It's going to be a bumpy ride...

As I was driving to the Platinum Forum (This is like a training session for Platinum Networkers) yesterday evening, I switched on the radio just to listen to some music and alleviate the boredom of driving in KL traffic. I heard on the new that Honda Malaysia (the car manufacturer) announced they were going to cut their staff salary by a staggering 50%.

When I read the papers later on in the evening, I found more of the same thing. Some of the manufacturers in Penang are considering on cutting their staff salaries by 25%. You add on the comment by the Human Resource Minister a couple of months back that 5000 workers in the electronics sector would likely lose their jobs in the first quarter of this year, it looks like we'll be going through some though times.

Some people might say that given the current circumstances, a 25% pay cut is okay. All you have to do is to cut back on your expenditure, no more overseas holidays, no more extensive shopping trips, no more branded clothes, buy local instead and many other excuses just to make themselves feel better.

But trust me, I've been through it before. It's not that easy. You get used to a certain lifestyle and you feel like everything has become a necessity. You feel like you can't live without your evening "teh tarik" with you colleagues after work. You absolutely have to have your daily "roti canai" or "nasi lemak" at the mamak stall. So how do you cut back on your ependiture?

You can't. You just borrow more to get through the tough times. You max out your credit cards, and when that isn't enough, you apply for new ones. Eventually, you end up taking cash advances from one credit card to pay for another. After a while, it starts to become a habit. You think that borrowing from banks will help you get through the difficult times and you end up being in debts up to your nose. Then once you relaize your mistake, it's too late. You've already got a huge pile of debts.

I went through all that before. So today, I decided to ask myself, am I ready to face what could be another very difficult period ahead of me? I spent the first 10 minutes after I woke up this morning contemplating this, and I have to say, I AM READY.

I don't know about anyone else but for me, I am taking positive action. Rather than sit back, worry and wait for the impact of the potential economic recession to hit me, and believe me, it will hit me just as it will hit everyone else, I've decided to take the offensive.

That's one of the reasons I joined the 4Life Research business. It will help me weather the storm, assist me through what is going to be a very difficult time and prepare me for a much brighter future.

So I guess the question I am asking you is "Are You Ready?"