When the times get tough, handle them with courage and grace.

Ernest Hemingway said it best when he said "courage is grace under pressure." I couldn't have said it any better. Especially in times when our economic future appears to be grim. To many it appears that the sky is falling and there isn't a support beam in sight to hold it up. To me, that is a lot of pressure for an individual to have to handle. No wonder we are becoming a society of depressed individuals that feel they have only one solution to their problems and it is not pretty.

We all need to stand tall and have a little courage; not fear in our abilities to make ends meet and succeed during these very difficult times. I know that they are tougher than we could have ever imagined them to be; we feel that there is no light at the end of the tunnel. I have felt the same way and let me tell you one thing, that is not a healthy way of thinking.

I have not been immune to the social and economic events that have occurred either. My husband works in the metal building industry and they were very hard hit by this crisis. Hard hit to the point where 64 employees from his company were laid off with no potential rehire date in the near or distant future. He has been in the business for 30 years and now he feels like a greenhorn having to start fresh in a new career along side much younger individuals that are all jockeying for the same slim pickings. You think that we are scared; darn right we are. Life as we have known it is no longer an option. A fresh start in a new career appears to be the only way to get out of this economic sledge hammer that we have gotten hit with.

So, I feel that Hemingway was right when he said, "grace is courage under pressure." Because I feel that we can all make it through these tough times if we are able to stand up, brush ourselves off, and handle this extreme pressure "gracefully" with a little added courage.

Well, that appears to be all the time I have for now. Until next time, remember to always keep smiling because you never know who will be watching and may want to smile back. :)

Have You Had Your Identity Stolen Yet?

Hi Everyone.......

Just wanted to drop you a quick note to inform you of the #1 growing crime in America today; Identity Theft. Most of us just think of identity theft as "financial," and that we have nothing worth stealing, right? Well, I am here to tell you that this the wrong attitude to have. There are five areas of our identity that can be stolen and one can even result in our death, if not discovered in time.

How many of you have:

• handed a credit card to waiter?


• signed a credit card?


• supplied personal information over the internet?


• kept your social security card in your wallet or purse?


• left your mail in the box at your home for the carrier to pickup?


• thrown out personal infomation without shredding it first?

If you have (I am sure that all of us are guilty of at lest one of these) and have not had your identity stolen yet, count yourself as lucky and buy a lotto ticket. Someone's identity is stolen every few minutes and that is not just financial. We can also have our social security number, our driver's license, our character, and our medical identification stolen. Nobody is immune to this type of theft. Wouldn't you sleep better knowing that you are protected should this ever occur to you? Wouldn't it be nice knowing that someone was watching out for you?

What would you do? Where would you go? Who would you turn to for help? Furthermore, can they really do what they say they will? I don't know about anyone else, but I know that our company Kroll does exactly what they say they will. Kroll will not only watch your back; they will also notify you that someone is snooping around and restore any damage that this intruder may have caused to it's pre-theft state. Now isn't that a "blanket of security" that will help you sleep better at night? I know that I can breath easier knowing that I am protected.

Check out my website to get more information and get back to me.

http://www.prepaidlegal.com/idt/lisaspikberg

Until we meet again, remember to keep smiling and the world will smile back at you.

Lisa