In 1963 I commenced working for MLC Life Insurance Company and I was placed in the Investment Department. At that time, insurance companies provided home loans. To qualify, the client had to have 30% equity. The interest rate was 3% with a default rate of 4%.

When Jill and I purchased our first home in 1976, we borrowed at 6%. I was transferred to Cairns in 1971, and when we decided to stay and commence our business we purchased our home at 7.5% interest – our equity was 30%.

The story of rising interest rates continues and in 1982 we purchased a commercial investment property at 14%. This rose to 18% in 12 months – as did our blood pressure. But we survived. We put our heads down and worked.

And now today interest rates have risen to around 4% and news reports are full of doom and gloom. How will we be able to survive?

They are kidding. It’s not the interest rate that’s the problem, it’s the amount borrowed with only 5% to 10% equity and no forward planning to take historical interest information into account.

Tough times are a part of life. We all go through them we all have to deal with them. It doesn’t mean we have to enjoy them, of course, but like most things in life, we learn a lot about ourselves, and others, when we face a challenge.

The reality is that we can’t control the tough times. As individuals, we can’t fix an ailing economy or a tough share market, or a falling real estate market. But we can control how we react to these challenges and how we manage ourselves and how we interact with those around us.

We have all been through a host of tough times and survived. From my experience, the real threats are the negative thoughts that lead to negative actions. We need to reject negativity and embrace positivity and embrace positivity, which some people may say is living with your head in the clouds.

Over many years, the one thing that I have noticed more than anything else is those successful people, and I mean really successful people on every level of life, have great attitudes. Their attitude gets them through the tough stuff and helps them to prosper in good times.

As the legendary Queensland rugby league coach Bob Bax always said, “You can tell the strength of character of a player by how well they play on the losing side”. And isn’t that true for life in general? The tough times bring out the best in some people and the worst in others.

So who is Bob Bax? Well, this expert from the book ‘Master of the Game – Coaches Who Shaped Rugby League’ best describes him. “Bob Bax is the coach with the Midas touch. His results make him the most successful coach Queensland rugby has ever known. North of the border, Bax is Jack Gibson, Tim Sheens and Warren Ryan all rolled into one. In 18 years of first grade coaching in the Brisbane competition, Bax steered his teams to the grand final 14 times, winning 9 premierships.”

Both negativity and positivity are contagious. Only mix with the carriers of the disease you would prefer to contract. When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Bob Fowler