"When things are bad, we take comfort in the thought that they could always get worse.
And when they are, we find hope in the thought that things are so bad they have to get better."
-Malcolm S. Forbes

Today I was talking to someone and yet another situation with a man who is facing homelessness. I am seeing a trend with these stories and I want to discuss them to continue shedding light on this topic and discuss some possible ways out.

Situation: 46 year old man, single never married, has a 25 year old daughter, and two grand children. Mother has passed away and not a strong relationships with his father. Unemployed and working gig jobs like door dash. Zero in savings and no investments. Living wherever possible (car, outside, etc)

I happen to know this person and it is frustrating to watch him go through this. To make matters worse (if they could get worse) I learned today that his car was totaled and now he's without car, home, and work since he used the car to work. This is what I consider being behind the 8 ball. But what are the options?

I begin to think, how do you help someone let this get out of this situation? The first thing that came to mind is maybe he could say with a relative? With his mother and grandparents being deceased and not having a strong relationship with his father, it creates a challenging scenario to turn to family. It appears he has uncles and aunts but most of them possibly are not in a position to take him in. That said I believe the person I spoke with was going to provide him the money necessary to stay in a hotel for a few weeks.

He indicated that he has a job coming up and would use the public transit system to get to work from the hotel; which would be a potential start from getting out from behind the 8 ball. I've talked with many young men about the importance of having gainful employment and maintaining that. If you can maintain some income and have the ability to begin to put some of that in savings, it's a timing game. However, life happens and if another crisis arise during the saving period, back behind the 8 ball one goes. In addition to saving, it's critical for him to maintain his health because without which, his employment becomes in jeopardy once again.

If the person I spoke with didn't provide him the resources necessary to stay in the hotel, he could have turned to many homeless resources that are in the city of Dallas. I was floored to see just how many resources there are for people who are struggling with homelessness. However, the challenge is, they must adhere to standards and some times people refuse the help because of the conditions attached to the help.

For those who find themselves in situations like this the following options be done prior or else the options you have are limited:

Building Healthy Relationships. I was always told growing up that your network can influence your networth. You don't build networks just for financial gain or a financial safety net but having one will sure help both situations. Three habits from the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People will help you do that.

• Habit 4: Think Win/Win or No Deal
• Habit 5: Seek First to Understand Before Being Understood
• Habit 6: Synergize

If one can exercise these habits in high school, college, and into their career - they will have a lot of folks around them that care about them to help them in a time of need; with the intent that you will never need them to.

Maintain a Healthy Life. Both physical and mental. One of the things the military trained me to do is to get a physical every year. Preventative health care is far less expensive than corrective health care. Start in high school getting yourself examined yearly. Athletes have to - I know because I played golf - don't laugh golf is a sport! Having a family doctor or even the local clinic can provide them. It's nothing more than getting your blood drawn and talking with a physician for about 10 mins. By doing this you become aware of problems that might be under the surface and you can catch them early.

Mentally, I encourage you to practice the first habit. Be aware of who you are.

• Habit 1: Be Proactive

Realize that you have a choice in life and that regardless of your situation you have the ability to respond to anything that life throws your way.

Plan. Plan. Plan. I can't stress this enough and again it's a skill that was taught to me and encouraged in me throughout my military career. Have Plan A, B, and C. Know where you want to go and where you are going.

• Habit 2: Begin With The End In Mind

Execute. Execute. Execute. Having a plan is one thing but in order for that plan to work you must DO IT! Procrastination is the number 1 kills of dreams. Why? Because we put off the first things we need to do in life. Get up, go to work, work hard, study, learn, train, relax. Repeat. The third habits helps with that. Instead of time management focus on relationships.

• Habit 3: Put First Things First

Now, again - these things won't help when you are behind the 8 ball so it is imperative that you work on these things before you get behind the 8 ball and if you do - you most likely not get behind the 8 ball. This is not an exhaustive list either but it's a great place to start. I will continue to chip away at this topic because I believe we can be better and do better but we need the accountability from each other to make it happen.

Q. How would you handle this situation? I'd love to hear your thoughts so leave me a comment below.

Lastly, I am offering Life Coaching for those who might be struggling in life. My hope is that I can leverage my life experiences to help you navigate the waters of your life and together we can help you get out of the rough waters and into smooth sailing :)