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Overwhelm Nation: So, Keep Your Health Problems to Yourself

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The new kind of client for my tarot reading services is over-65, socially isolated and unemployed but needing work.  Fortunately for them, the obstacle blocking what they need is easily identifiable It's their health problems. That is, talking about them. Right in the first session and they only need one, I instruct: Stop talking about your health stuff. Do that and the world opens up to abundance. Everything from a social life with deep connections to access to jobs and contract assignments. Talking about your health problems has always been a social turn-off. But in this era of overwhelm, as The Atlantic documents, all kinds of negatives have become unwelcome in conversation. No longer is confiding your troubles, including glucose fluctuations, a bonding mechanism. On the New York Post, a 70-something complains about those in their orbit who share those medical details. In addition, broadcasting negative health data can knock you out the box for work. Of course, there is the A...

Aging In America: Yes, You've Lost Ground, How to Head Off Homelessness

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  It's cheaper than psychotherapy. So, the aging in angst about whatever tend to come for a tarot reading versus an appointment with a therapist.  ,More and more the anxiety is about losing traction in controlling expenses. BusinessInsider documents that reality: "The share of all Americans living below that adjusted poverty measure grew from 9.1% in 2020 to 13.1% in 2025. For Americans 65 and older, that rate grew from 9.4% to 15.4%." Homelessness isn't unthinkable. To head that off I guide those over-65 to: Be willing to pull up roots and relocate from HCOL area such as the East Coast to a LCOL one. That includes getting on waiting lists around the nation for subsidized housing. That's usually billed at one-third your income such as Social Security.  Keep working. That's income coming in. Having work tends to lead to better work.  Unretire. You probably can no longer afford to not work. There's plenty of free info on the internet how to develop job-sea...

Wage Deflation, Quality Sucked Out of Jobs, Tense Workplaces

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  It's confirmed. You're not imagining it. There really is wage deflation because of AI. The New York Times  reports: " ... occupations highly exposed to A.I. have experienced a 6.7 percent decline in real wage growth since 2023."  That's not only at the front end, that is when being hired into a job. While on the job, the employer can give you an either/or: Accept a cut in compensation or be gone. Reddit posts: "I'm in a really tough spot and hoping someone has advice. My company just announced a restructuring. They said my current role is being eliminated but offered me a 'new' position. The catch is it's the exact same job but with a 15% pay cut." In addition, the nature of the deflation can take even another form. That's dragging feet on what is usually lockstep increases in compenation. Law Fuel  notes a halt in the traditional ritual of matching the number that market-makers in the legal sector puts out there. Few law firms, so...

Mental Illness & Openness: Dial It Back

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I put it to clients this way: "Suppose you've been injured in car accident. You want the best lawyer around. Would you hire the one who's open about their clinical depression? I bet you'd wonder if they could lapse into an episode when representing you ..." That client, naive I've concluded, has been too open about their mental illness. It's a combo platter of anxiety attacks and imposter syndrome. Given that they're ambitious and functioning well at work, I present to them that their disclosures are risky. No surprise, the first card in the tarot deck is The Fool.    The message of The Fool card is to calculate carefully each and every risk. Sure, in some circles of society there is lot of interest in mental illness. Empathy too.  But I also hammer: "For the snippets of attention you receive and what may seem like compassion, you could be trading off credibility. Advancement on the job. Probability of being hired after a layoff." Therapyspea...

So Damn Lucky!

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  Folks don't come for a tarot-card reading because everything is great. No, they're troubled. Most of the time it's because they feel they have been shut out from life's goodies. And so I get to study why their wheel of fortune is moving in the wrong direction. That is, they're not lucky. What I have found is that, sure, some luck is a given. That goes by the crude phrase "the lucky sperm club."  Because your father was ABC and not XYZ you have access to the advantages of the upper classes, including healthy nutrition, braces for that bright smile, enlightened medical care, decent education, coaching in presentation of self and a gold-plated network. However, as we bear witness with the Reiner family that doesn't necessarily play out as expected. More dependable and actually an entity you create is what's known as "encounter luck."  That entails setting yourself up to be, well, lucky. In the 2005 Woody Allen film "Match Point" ...

Sex Dolls - The Perfect Non-Social Relationship

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In the $6.6 billion global sex doll industry you can customize your purchase to be the perfect fit for your needs. Yes, the perfect face, the perfect body, the perfect personality traits. On Doll Forum   you can research your options. And, if your notions of what's ideal change, there is a brisk sales/trade-in market.  Obviously, this growing sector is a sign of our post-social times. Atrophying are the skills required to have a committed human love relationship.  No, those were never easy. In the tarot those obstacles are represented by The Lovers card.  Notice right away that there's a disconnect. The curse of being separate kicks in at birth. To the left is the bad-guy snake, always up to stirring up trouble in relationships. The water, which symbolizes emotion, is turbulent. As the dramas of William Shakespeare hammer, the course of true love never runs smooth. So, why even bother?  In the 21st century, as The Atlantic documents, it's become acceptable to...

Old-Fashioned Trait Could Land You a Job

  The term is coming back.  Yes, Forbes  explicitly tells job searchers "character" gives them the edge in getting hired. That can override the usual credentials on your resume.  More often, though, what we Boomers used to refer to as "character" goes by labels, documents the Express Employment Professionals - Harris poll  such as: Reliability Honesty  Self-motivation Adaptability. Okay then, how do hiring managers screen you for those traits?  Well, it likely won't be within the formal interview process. Most often they pick up if you have character in: How you treat administrative personnel at their workplace. That goes back to the culture fundamental of interacting with the boss' assistants with deference.  What comes out in small talk. What do you really care about? Instead of framing the data center issue in your community in abstractions, you show concern for the electric/water bills of those living there. You're protective of animals. ...