One of my aims in life is to break down any sense that we are alone, that our challenges are in any way unique or special. It’s all just stuff that gets in way of us being our best, but just like gum on your shoe, it can be scraped off.

Every relationship you get into is going to move through three nicely predictable stages. Romance is first up, being of course absolute best bit. It’s like cherry on your cake, knowing you’ve met Mr. or Mrs. Right and loving everything about them. The next stage, unless you’re taking some delusional narcotics, is inevitable power struggle. This is time when we start to establish whose needs come first in relationship. Trust me, this is where it gets messy. Do you know that according to Barbara De Angelis there are four stages a relationship moves through as it hits this struggle? These are resistance, resentment, rejection and repression. The power struggle is a nasty, painful phase and potentially we squabble in way’s we’re not proud of.

By Stephen Bucaro

First of all, don't feel alone. The U.S. has lost 2.5 million net jobs since March 2001. The average jobless stint is now five months, and many people are leaving unemployment statistic not because they found a job, but because they feel situation is hopeless and have dropped out of work force.

Where did jobs go? Did they go to Mexico where average hourly rate is $2.17, compared to $15.45 in U.S.? Mexico is losing jobs to countries like Vietnam where average hourly rate is 37 cents per hour, or Pakistan 34 cents, or China 24 cents. While U.S. economy has been stagnant for past three years, China's economy has experienced a 9% annual growth rate. The U.S. now has a $20 billion trade deficit with China.

China alone, with a population of 1.3 billion, compared to 250 million for U.S., can provide more low cost labor than this planet can ever absorb. At same time, as some jobs are being exported other jobs are being automated out of existence. Remember when an attendant was required to pump gas into your car? Remember when a human teller was required to make a bank deposit? Those attendant and teller jobs have been long gone.

Now we're seeing self-checkout machines at discount stores, grocery stores, and even at library. Say goodbye to millions of checkout clerk jobs. The buzz word for American business today is "productivity" - to produce same amount or more with fewer workers. Many businesses have increased productivity by more than a third in last four years. This is only first wave of productivity increase. Millions more jobs will be lost as computers and automation are put to task of eliminating jobs. It's American way.

As an individual who has been laid off, what should you do? As stated previously, average time required to find a new job is now five months. If you are a worker from an industry whose jobs are being exported or automated out of existence, your reentry into work force could take much longer. You need to develop a plan for your financial survival for an extended period of time.