Tips On How To Make Passive Earnings Online

“When I lost my job, I felt as if someone had thrown a bucket of cold water over me. My self-esteem suffered terribly.”—Tony, Germany.

“I was very discouraged when I lost my job, and I was anxious about whether I would be able to find another one.”—Jaime, Mexico.

WORLDWIDE, millions are enduring the same plight as Tony, Mary, and Jaime. About the turn of this century, it was estimated that 10 percent of the workforce in Europe and Central Asia—some 23 million people—were looking for work. In some less-developed lands, more than a quarter of the labor force is without paid employment. In the United States, “nearly 2.6 million jobs have disappeared over all during the last 28 months,” declared The New York Times in July 2003.

In many lands the search for employment presents serious obstacles. For example, each year a tidal wave of high-school and college graduates floods the job market. In addition, having a degree or specialized training is no guarantee that one will find work in a chosen profession. Thus, it is now quite common for people to change jobs several times during their working life. Some even have to change careers entirely.

If you find yourself unemployed, what can you do to improve your chances of finding work? And once you find a job, what can you do to keep it?

Five Keys to Finding a Job

WHO obtains the best job? Is it always the most qualified applicant? “No,” says Brian, an employment consultant. “The job often goes to the most effective job seeker.” What can you do to become a more effective job seeker? Let us consider five suggestions.

Be Organized

If you have lost a good job or have been unemployed for some time, it is easy to become downhearted. “When I first lost my job, I was optimistic about finding another one,” says Katharina, a dressmaker in Germany. “But as the months dragged on and I was unable to find work, I became depressed. Eventually, I even found it hard to talk about the subject with my friends.”

How can you counteract feelings of hopelessness? “It is crucial that you establish your own ‘workday’ schedule so that you start your day knowing what is to be done,” suggests the book Get a Job in 30 Days or Less. The authors recommend that you “set daily goals and record what you have done.” In addition, they say that “each day must start with your getting dressed for work.” Why? “Being dressed properly will give you added confidence even when talking on the telephone.”

Yes, you must make it your job to find a job, no matter how long it takes. Katharina, mentioned earlier, adopted this businesslike approach. She says: “I obtained the addresses and phone numbers of prospective employers from the employment office. I responded to newspaper ads. I studied the phone book and made lists of companies that might have jobs that were not yet advertised, and then I contacted them. I also compiled a résumé and sent it to these companies.” After such systematic searching, Katharina found a suitable job.

Access the Hidden Job Market

The fisherman with the largest net is the one most likely to catch fish. So, too, your knowing how to increase the size of your “net” will improve your chances of landing a job. If you are looking for work only by responding to newspaper or Internet advertisements, the majority of available jobs may be slipping past your net. A good number of jobs are never advertised. How can you gain access to this hidden job market?

In addition to responding to advertisements, like Katharina you must set aside time each week to call on businesses that you think may have jobs you can do. Do not wait for them to advertise positions. If a manager says that he has no work, ask him if he knows where else you might look and specifically to whom you should speak. If he offers a suggestion, make an appointment with that company, stating the name of the person who referred you.

Tony, mentioned in the preceding article, found a job this way. “I took the initiative to contact companies even though they were not advertising,” he explains. “One company said that there were no vacancies at present but that I should try again in three months. I did, and I obtained a job.”

Primrose, a single mother in South Africa, did something similar. “While I was attending a first-aid course,” she says, “I noticed a new building being constructed across the road and discovered that it was going to be a nursing home for the elderly. I repeatedly tried to make an appointment with the superintendent of the facility. He finally told me that there were currently no jobs available. However, I kept returning to see if I could work there, even as a volunteer. Eventually, I was employed on a temporary basis. I applied myself to whatever tasks I was given. As a result, I gained additional qualifications and obtained a permanent job at the facility.”

You can also ask your friends, family, and other associates to help you access the hidden job market. This is how Jacobus, a safety officer in South Africa, found a job. He says: “When the company I worked for went out of business, I let friends and family know that I was looking for work. One day a friend of mine overheard a conversation while in line at a supermarket. One woman was asking another if she knew of anyone looking for work. My friend interrupted and told the woman about me. An appointment was arranged, and I got the job.”

Be Adaptable

To increase your chances of finding work, you must be adaptable. Jaime, mentioned in the preceding article, observes: “It is unlikely that you will find a job that has everything you hope for. You need to learn to be content with employment that is less than ideal.”

