The crisis of missed opportunity...
We live during an economic crisis that is as devastating as the Great Depression of the 1930s. The difference is we entered into this crisis with much better housing, clothing, food supplies and the cushioning blows of unemployment insurance, severance pay and other safety nets. This means the initial shock was distressing but not as dramatic as the Thirties and the residual hangover will not seem as severe and less uncomfortable. That is not to say all is well with everyone or that more is not on the way.
The long term effect of this great economic downturn is overcoming high unemployment, debt overhang and the length of time to fully recover, which has every potential to make this period collectively dreary. We must individually fight colorlessness of a flat time span to make it interesting to ourselves, making an effort to overcome potential personal lifelessness. Opportunities are fewer and farther in between now and will be in the upcoming era and every chance missed is a mini-crisis of itself. It is key to take every option to learn something new, make enriching friendships, accept a job that may not be permanent or ideal, travel or see something different, whatever presents itself and take advantage of the chance while you can. You never know when learning something, such as creating a website, fixing a bicycle, cooking an omelet, participating in a focus group, learning to use an e-reader, teaching a kid to tie his shoe, taking a community class or going back to school, you get the idea...may become a skill used in or to gain employment or create your own enterprise.
Over four years ago when I started getting interested in YouTube I didn't plan on learning to make, edit and upload videos, renew my photography interest and start a new blog. After I lost my main source of income in 2007, a full-time job I'd held a long time, I used the activities of all of them to occupy my time and gain some more skills in using the internet and get involved in the social web. I took the time to learn how to use a smartphone to its fullest, rather than just as a tool for work. I had no idea then that those skills would later impress an employer to hire me during a down employment market.
Opportunities usually don't present themselves as connections to something to advance yourself, your future and make your life better. Keep your eyes on the road and wide open.
12/15/10
12/14/10
Quality
List your ideas...
Every time you have an idea or a thought that strikes you, even if you think it's half-baked, it will never work or just too off the wall...write it down. Keep these ideas and thoughts in a list you carry around with you. If they're the type that fire up your imagination right away, at the first opportunity you get start doing them. In my case it's usually writing or creating a video.
If they don't spark you off right away, are not fully formed or ready-for-prime-time, let them sit awhile and when you have a moment of feeling uninspired or needing an idea, take out the list. I'm willing to bet that most of the time at least one of them will get you going. There's also probably a very good chance that you'll also discover that several of them are linked and will create a bigger project than just one of them alone.
Every time you have an idea or a thought that strikes you, even if you think it's half-baked, it will never work or just too off the wall...write it down. Keep these ideas and thoughts in a list you carry around with you. If they're the type that fire up your imagination right away, at the first opportunity you get start doing them. In my case it's usually writing or creating a video.
If they don't spark you off right away, are not fully formed or ready-for-prime-time, let them sit awhile and when you have a moment of feeling uninspired or needing an idea, take out the list. I'm willing to bet that most of the time at least one of them will get you going. There's also probably a very good chance that you'll also discover that several of them are linked and will create a bigger project than just one of them alone.
12/13/10
12/6/10
Geography of the Mind
Lifelong Learning...
It seems to me that the people I've met throughout my life who have weathered storms and disruptions between the good times are always learning. During periods when things are going well they take advantage of opportunities to acquire knowledge while they are abundant, to learn something new while they can. It can be anything, not only formal education that is worthwhile, although that is certainly one thing to take advantage of, also anything that comes along in their work and daily lives.
When times are difficult learning manifests itself in several ways, one is that what we learn during good times becomes more valuable and is turned into a second learning connection, which is appreciating the value of past learning and the chance to really implement and expand it. Problematic junctures in life present new ways to figure things out and solve problems, learning skills on the way to a better era when past experiences can then really bloom. If our minds are constantly open to new ideas and concepts, then we stand a much better chance of passing through each passage of our lives with ease.
It seems to me that the people I've met throughout my life who have weathered storms and disruptions between the good times are always learning. During periods when things are going well they take advantage of opportunities to acquire knowledge while they are abundant, to learn something new while they can. It can be anything, not only formal education that is worthwhile, although that is certainly one thing to take advantage of, also anything that comes along in their work and daily lives.
When times are difficult learning manifests itself in several ways, one is that what we learn during good times becomes more valuable and is turned into a second learning connection, which is appreciating the value of past learning and the chance to really implement and expand it. Problematic junctures in life present new ways to figure things out and solve problems, learning skills on the way to a better era when past experiences can then really bloom. If our minds are constantly open to new ideas and concepts, then we stand a much better chance of passing through each passage of our lives with ease.
12/4/10
12/3/10
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