7 things to do (and not do) in a downturn

 

http://business.rediff.com/report/2009/aug/31/perfin-7-things-to-do-and-not-do-in-a-downturn.htm

 

August 31, 2009 14:28 IST

 

Billy Joel with his Uptown Girl lyrics was a sensation in the 60s and 70s. Those were the days when uptown and downtown were the in-vogue words.

Today, it is 'downturn' that is garnering all attention. And each one of us is part of the harsh transition from an upturn economy to a downturn economy.

The economic slowdown in India and the recession in many parts of the world are affecting us all in many ways. Here is a list of things that we need to do and some that we should not do during the downturn:

1. Respect the job we have

In a downturn, new job opportunities vanish. This is evident with the many campus placements drying up. The same is true for new posts for experienced managers. More so, the management of any company will be looking to cut the existing posts too to reduce their overall expenses.

Perks in the form of free meals, travel allowances, etc may also be reduced. As a salaried person, it is thus important to hold on to the existing job it will be the main or only source of income.

For business people, the caution here is not to bleed the business. The regular reinvestment required in the form of stocks, retraining manpower to compensate those who were retrenched, using the opportunity to employ economical highly skilled persons should continue. 

2. Reduce expenses and lifestyle purchases

One sure way to find some excess cash in a downturn is to reduce expenses and lifestyle purchases. The point is not to cut down on the fresh fruit that we buy for our children, but on the new sofa set that we planned for our living room.

The new model mobile phone or the new laptop or the new car are a strict NO, at least not till the downturn is over.

3. No new debts, please

If the point 2 above is followed, a new loan can be avoided. However attractive the price may be, to buy a house or a car on loan during a downturn is highly risky. With no guarantee of a steady income, by taking a loan, we are adding to a steady monthly expense.

Frequently in a downturn, we may have to work for a lesser income, if we lose a job. Some companies today have already implemented a pay cut for existing employees. A loan repayment will be in jeopardy if any such thing happens to us.

4. Shy away from risky investments

Recession is the time when, risky investments such a pyramid schemes and Ponzi investments flourish by showing fantastic returns. It is best to keep a distance from such schemes at any time; more so in a downturn.

Investments in business expansions for business people are also risky in a downturn. Exceptions for this are certain industries which are recession proof in India like college and school education.

Even in the education sector, private coaching and certificate courses centers are facing a slow down. Much care and detailed analysis is required before taking investment decisions.

5. Be insured

Health and term life insurance plans need to be in-force. Please revive those that have lapsed. We need to take up new ones if we do not have these. While taking the health plans we need to ensure that everyone in the family including children and our parents are covered.

Terms plans in life insurance are very cost-effective plans with high cover. These need to be taken at high values for the bread-winners at least. A thumb rule is to have a minimum of 12 times the annual income as life cover in a term plan.

6. Do not stop that SIP/ULIP monthly premium

During the downturn, the stock market also will be low. By stopping the investment through the monthly investment mode of mutual funds and life insurance companies we loss the advantage of 'cost averaging'.

Cost averaging has two sides -- buying more when the market is low; growing all when the market is high. We buy more units for the same investment, as the units of the mutual funds and the ULIPs are at a lower NAV (Net Asset Value).

By stopping the SIPs/monthly premiums we lose out at the buying more stage. This will also short circuit the grow-all stage as we will not have much units in our hands for them to grow.

7. Educate yourself

Being prepared for the upturn is something that we need to do. Educating ourselves with higher skills and domains required for promotions and in other lucrative domains will keep us ahead once things turn positive.

The same applies to business people too in identifying new opportunities to grow their businesses once the downturn turns in the other direction.

 

Columbus for the Day!!!!!!

 

If Columbus had been married he might have never discovered America.

Because:

 

Where r u going?

 

With Whom?

 

To discover what?

 

Why only u?

 

What do I do, when u r not here?

 

Can I come?

 

Coming back when?

 

Dinner ghar par hee khaoge?

 

Most importantly: Mere liye kya laoge?

