Forbes recently released their lineup of the Global 2000 (aka a grocery list for plutocracy), and surprisingly or not, banking still reigns supreme. Despite the fact that you either a) didn’t have a job last year, b) were underemployed last year, c) dodged bullets like Neo from The Matrix, or d) spent the year picking daisies in the land of oblivion, you probably heard rumors of the financial industry taking a Mike Tyson sized punch to the groin. Or did they?

We all watched as once suit-laden, now sweatpant-laden, unemployed bankers carried their sad, little boxes full of #1 Dad mugs and sanitizing wipes away from seemingly indestructible behemoths. So how did two companies becoming one end up at the top of Forbes’ food chain? My guess: a rope-a-dope (insert interpretation here).

If there’s a life lesson to trickle down (or supply-side, if you will) from Wall Street to Main Street, it’s to make yourself too big to fail. It’s difficult to dispense of the indispensable; whether you’re on a four-hour temp assignment, or the preservation of this country’s economy depends solely on your survival, proactivity beats reactivity every time. Do everything within your power to become an asset and you’ll tough out those tough times.