Being adaptable may mean overcoming prejudice against certain types of work. Consider Ericka, who lives in Mexico. Trained as an executive secretary, she was initially unable to find the kind of work she preferred. “I learned to accept any suitable work,” she says. “For a while I worked as a sales assistant. I also sold tacos on the street and cleaned houses. Eventually, I was able to find a job in my field of expertise.”

When Mary, mentioned in the preceding article, lost her job as a clerk, she too saw the need to be adaptable. She explains: “I wasn’t adamant about finding the same type of work I had been doing. I followed up each job opportunity that came along, even if it involved what some might consider menial work. As a result, I was able to find work to support my two children.”

Produce an Effective Résumé

For those applying for executive positions, compiling and distributing a professional résumé is a must.* But no matter what job you seek, a well-prepared résumé can be a great asset. “A résumé tells potential employers not only who you are but also what you have accomplished and why they need you,” says Nigel, an employment consultant in Australia.

How do you compile a résumé? Provide your full name, address, phone number, and e-mail address. State your objective. List the education you have received, highlighting any training and skills that relate to the job you are seeking. Provide details of previous work experience. Include not only what you did but also examples of the goals you reached and the benefits you brought to your previous employers. Also highlight aspects of your previous employment that qualify you for the job you are currently seeking. Include personal information that describes your qualities, interests, and hobbies. Because companies’ needs differ, you may have to adjust your résumé for each application.

Should you produce a résumé if you are applying for your first job? Yes! There may be many things you have done that qualify as work experience. For example, do you have hobbies, such as woodworking or perhaps fixing up old cars? These can be listed. Have you engaged in any volunteer work? List the type of volunteer work you have done and the goals you have achieved.

Do you think that riches would make you happy? If somebody gave you a large sum of money, would you not be pleased? Probably you would. Likely you could think of ways to spend it.

ADMITTEDLY, there are plenty of things to buy to make life more comfortable and enjoyable. Money can also serve “for a protection” against unexpected problems, such as disease or unemployment.—Ecclesiastes 7:12.

But what is the relationship between money and happiness? Do you think, as many do, that happiness is a by-product of wealth? Finding the answers to these questions may be difficult because money can easily be measured, or counted, while happiness cannot. You cannot put happiness on a scale and weigh it.

Then, too, some rich people seem to be happy, while others are miserable. The same is true of those who are poor. Still, most people—even those who are already wealthy—believe that more money will bring them greater happiness.

One person who wrote about such matters was King Solomon of ancient Israel. He was one of the richest men who ever lived. You can read a description of his enormous wealth in the 10th chapter of the Bible book of First Kings. Notice, for example, that verse 14 states: “The weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one year amounted up to six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold.” That figure is equivalent to 25 tons of gold. Today, that much gold would be worth well over $200,000,000, U.S.!

Yet, Solomon was not merely rich; he was blessed by God with wisdom. The Bible relates: “King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. And all the people of the earth were seeking the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom that God had put in his heart.” (1 Kings 10:23, 24) We too can benefit from Solomon’s wisdom, since his writings make up part of the Bible record. Let us see what he had to say about the relationship between wealth and happiness.

Can Riches Make You Happy?

King Solomon knew the value of money. He wrote: “Bread is for the laughter of the workers, and wine itself makes life rejoice; but money is what meets a response in all things.” (Ecclesiastes 10:19) Dining with friends can be most enjoyable, but to obtain bread or wine, you need money. Since money is the means by which material things are obtained, it “meets a response in all things.”

King Solomon knew the value of money. He wrote: “Bread is for the laughter of the workers, and wine itself makes life rejoice; but money is what meets a response in all things.” (Ecclesiastes 10:19) Dining with friends can be most enjoyable, but to obtain bread or wine, you need money. Since money is the means by which material things are obtained, it “meets a response in all things.”

THOUGH Solomon was fabulously wealthy, he knew that riches have their limitations. He recognized that a materialistic way of life does not unlock the door to happiness. He wrote: “A mere lover of silver will not be satisfied with silver, neither any lover of wealth with income.”—Ecclesiastes 5:10.

Suppose a wealthy person obtains even greater wealth. Solomon says: “When good things become many, those eating them certainly become many.” (Ecclesiastes 5:11) As a person’s “good things,” or possessions, increase, more people are needed to care for them. Repairmen, caretakers, servants, security people, and others—all must be paid for their services. In turn, this requires ever more money.