 

:):):)

"Strange that i am fwding this :D"

When is Doing Nothing a Good Idea? - By Paul Chek

A lengthy one!

 

When is Doing Nothing a Good Idea? - By Paul Chek

 

The industrialized nations are home to societies of doers. Our educational systems ingrain the need to think, complete, and meet deadlines. Our childhood life seldom offers or encourages us to simply be. I know that in my childhood it was very dangerous to be seen playing or doing anything that my parents may have perceived as non-doing, for an idle child on a farm is often considered a useless child. Then and now, children typically have to escape the views of their parents to have the freedom to do what they want. And what do they want other than to play, explore, and enjoy themselves -- to be creative?

Just as those of us in this country have been conditioned to achieve what we call the American Dream, we've been conditioned to believe that such dreams can only come by way of hard work, sacrifice, discipline, and even blood, sweat, and tears. Most young males, and now more than ever, females, have had this kind of conditioning driven deeper into their psyche through sports training. It is natural to ask someone, "What sport do you play?" yet our play, more often than not, turns out to be yet another form of tasking.

We are all bound up in our need to do, and often this is the problem. Sometimes the right thing to do is to do nothing. This article investigates when and why doing nothing is the best strategy for your health and happiness.

Three Choices

I teach my students that there are always three choices to make in every relationship:

1. The optimal choice -- the choice that produces the most favorable result for everyone involved.

2. The suboptimal choice -- the choice that doesn't get the best results for everyone involved. While we often make that choice because there is something in it for us, it leads to discomfort or pain more often than not.

3. Doing nothing -- the opposite of love is not hate; it is indifference. Indifference, in my observation, is the result of the apathy that often results from repeatedly failing. As one repeatedly fails, if they do not learn how to make better choices, they become paralyzed. First, this occurs as an emotional response that emerges from the fear of failure. This emotional response can commandeer one's mind. When it does, anxiety typically emerges because now you become a deer staring into the headlights of an oncoming car. Instead of responding naturally and instinctively, the intellect becomes crippled. The kind of apathy I describe here isn't helpful, but there is another kind of "doing nothing" that can be the right thing to do.

When is Doing Nothing a Good Idea?

It isn't uncommon to feel challenged by a situation in life, and it is quite natural to fear making a suboptimal choice. But typically, we feel pressured into making a decision by our perception of what others want. Our programming typically wants us to rush things as well. For example, how many times have you gotten into an argument with someone you know is typically emotional, yet instead of biting your lip and letting them settle into a state more conducive to rational thought, you find yourself engaged in battle? Over what, milk and eggs? A missed homework assignment? Was it really worth it?

Now what if you took the time to sit on the decision or problem for a while? Hens sit on their eggs until just the right time for hatching. Mothers gestate and they know naturally that this is a nine-month process, so naturally they don't try to rush it. A good coach knows it takes time to create a great athlete. Good coaches don't rush it because they know that if they do, more often than not, the athlete ends up injured. With experience, we all come to know the natural gestation period for the ideas we commonly work with. So sometimes, the best thing to do is really nothing at all!

The best time to do nothing is:

1. When you don't feel you can make an optimal decision because you either don't have the knowledge or the information you need. If the information can only come forth through time, experience, or through the assistance of someone else, then simply do your part and then be patient enough to do nothing while the idea gestates.

2. When your emotions or the other party's emotions are flaring and neither of you can be rational, doing nothing is a great idea!

3. When you don't have the energy to act optimally, then doing nothing while you accumulate energy is a great idea!

4. When you are being coerced into doing something that you are confident is going to produce detrimental results, doing nothing is a good idea! For example, I recall Osho saying in one of his lectures that in Vietnam, 30% of soldiers returned all their ammunition at the end of each day in the battlefield. Though they were drafted into the war, they did not believe that their actions would produce a favorable result for anyone involved, so rightly, they did nothing.

5. When you want to make a statement about your opinion, be it on war, abortion, gay rights, or anything else and your natural urge is to attack those with opposing views, it is a great idea to do nothing!

