Oh God! It's so hard to make a living nowadays. Everything is so expensive. When I go to the petrol station, gas's more expensive. In the supermarket, food is so expensive. Even joining Toastmaster's is getting more expensive as well.

The only cheap thing is my salary! I gotta give money to my mom. I gotta spend money on my car and living. I just can't imagine if I got married and have kids, How can I survive! 

One day, I saw a great book, “How to Get Rich!” Then I found out the reasons why I'm struggling! Because I'm not learning new things; I'm not improving “My Own Value”. It's also because of “Globalization”!

Globalization is the process that companies try to expand their business on a Global base, in order to make more profit and Cut Cost. Cut cost… That's why they cut my salary! And that's why our jobs will be taken over by Chinese and Indians, because their salaries are much lower than ours. 
　

Imagine one day, a Chinese guy became your boss, and said “We, Chinese, can work twice as hard as you can, but we are 4 times cheaper! I'll hire Chinese to replace all of you. So you are fired. Ok ok, get out get out…”  
　

Will that happen to me? Yes, it's possible, because in the future, we all have to compete with people all over the world. Our performance will be evaluated based on Global Standards, not just Taiwan's.  
　

Many years ago, life was much easier. There weren't so many competitions like now. Education was not as common as well. If you had a college degree 20 years ago, you could be a manager somewhere right after graduation.

My uncle only had a high school diploma, but he was able to get a job from the government. And he was just so laid-back at work all the time. (Yawning… Reading papers… Come, come, come… Making tea, making tea, Ah, by the way, play majung after dinner tonight huh? Everybody come to my house. Ah, 4:00 already, about time to go home, bye bye…)  
　

That was many years ago. Now, our work environment is totally different. The world has become much more dynamic and complicated. As I am a hard-working, ambitious young man, I wanna fight for my Future! 
　

My first step: looking for my own advantage. Ok, I got a college degree, I can use computers, and I can speak English! Yes, Fantastic! However, when I look around, college graduates are everywhere! And everybody can use computers.

What? All you guys can speak fluent English! Some people are even learning German, French, Spanish, Arabian, Russian, Japanese, Indian, Korean, Portuguese, and Simplified Chinese! Oh No! I'm not competitive any more. What am I supposed to do!
　

I can go back to read my bible again! Finally I got the answer! In the future, learning and thinking is the key to our success.  
　

Now we are living in the world where the changes are dramatic, but Time is limited. So we need to focus on learning the Expertise that is the most valuable to our career path. And Think about how to create new ideas and strategies to deal with the challenges and circumstances in the future. The learning and thinking ability is the most unique advantage that won't be taken away by anybody. Learning and thinking is the most effective way to increase our value. 
　

However, sometimes we can be lazy, lack of motivation, and make excuses for ourselves. (Ai ya! working all day, so tired! Let's watch TV first!) Stop! You can't afford to just sit back and waste your time any more. Because there are millions of people are catching up and trying to rob your jobs! You have to be disciplined. Make your plan, and stick to it! 
　

My friend Lucy was a secretary. I thought her job was SO boring because all she had to do was answering phone calls, typing, and taking care of the stupid schedule of her boss. And her paycheck.....she didn't want to talk about it. But she was Positive! She told me: (Frankie, I'm so happy to work with my boss; I can learn negotiation, management, decision-making, and many other skills!!)

Wow! Lucy also spent a lot of time on reading, taking courses, and planning for her career. Now, she has become the manager of her company. Not only her hard-working paid off, but her Positive Attitude is also the key to her success.