Perspective: How Bad Is It?

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PinkDiamond
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Perspective: How Bad Is It?

Post by PinkDiamond »

I've posted one other newsletter from Bill Boyajian before because of his thoughtful perspective on things, always looking for the pluses, while wading through the minuses looking for ways to turn them into pluses. So I thought I'd post this one for you too, since I figure we can pretty much all use a fresh perspective on things right now with the unprecedented situation we find ourselves in. ;)
How Bad Is It?

Life is hard right now. Over 100,000 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19, unemployment is at record levels, it's hard to discern correct information from mis-information, and none of us know what the future will hold.

This got me thinking about previous generations, and a look back at my grandmother's life. She was born in Armenia in 1895. At 17, she boarded a ship with a man (my great grandfather) she didn't know to cross the pond to marry a man she didn't know (my grandfather). Her parents felt that coming to America was her best shot at life because the "young Turks" were rattling their swords and threatening the lives of Christians. Arranged marriages were the only way to keep the culture alive.

When Grandma was 20, her family perished in a genocide that killed a million and a half Armenians. This was during World War I in which 22 million people died. As the war ended, another 50 million lives were lost from the Spanish Flu.

Living in rural America in the 1920s was hard. No indoor plumbing, birthing children at home, and eking out a living raising crops. And then the Great Depression hits and things get even worse. Unemployment rises to 25% and world GDP drops 27%. My grandmother is the age of most Millennials at the time with three children.

In her mid-40s World War II breaks out. Her middle son (my father) goes to war. Dad survives, but 75 million perish during the war years. Then comes the Korean War in the 1950s and another 5 million people die, followed by the Vietnam War in the '60s with another 4 million lost. The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 threatens the lives of everyone on the planet as those of us in school learned to hide under our desks in case of a nuclear attack.

When I graduated from high school in 1970, I shared with my grandmother how much she has seen in her lifetime: The advent of the automobile, commercial airline travel, and even a man on the moon in 1969. At the time, I never thought about how hard her life was because she never complained about it. She was always grateful.

I try to look ahead in life, but sometimes it's good to look back. Perspective is helpful to see life as it really is.

Bill

My goal in business and in life is to help people achieve their goals.
If I can help you, please contact me at
310.691.9562 or bill@billboyajianassociates.com

Bill Boyajian & Associates, Inc., 2069 Playa Road, Carlsbad, CA 92009
PinkDiamond
ISG Registered Gemologist


· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ ..·´ There are miracles left for you to do .... -:¦:- -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´* It all begins inside of you. ;)
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