6. When you are aware that making a decision will disturb the natural gestation period for a given idea, not making the decision -- doing nothing -- becomes a great idea.

7. When you realize that all ideas have a shelf life and that the lifespan of an idea depends on how many people energize it with either positive or negative energy, doing nothing may well be the best statement you can make. After all, to the very degree that your actions support what you don't want, your actions also support what others don't want. Unless you are alone on an island, where forcing your opinion won't create a loser, you may make the greatest possible offering by -- you probably guessed it -- doing nothing.

Sometimes, it's best to just do nothing. So next time someone sends you a flamer of an email, do nothing and you'll probably be helping the hothead cool down. The next time your child is stressed because they've been thrown into the world of an adult and they are reacting emotionally -- do nothing. If you have too much "Do! Do!" with your "Don't do!" what you've got for sure is more stress. It's better to do nothing. After all, there is another name for this kind of doing nothing. It is patience -- and patience is a virtue.

About the Author:

Paul Chek is an internationally renowned expert in the fields of holistic health and personal, professional, and spiritual mastery systems addressing all aspects of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being. For over twenty-five years, Paul's unique, holistic approach to treatment and education has changed the lives of countless individuals worldwide. As a walking, talking definition of success, Paul is above all an educator, teaching and applying his methods to benefit others. He has produced more than 50 videos, 6 books, 2 e-books, and 16 advanced-level home study courses while regularly contributing to many diverse publications and websites. Paul is the founder of the C.H.E.K Institute and the P~P~S Success Mastery Center, in San Diego, California, USA. http://www.ppssuccess.com

 

School days are over..........Little Johney Rocks :)

Teacher: why did u laugh?

Boy:  I saw 1 strap of ur bra.

Teacher: GET OUT of class for 1 week.

2nd boy laughed.

Teacher: why did u laugh?

Boy 2: I saw both straps.

Teacher: GET OUT FOR 1 MONTH.

She bent down 2 take chalk,

Little Johny started walking out.

Teacher: Johny, why r u going out?

Little Johny: From what I just saw, I think my school days are over!!

 

National Geographic Photo of the Day

 

laloo prasad yadav- rabri jokes

Rabri Devi died and went to heaven (Don't Laugh). As she stood in front
of
yamraj , she saw a huge
wall of clocks behind.
She asked, "What are all those clocks?" Yamraj answered, "Those are Lie
Clocks. Everyone on Earth
has a Lie
Clock. Every time you lie, the hands on your clock will move."
"Oh," said Rabri, "Who's clock is that?" That's Gautam Buddha's. The
hands
have never moved
indicating that he
never told a lie.
"And whose clock is that?" That's Abraham Lincoln's clock. The hands
haveonly moved twice, telling
us that Abraham only told 2 lies in his
entirelife."
Rabri asked, "Where's my Laloo's clock?" Laloo"s clock is in my
office",
replied yamraj, "I'm using it
as ceiling fan".




Ek baar Laloo aur Rabri apni wedding anniversary mana rahe thay. Tab
Laloo
ne Rabri se poocha
"Ari o humri Darling, tanik ek tho baat poochat hu, sach sach batana
humko.. ..tum itne saalon mein, humre saath kitne baar unfaithful hui hai
re?"

Rabri ne kaha agar bataongi toh gussa karonge.
Toh Laloo bola,"Nahi humri baby, hum God ka promise khaata hoo, gussa na
karoonga."
Toh woh boli - sirf 3 baar.
"Accha , kab kab? Humko thoda details do."

Rabri boli,. "Pehli baar jab hamra ghar neelam hone ja raha tha, toh hum
uss raat Bank ke president ke paas gayee , aur doosre din Bank ne humko
extensionva diya."
Laloo bola" Theek hai humri sweetheart... ee to tumne apni family ko
bachane ke liye kiya.. aur doosra?

