Why can’t the car manufacturer design an exciting and appealing rear of their cars? How many advertisements have you seen for a new car in your favorite magazine or during a TV commercial? Have you ever noticed that most of the times the car companies show only the front or side-front view of the car? Because they have spent million of dollars on designing the front of their cars, without spending any time and efforts in designing the back/rear of a car!! Interestingly, most of us see the rear of a car more often than the front of the car! When sitting in the traffic or even in the parking lots, we always see the cars from their butts (or back). We see the front only in the magazines, car dealerships or a TV commercial.

Once I participated in a new luxury car review process where they asked me to rate the design of a new concept car, planned to be launched in next two/three years. I was really impressed by the designing of the front grills and the aerodynamic designs of the front portion. Again, I was surprised to see the ugly back of the car, which I felt was a patch up job, trying to use the existing parts from the old models. The back of the car was no way matching with the front of the car. The company was surprised by my comments (looks like that they had never heard of this comment!) and agreed to pass on this comment to their designing team.

Here are few worst rear/back car designs:

With everyone worrying about the impact of recessions on their job, there is good news for lucky few, people who are currently working in the following sectors or are in the process of acquiring jobs in these sectors:

Environmental Sector. There is a huge and growing industry geared to combat global warming. “Not only will professionals with skills in sustainability issues be in demand through the end of the decade, we are likely to shortages of professionals with ‘green’ skills,” said Rona Fried, president of sustainablebusiness.com, a networking service for sustainable businesses. Jobs in this category includes Safety officer, Environmental engineers etc.

Energy. With Obama administration backing alternate energy sources and bringing in changes to energy law, any job in this sector will remain recession proof for next few decades. Jobs related to oil and gas, alternative energy and even nuclear are likely to see strong growth. A job in this sector includes Chemical engineers, Mechanical engineers.

Health Care. Almost half the 30 fastest growing occupations are concentrated in health services — including medical assistants, physical therapists, physician assistants, home health aides, and medical records and health information technicians — according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobs in this sector include Nurses, Doctors, Massage Therapist, Chiropractors, etc.

International Business. If you have a strong knowledge of other cultures, and an ability to work in another country, you’ll find plenty of opportunities, With Globalization in every sector, understanding language, culture etc of other nations is a big asset and any job in this sector will always be in demand. If you have business skills and international language skills, you’re in good shape. A job in this sector includes International finance, translators, etc.

Security. Crime doesn’t stop during a recession, and police officers, port security specialists and international security experts will continue to be in demand. A job in this sector includes police officers, firemen, private security etc.

Education. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has historically shown teaching to be relatively recession-proof. With other nations getting ahead in education, US is putting lots of resources to get US kids back on track. People are spending money in their children future, and are even paying for private tutoring and extra-curricular classes. A job in this sector includes Teachers, counselors, professors etc.

Interestingly, even in this economy most we Americans are spending between 30- 60 minutes everyday in things which do not really matter in our lives. We are more interested or concerned about what kind of dog our president is going to adopt, which singer will make it to the finals of American idol, why Miss California lost in the Miss USA Pageant, and so on, instead on finding out ways to protect our jobs, our houses and our retirement funds.

We now need to take our lives seriously and start understanding what our priorities are. Times have changed and we too need to change. With the 30 minutes (3.5 hours/week) we spend on useless things, we can easily use the same time to learn new things or go to a local community college to learn something new so that we can either save money, move ahead in our profession or just maintain our job in this tough economy. We can learn new management skills, presentation skills, or even basic household things such as woodworking, plumbing, electrical work, etc. This will serve two purposes; it will save we money and will keep we ahead of others.

We need to start paying more attention to  our kids’ education and our health. Ask them, request them, or even force them to complete our education not only to high school level but to take at least a college or an associate degree. We do not want our kids to suffer because other nations are spending time and resources to educate their children and because our kids do not ‘like’ studying. Keep them healthy by giving them home cooked food. Just because it is ‘easier’ to prepare ready-to-cook food, it does not mean that this is the best choice. Enroll them in some kind of activities to keep them healthy. America has one the highest number of obese people. We do not want our children to contribute to that list!

Start saving every single penny, whether it means not buying a Starbucks coffee or renting a video from a local blockbuster. Why do we want to spend money when we have cheaper alternatives? In this crippling economy spending money on these “wants” can be easily avoided.. Try to prepare your own food instead of going out. This will not only save we some money but will also keep us healthy. Nothing can be worse then paying more money to put unhealthy food in our body, when we can make cheaper, healthier food at home. Check out our blog on 10 ways to save money easily and without pain!

Spend time on improving and maintaining  relationships, whether it is with our kids, our spouse, or our parents. A study has shown that people in good relationships have a longer and healthier life. Help each other in this time of need, and this decision will come back to help us.

What difference does it make if a celebrity is pregnant or is having an affair? Will this news pay our bills, our mortgage, or even help in improving our relationship. No. What benefits will we get by participating in these issues. None
Start taking charge of your life and taking care of people who are really important to us on an everyday basis. Spend more time with family rather than searching about what an actor wore to a party.

Act NOW!