>Steve;
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>I work in a “strange environment” for Toyota/General Motors. 18 years ago the two companies got together to build cars. GM has learned from Toyota and this has helped the quality of cars manufactured in this country.
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>We are an UAW shop and recently concluded contract negations. The two parties work well together and everyone is treated in a positive manner. There have been no layoffs since this plant opened. If you are familiar with the automobile manufacturing industry you realize what this means. We recently hired 500 people to help with the two new models we are producing.
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>I have seen a lot of changes during my working career. The words of a Ph.D. who was the president of Auto Desk come to mind. “In my working career I have held 17 different jobs 9 of which no longer exist. The key to success is continued education”! That is also my advice. I have worked in a stock room, as an electronic technician, electronic engineer and programmer. I also teach guitar and piano. Keep on your toes because what you do today may not be there a few years or days down the road. However, I think the guitar and piano will be around for a while!
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>Never become “comfortable” because that is when you neglect yourself and are venerable to the unknown. Retain a healthy quest to search for additional objectives in your life and educate yourself to meet your needs. Try and be one step ahead of the bastard called "change" – it can bite you where it hurts at any time! So far I have been “lucky” because of attempting to retain alertness to my environment. It is called survival.

And something I have always practice. However, it is a lot easier to practice when you have more brain cells. As most people get older they lose mental agility and learning becomes more difficult. So does retention of previously learned material. That is why we need a culture that cares for more than just the bottom line. But, increasingly, our culture is cutting older folks out of the market. For example, I am 60 yrs old. My life expectancy is 19.07 years. Next year it will be 18.33 years. BUT, this fall my life insurance will rise from $53/mo for $100,000 to $250/mo. It is obvious that life insurance companies want to make 'good financial decisions' and cut their loses. They do this with the unethical 'pooling' of risk, instead of spreading (amortizing) the risk. Then they drop the risker 'pools'. Talk about getting drowned by having your head held under water. It is just as bad in the health insurance industry, as I have mentioned before.