Rabri boli,.. Yaad hai jab aap ko heart attackva hua aur aapko surgery ki
zaroorat thi.. uss raat hum doctor ke ghar gayee aur sasure ne aapka
operation free me kar diya.
Laloo bole.. "O Rabri darling, oo toh tumne humri jaan bachane ke liye
kiya".. Aur teesra"?

Rabri boli, "Yaad hai aapko ek tho baar party ka President banne ke liye
174 vote ki zaroorat thi?"

Laloo fainted.

Lalia the wonder dog

i

---------- .

Lalia the wonder dog - Darling of all!   MANGALORE June 23, 2009: Take a walk around Padil in Mangalore sometime in the morning or evening and if you encounter a dog carrying a basket full of Mackerels tucked in his snout don't be surprised, he is only taking the fish to his owner's house, but that is not all- follow this white cross breed of Labrador and hunting dog and he will give you more glimpses of his life.   Lalia is 5 years old and has migrated to Mangalore from Mumbai when he was just a pup. "When he came here he was very mischievous" says his owner-trainer Sanjay Padmaraja Rao who is a commercial photographer by profession. "In the beginning I thought he was just another dog but I and my wife loved him so much for what he was, but later in my free time I started training him for simple things in the beginning. To my surprise he responded with great dexterity and agility and carried out the commands I gave him, I never used punitive measures on him and I still do n ot have a cane in the house" says Mr. Rao. "There is something in him that makes him extra-ordinarily smart, probably it is in his genes" says Mr. Rao. His reflexes are very fast and carries out every command I give him, I have set of 32 commands that includes common things like sit, run, stand up and shake hands but the more complicated ones like jump, stand on hind legs, carry a bag needed little more stress but he learnt all the 32 commands," but what was more interesting was he could understand words like fish, newspaper, groceries, milk and vegetables! "He is a regular visitor to the market and carries home safely all the things that are kept in a basket" says Guruva Poojary a shopkeeper in Padil market. "His owner sends a list of things to be brought and the dog delivers it to me and the money." He also carries milk and fish to the owners without any damage to the goods he is carrying.   The news agent also knows Lalia well, "he comes there every morning without fail at half past six in the morning and picks up a copy of a particular newspaper by himself, I still am trying to figure out how he sniffs out a particular brand of paper every time" he says.   Lalia is supremely popular in the neighborhood, one need not search for Mr. Rao's house everybody knows the house by the name of Lalia. Sadly, Mr. Rao is now shifting his residence from Padil to Vamanjoor and "we do not know if he will do the same things in Vamanjoor  like he did in Padil" says Mr. Rao.  "We do not have childre n and Lalia filled up that gap" say the Rao couple.   .

FOUR FRIENDS AT A PARTY

> FOUR FRIENDS AT A PARTY !!!!!!!! > > > Four friends, who hadn't seen each other in 30 years, reunited at a > party. > > After several drinks, one of the men had to use the rest room. Those > who remained talked about their kids. > > The first guy said, "My son is my pride and joy. He started working at > a successful company at the bottom of the barrel. > > He studied Economics and Business Administration and soon began to > climb the corporate ladder and now he's the president of the company. > He became so rich that he gave his best friend a top of the line > Mercedes for his birthday." > > The second guy said, "Darn, that's terrific! My son is also my pride > and joy. He started working for a big airline, and then went to flight > school to become a pilot. Eventually he became a partner in the > company, where he owns the majority of its assets. He's so rich that > he gave his best friend a brand new jet for his birthday." > > The third man said: "Well, that's terrific! My son studied in the best > universities and became an engineer. Then he started his own > construction company and is now a multimillionaire. He also gave away > something very nice and expensive to his best friend for his > birthday: A 30,000 square > foot mansion." > > The three friends congratulated each other just as the fourth returned > from the restroom and asked: "What are all the congratulations for?" > One of the three said: "We were talking about the pride we feel for > the successes of our sons. ...What about your son?" > > The fourth man replied: "My son is gay and makes a living dancing as a > stripper at a nightclub." > > The three friends said: "What a shame...what a disappointment." > > The fourth man replied: "No, I'm not ashamed. He's my son and I love > him. And he hasn't done too bad either. His birthday was two weeks > ago, and he received a beautiful 30,000 square foot mansion, a brand > new jet and a top of the line Mercedes from his three boyfriends.   > !!!!!!!! > > > > >

Oye Lucky.......Lucky oye.....!!!!!!

