITY. To strengthen where you live by
> becoming a part of it and not separate into
> little groups.

> I've had more phone calls this past week
> from local businesses, former clients, many
> of whom I haven't spoken to in years (in
> business) who are practically begging me to
> help with their marketing efforts. So far
> I've been able to say NO, but that may
> change.

> It would be my preference to cater to a
> larger audience, however, I do need to be
> building my community even stronger. I've
> been going to retire for a long time, and
> this was to be the month that was going to
> happen.

> I'm not sure. I'm not saying this is going
> to happen. But I'm not saying it won't, I
> may open up a private forum, and perhaps
> publish a more in-depth weekly newsletter
> that focuses upon trends and opportunities.
> Maybe. Maybe Not.

> I've been very fortunate these last few
> years to be able to meet and make friends
> with interesting people from all over the
> world. They have been a tremendous source of
> inspiration, as well as wisdom, their pearls
> have been handled with respect.

> It is great to get opinions from people in
> every corner of the world. And it is fun to
> share the things I've learned, both my
> failures and mistakes (and there have been
> plenty of those)...and I would somehow like
> to continue that.

> It isn't going to be public, if I do
> anything, it will be...well, I just don't
> know yet.

> But I've decided to DECIDE. To make some
> decision. To get on with whatever it is I'm
> going to do, one way or a dozen others.

> In the meantime, I'll post my thoughts and
> observations here, and I welcome your
> comments and e-mail. There is some very good
> conversation going on in those e-mails and I
> appreciate it all. Please understand if I am
> brief, it is not because I don't want to say
> more, it is just that there isn't enough
> time. But hopefully, I've been able to
> answer all the email, even with my quick on
> the trigger delete finger working overtime.

> There are some tough times ahead of us.
> Maybe I'll be wrong on this too. But I'll
> stand by my ideals, and the concept of
> BUILDING rather than destroying, and
> COMMUNITY, as opposed to selfishness, within
> the context of Freedom and the American
> Dream that allows every Individual her/his
> own pursuit of happiness.

> I'm tracking some very interesting trends in
> technology, that is the ACCELERATION of
> bringing certain technology to our tables
> much faster than originally thought. I'll be
> reporting on those in the very near future.

> Gordon Alexander




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