Such a situation has a direct bearing on a person’s happiness. The Greek historian Xenophon, who lived in the fourth century B.C.E., wrote down the comments of a poor man who had become rich:

“Why, do you actually suppose . . . that the more I own, the more happily I live? You are not aware,” he went on, “that it gives me not one whit more pleasure to eat and drink and sleep now than it did when I was poor. My only gain from having so much is that I am obliged to take care of more, distribute more to others, and have the trouble of looking after more than I used to have. For now many domestics look to me for food, many for drink, and many for clothes, while some need doctors; and one comes to me with a tale about sheep attacked by wolves, or of oxen killed by falling over a precipice, or to say that some disease has broken out among the cattle. And so it looks to me . . . as if I had more trouble now through possessing much than I used to have from possessing little.”

Another reason why people pursue ever more wealth is that they are beguiled by what Jesus Christ called “the deceptive power of riches.” (Matthew 13:22) They are deceived because in these riches that they so ardently seek, they never find the satisfaction or happiness they expected to find. They reason that what limited wealth fails to do, greater wealth will do. So there is a constant striving for more.

Love of Money Does Not Lead to Happiness

Concern about his possessions may prevent a rich man from enjoying a peaceful night’s rest. Solomon writes: “Sweet is the sleep of the one serving, regardless of whether it is little or much that he eats; but the plenty belonging to the rich one is not permitting him to sleep.”—Ecclesiastes 5:12.

When worry about the possible loss of one’s wealth is taken to an extreme, more is involved than lack of sleep. Describing the miser, Solomon writes: “All his days he eats in darkness itself, with a great deal of vexation, with sickness on his part and cause for indignation.” (Ecclesiastes 5:17) Instead of finding happiness in his wealth, he eats ‘with vexation,’ as though he begrudges even the money he has to spend for food. Such a sick mental outlook may contribute to poor health. In turn, poor health adds to the anxiety of the miser, since it hinders him from amassing greater wealth.

Perhaps this reminds you of what the apostle Paul wrote: “Those who are determined to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and many senseless and hurtful desires, which plunge men into destruction and ruin. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things, and by reaching out for this love some . . . have stabbed themselves all over with many pains.” (1 Timothy 6:9, 10) In the pursuit of money, people cheat, lie, steal, prostitute themselves, and even commit murder. The result is a person stabbed with emotional, physical, and spiritual pains because of trying to grasp and hold on to riches. Does this sound like the road to happiness? Hardly!

Being Content With What We Have

Solomon had more to say about a balanced view of riches. He wrote: “Just as one has come forth from his mother’s belly, naked will one go away again, just as one came; and nothing at all can one carry away for his hard work, which he can take along with his hand. Look! The best thing that I myself have seen, which is pretty, is that one should eat and drink and see good for all his hard work with which he works hard under the sun for the number of the days of his life that the true God has given him, for that is his portion.”—Ecclesiastes 5:15, 18.

These words show that happiness does not lie in striving to stockpile wealth for a time that may never come for us. Far better it is to be satisfied and to rejoice in the results of our hard work. The apostle Paul expressed a similar thought in his inspired letter to Timothy, saying: “We have brought nothing into the world, and neither can we carry anything out. So, having sustenance and covering, we shall be content with these things.”—1 Timothy 6:7, 8

The Key to Happiness

Solomon possessed an abundance of both riches and godly wisdom. But he linked happiness with wisdom, not with money. He said: “Happy is the man that has found wisdom, and the man that gets discernment, for having it as gain is better than having silver as gain and having it as produce than gold itself. It is more precious than corals, and all other delights of yours cannot be made equal to it. Length of days is in its right hand; in its left hand there are riches and glory. Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its roadways are peace. It is a tree of life to those taking hold of it, and those keeping fast hold of it are to be called happy.”—Proverbs 3:13-18.

Why is wisdom superior to material possessions? Solomon wrote: “Wisdom is for a protection the same as money is for a protection; but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom itself preserves alive its owners.” (Ecclesiastes 7:12) While money provides a measure of protection, enabling its owner to buy what he needs, wisdom can safeguard a person from taking risks that may jeopardize his life. Not only may true wisdom save a person from a premature death but, since it is based on a proper fear of God, it will lead to the gaining of everlasting life.

Why does godly wisdom lead to happiness? Because true happiness can come only from Jehovah God. Experience proves that genuine happiness can be gained only through obedience to the Most High. Enduring happiness depends on an approved standing with God. (Matthew 5:3-10) By applying what we learn from a study of the Bible, we will cultivate “the wisdom from above.” (James 3:17) It will give us happiness that riches can never bring.