 

dont you think the pujari is lucky :P

big brother fame shilpa shetty with him :) 

3G - Coconut Tree

Something fundamentally Wrong!!!

Territorial Army.....Not Only for Mohanlal..... Suitable posts for other actors....

READ FULL VERSION AT http://berlytharangal.com/?p=416

WORLD CUP T20 England 2009 DIARY

A good read.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Vishnu R
Date: Thu, Jul 30, 2009 at 2:38 AM
Subject: Blog Update: WORLD CUP DIARY
To:


Dear all,

Blog updated with my experience at the ICC World Twenty-20 in England

"WORLD CUP DAIRY"

http://vishnu-lokam.blogspot.com/2009/07/blog-post_28.html

Hope you will enjoy reading what I did at the ICC World T-20 Cricket venue at Nottingham Trent Bridge Stadium in England.

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments.

yours,

Vishnu R

http://vishnu-lokam.blogspot.com

Can u guess which festival is this???

Just see the picture

Can u guess which festival is this ????????
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You might have said: Krishna Janmastmi. Wrong
Scroll down for answer

"RAKSHA BHANDHAN ;) "

GUNAPADAM

Worst F1 accident ever....

This accident is recorded as the worst F1 accident ever in the world
Be brave to view the picture!!
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Dress Code For Raksha - Bandhan

Rakhi festival... Not Rakhi's Swayamvar ;)

All my dear ones who all are single:

Dress Code For Raksha - Bandhan
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hilarious adult jokes

A cardiologist marries a gynecologist and were blessed with twin girls. Guess what they name them - Angina and Vagina. Two sperms are swimming really hard and one asks, "Are we almost at uterus?." "Nah!" says the other, "we just passed the tonsil". A prostitute goes to deposit a $100 bill in a bank. The teller says, "Sorry, madam, the note is fake". "Oh no!" exclaimed the prostitute, "I have been raped". A woman gave birth to six babies and on seeing this she got out off hospital bed and slapped her husband and shouted, "I told you not to go doggy style". Man went to the chemist to buy one fourth Viagra. Chemist said that it would be useless. Man said, "I am 70, sex is out of question, I just want to stop peeing on my shoes". Secretary said publicly that you have a small penis, would you comment on this? "The truth is that she has a big mouth". A Japanese girl accidentally lets out a big fart after making love. She said, "Aww, so sorry... exkooz me pleazo,Front hole so happy back hole laugh out loud". What is common between a swimming pool and a wife - for both we pay high maintenance for the little time we spend in them. Love is a complicated machinery.But sometimes all you need is a good screw to fix it. Sex is like a card game. If you don't have a good partner, you better have a good hand. What's the difference between biology and sociology? When the baby looks like his dad or mom, the it is biology. When the baby looks like the neighbor, then it is sociology. What is the useless piece of flesh attached to the penis called - The Man. Whoever first said that "A dog is man's best friend" had never seen a pussy before. Why is breast milk good for health? Because it is great for blood circulation, provides heat, is refreshing and comes in attractive containers. Dracula asked God, "May I be reincarnated as a white angel with wings and still suck blood?" God said, "Okay, I will turn you into a sanitary pad". Why was two-piece bikini invented? To separate meat section from the dairy section. All men are terrorists. They always attack women on their twin towers and destroy their pentagon. Man was lying nude on the beach. A sexy babe starts playing tabla on his butt. Man: What are you doing? Girl: Playing tabla. Man turns over and says, "Can you play flute?" Mother was scolding the daughter, "I don't like the guy you are going out with. He is too dumb". "No, momma," she said, "He is going to be a doctor and he has already cured me of that illness that I used to have every month"