Don't worry about money.(돈에 대해 걱정하지 마십시오)

 

개인적으로 2억 이상의 가치가 있는 비지니스를 잃게 되었습니다. 월 육칠백만원의 수입도 끊기게 되겠지요. 제법 많은 돈을 주고 사업체를 인수하여 운영한지 꼭 2년만의 일입니다.

비지니스를 시작하여 많은 고객들을 사귀었고 그들과 친구가 되었습니다. 늘 웃으며 일하니 에너지를 받는다며 다른 가게로 가던 고객들이 저희에게로 찾아왔습니다. 늘어나던 고객 때문에, 인수했을 당시보다 늘어나는 수입 때문에 기뻐하려던 순간 가게의 문을 닫아야 할 상황이 된 것입니다.

젤러스(Zellers)라는 대형 소매점의 스페이스(공간)를 임대받아 하는 사업이었습니다. 허드슨 베이 컴패니(Hudson's Bay Company/HBC)의 소유였던 젤러스 프랜차이즈를 타켓(Target)이라는 회사로 넘겼습니다. 허드슨 베이는 젤러스를 넘기며 많은 돈을 챙겼지요. 론스타가 외환은행을 통하여 돈을 챙기는 것에 비유할 수 있을지도 모르겠습니다.

타켓은 미국에서 월마트(Wal-Mart) 다음으로 큰 대형소매점 체인인데 의류분야에 강점을 가지고 있는 회사이지요. 캐나다 시장에 진출하려고 캐나다 전역에 백 수십 개의 매장을 가진 젤러스를 인수하게 된 것입니다. 이미 캐나다 시장에 진출하여 매장 수를 늘여가고 있는 월마트를 따라잡으려는 전략인지도 모르지요.

비지니스를 잃게 되면서 안타까운 마음이 드는 게 사실입니다. 인수 후 열심히 노력하여 이제 좀 허리를 펴나 싶었더니 또 다시 바닥으로 내려가야 할 환경으로 내몰렸습니다.    

토론토에서 발행되는 메트로 뉴스를 읽다보니 도움이 될 만한 기사가 눈에 들어옵니다. 혹 비슷한 상황에 있는 분들과 나누고 싶어 옮겨 놓습니다.  

 

<You worry about money — maybe a little too much?> 

According to Charles Richards, author of The Psychology of Wealth, money doesn’t just indicate power, but has power — we are infused by its energy. And if you’re not prepared to manage that energy constructively, it will manage you, often negatively. Here are four typical situations on how to deal.

 

I’ve lost my job and my money. How can I find the will to live?

“Situations can change in a heartbeat, so when your identity is tied to what you have or what you do, it’s a dangerous place to live from,” says Richards. “If being rich, popular and successful gives you meaning and for some tragic reason you can’t be that person anymore, you could think your life is over. Connect with a deeper part of yourself (spiritual belief or meditation) that goes beyond what you have and what you do.”

 

I’m petrified of failure.

“Don’t let fear of failure stop you from moving forward,” says Richards. “Successful people fail many times but they just persevere and take full responsibility for what is going on. Failure is a problem but there’s always a way out of it, just as long as you use a little initiative to find out what that is.”

 

All I want in life is to make money. Is that healthy?

“You can be rich financially but have a poverty of soul if that wealth is just self serving. Anyone aiming for greater financial success should serve a higher purpose (philanthropic or spiritual, environmental or health) or strive to empower others.”

 

All this recession talk is making me anxious. How can I stay upbeat despite the current financial turmoil?

Stop listening to the messages of doom and gloom all the time. “Do you want it to be your reality? No, so shut out the drumbeat that comes from the media. Yes, there’s a reality to what’s going on but if you allow yourself to be influenced by the media bombardment about financial meltdown and hardship then it’s going to become a reality for you. Don’t assume it’s going to become your truth and it won’t.”

 

I’m in financial trouble — I can’t think, I can’t sleep and I’m super stressed!

You can’t ignore the practical reality. You have to face it head on. “Make a plan with clear goals to ease the stress and turn the situation around. This will take discipline, delayed gratification, practical thinking and decision-making. Financial challenges can be positive in that they stimulate creativity as you are forced to find a way out. once your self worth is healthier you tend to be more expansive in your thinking. You won’t be successful until you are willing to take responsibility.”

 

Financial tips

1. Change your mindset when it comes to money and success. Expose yourself to information on finance and success. A short cut is to read biographies of successful people you admire so you can tap into that energy and find out how they live and think.

 

2. Set yourself clear goals and strive to meet them. one person lives in a trailer park and the other drives around in a limo. Whatever the one in the trailer is doing or thinking is likely not the way to go, so do the opposite and you can be the one in the limo.

 

3. Be fulfilled. Some people are not financially wealthy but are simply fulfilled in their lives because they do doing what their passion is and are incredibly wealthy because of that.

 

The Good-well men

These guys love making money and love giving it away.

<Warren Buffett>

One of the richest men in the world, Buffett is known as being ruthlessly frugal with his money. This hasn’t stopped him from donating an estimated 99 per cent of his fortune to charity.

<Bill Gates>

The Microsoft founder and his wife, Melinda, use their money (an estimated $56 billion) to fund the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which tackles poverty in developing countries.

<Donald Trump>

Convinced of her innocence in the Meredith Kercher murder case, the property tycoon financially supported Amanda Knox’s family throughout the trial and appeal.

 

 

<The biggest losers>

One third of multi-million dollar lottery winners lose all their new-found wealth — and often end up worse off than before they won.

 

$5.4M - Evelyn Adams hit the jackpot twice but that didn’t stop her from wasting winnings on her gambling addiction. She ended up broke and living in a trailer park.

 

 

$1.9M - Welshman Luke Pittard spent it all on a trip to the Canary Islands, a house and a wedding. And just 18 months later he was flipping burgers at McDonalds.

 

 

$93K - Lindsay Lohan didn’t exactly win the lottery but being a child star is similar in the luck department. Celebrity website TMZ reports that the actress hasn’t paid her 2009 income tax, let alone 2012.

 

<ROMINA MCGUINNESS/METRO WORLD /From TORONTO METRO Page 27, February 28, 2012>   

 

* Petrify; v, fossilize, harden, solidify, stiffen, frighten, scare, terrify, deaden, numb paralyze (vt. 돌같이 굳게 하다, 망연자실하게 하다. 생기를 잃게 하다. Vi. 돌처럼 굳어지다. 망연자실하다)