This year we are experiencing the most dynamic and rapidly changing economy in all of history except for next year, and the year after, and the rest of our working lives. The days of being able to get a college education, then get a good job for life, which will give you financial security and retirement are gone forever.

There will be more changes in your current field in the next year than there has ever been before. The only thing we know for sure about the future is that it will be different from the past. And not only is change inevitable, the rate of change is accelerating. And these changes will affect every part of your life.

The future will bring more competition in your field than ever before. More and more people and companies will be struggling to take advantage of the same economic opportunities and customers. And your competition is both ruthless and determined. It is both national and international. Your competitors want your business, and they will do anything and everything to get it.

This new economy will open up more opportunities in your field than every before, but they will be in different areas. Possibilities are opening up at this very minute for you to sell your product or service to different customers in different forms, in different places, and in different ways. People who focus on the opportunities of the future, rather than getting bogged down by the problems of the past, will be the people who enjoy the rewards of tomorrow.

Government and university studies have concluded that a college graduate with a non-professional degree will have an average of ten to twelve different jobs or careers during his or her working lifetime. The majority of the people working today will be out of their fields and doing something else within two years. Anyone who does not adjust rapidly to greater change, greater competition, and opportunities of the future, will be swept aside by those who do.

To master today's job market it is important that you first understand how we got to where we are by taking a look back at history. At the end of World War II America and American industry dominated the world. Not only did we have abundant natural resources, but we had advanced technology. Meanwhile, the rest of the industrialized world was largely ravaged by war. For these reasons, anything that American factories produced found a ready market, both nationally and internationally. The economy took off. After a few years of this robust, expanding economy with opportunities and jobs for all, Americans began to accept this as their birth right.

By the 60's the world was beginning to change. Our industrial competitors like Germany and Japan, had already begun to rebuild, manufacture, and export products. In the 70's America began to be flooded with high quality products from all over the world. American companies and American working people had become complacent with their captive markets and had let their quality deteriorate. By the 80's we were in a real race. Everyone in the world wanted to enjoy the same living standards Americans had. And they were willing to work long hours and produce high quality goods and services in order to achieve those living standards.

And by the end of the decade it all came to an end. In 1989 the Berlin Wall came down ending the Industrial Age and the World Wide Web went up ushering in the Industrial Age. We entered into a global economy where not only jobs, but whole industries are coming and going at a speed never before imagined.

Many people who are suffering during this period of rapid economic change don't seem to understand what is going on. Many of them have been brought up with old Industrial Age ideas which no longer work. They are upset and angry that they are out of work, or working at jobs completely different from their training or previous experience. They are baffled by the rate of change and they are often angry or depressed.

To be successful in today's job market you must be flexible. Being laid off or fired is not personal in our rapidly changing economy. It is a fact of life. It simply means that, because of the level of sales activity, the company can no longer afford to keep you. Your job is to find a place where your contribution has value in excess of the salary you need to achieve your goals, support your lifestyle, and plan for retirement.

There are always jobs for the creative minority. You never have to be unemployed if you will do one of three things; change the work that you are offering to do, change the place where you are offering to work, or change the amount that you are asking for your services.

If there is no demand for your particular skills and experience, you will have to learn to do something else and provide skills that are in demand at the time. Employers don't care about your past. They only care about your future and your ability to contribute value to their customers.

You can change your location. Sometimes you will have to move from one part of the country to the other, from where there are few jobs to where there are more jobs. Many people transform their entire lives by the simple act of moving from an area of high unemployment to an area of low unemployment.

You can stay employed by lowering your demands. Remember, because your labor is a commodity, it is subject to the Law of Supply and Demand. If you ask too much, people will not hire you, because customers will not pay your demands in the price of the product or service that your company produces. But it is not the employer who is forcing this downward revision in wage requirements, it is the customer, through his or her buying behavior.

Education is critical in today's job market, you must constantly be updating and upgrading your knowledge and skills. Remember, we are living in a knowledge based world and the future belongs to the competent. It belongs to the people who know the most. So you must set aside one to two hours every day to read business books, magazines, trade journals, and newsletters. You must be listening to business and motivational audio learning programs while you're in your car. And you need to attend educational seminars on a regular basis.

An option that you should explore today is starting your own business. Because of the Internet it has never been easier or more cost effective to start a business. A great place to start is with a good and established multi-level marketing company. This way you can keep your current job in order to support yourself financially and build your business and gain valuable business skills in your spare time.

But let me give a word of caution here. Whether you are starting an Internet based business or a multi-level marketing business, there is no such thing as getting rich quick. It still takes careful business planning, marketing, and persistence. And you must have a product or service that solves a problem or fulfills a need for people.

There is a small creative minority in America who are never unemployed. No matter what happens, they always either have a job or their own successful business. If they lose a particular position in one place, they find another position doing the same, or something else, or somewhere else. They are fast on their feet. They move quickly and they don't accept unemployment or failure as an option. And they a always have jobs.

There are always jobs to be done. Even in the worst economy, there are always problems to be solved and consumer needs to be met. For this reason, all long-term unemployment is ultimately voluntary.

You are the president of your own personal services corporation and president of your own career. Your job is to be preparing yourself for your next job while you are in your present job. You must be one of the rare few who recognizes that your skills are becoming obsolete even as you read this.

There are more opportunities for you to fulfill your dreams and aspirations in the American economy than have ever existed before, or that exist anywhere else in the world. You can be, have, or do anything the you can dream of by preparing yourself for better and better jobs. You simply need to become better at creating value for others in your relationships, for your employer, or in your own business. You can take complete charge of your financial destiny by incorporating yourself into the fastest moving, most exciting economy in history.

Joe Love draws on his 25 years of experience helping both individuals and companies build their businesses, increase profits, and achieve total success. He is the founder and CEO of JLM & Associates, a consulting and training organization, specializing in personal and business development. Through his seminars and lectures, Joe Love addresses thousands of men and women each year, including the executives and staffs of many of America's largest corporations, on the subjects of leadership, self-esteem, goals, achievement, and success psychology.

Reach Joe at: joe@jlmandassociates.com

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