The Silly escape from Recession!

This writing is all about providing simple solutions to recession. Most of the concepts discussed here has been published in my book: The Jawbone of an Ass: secrets to gaining financial freedom and getting out of life’s messy situations. [Feb 2008; iuniverse], I have warned my readers ahead of time about the present recession. I said it there that the tide could change, that the table could turn. I said it earlier that life is full of uncertainties and several unpredictable changes do occur. Slaves do become princes and princes do become slaves. And it can happen at any time. When home owners begin to lose their homes, when landlords, farm owners begin to lose their properties, assets; when mortgage owners begin to sleep in the streets without a shelter any more; then it is already happening.  It takes strategies, wisdom and a miracle to turn around a situation of scarcity.

Miracle in time of old is experiencing new thing, new happening, and newness. It’s when something that has never happened before happened .innovation means the same thing. There is a similarity between miracle and innovation. The stimulus package that Barack Obama’s administration is introducing is like a miracle. It is a miracle for those who have no way out of their financial mess. Somehow, a ray of hope has finally come at last; but there is more to it than that. It will only work if the right principles are adopted with it. If the same principle that Joseph used in Egypt was followed doggedly; if productivity culture, saving culture and investment culture is reintroduced with proper inspection; keen monitoring and much more constant feed backs are adopted. If consumerism is truly reduced in the people’s lifestyle, the end has come to recession.

It should be noted that God is not happy about scarcity. Through men, God will be bringing miracles into workplaces, communities, neighbors, et.al that will put an end to recession. God had made provision for this time ever before it happened. If nations facing recessions can go back to their foundations on God, and in God; there will be great turn around for them. For instance, I observed that a part of the Canadian’s Anthem said: “O Canada… we stand on God for thee”. And the American dollars have an inscription that said: “In God we trust. A part of Nigeria’s anthem has this: O God of creation, direct our noble path…”  We all seem to have forgotten where we were coming from. The founders of our land believe in someone, in some certain principles. They are divine principles. They were dependent on supernatural power. They believed in God.

Today, we have a distorted concept of God. It is so sad that an average North American does not have a religion. If s/he does; s/he does not believe in sovereignty of the God of heaven. God can be anything to some people. He is not a buddy but a bad boss. Some do not even believe in anything. Little wonder; where we are finding ourselves. The provider of life and the creator of everything have been removed from the picture. Our lives and economy is falling like pack of cards. One of the truest ways to recession proof ourselves is to start thinking of going back to God. It is time to start asking the right questions, redefining what are the bases of life? What do we believe in? Who did the forefathers trusted in? Who was their help in times of old? God is His name. He is the help of the helpless. He is our help in the ages past; He is our hope for the years to come.

Another secret to getting out of recession is to ask ourselves these questions: what are we inventing now? What are we contributing to the world? What are we giving back to the society? What new concept, what new brand are we introducing? Barack Obama’s concept of Bio-generating plant for energy production is an invention, which will make a whole lot of difference in the America’s economy. If it is whole heartedly embraced, without some people somewhere planning on how to frustrate this noble project. It will be one great way to surviving the present economic scarcity in USA. The secret is to become inventors. It is to become more creative. It is to look within for what is available as a leverage with which one can navigate the season of scarcity. It is by becoming more enterprising that recession is ameliorated.

An average individual needs to become more enterprising. Develop entrepreneurial spirit. Start your on business. Do not depend on one source of income. The fact that you are an employee does not stop you from having a trade on the side. You can use a part of your home for business. Then your home business can relieve you of the amount of tax that is being paid to the government. At your leisure, you can even make some crafts, arts, weave and paint to make some more money, rather than just wasting time playing away opportunities in guise of a time wasting game. Time is a valuable asset. A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Once you become resourceful. You would have recession proof yourself. You will be difficult to sack during downsizing.

In bid to be retained during downsizing, some staffs in some companies, try to hide information from colleagues so as to be the indispensable staff that will be retained at workplace. The point is this that is a crap way of becoming indispensable. You are insecure because you know you don’t have what it takes to be retained. If you develop yourself, acquire multiplicity skills, you will be more resourceful to the company you are working for. And you will be confident about who you are where you are. We must try to be valuable anywhere we find ourselves. We must be the solution to the system. And this can only happen if we work on our selves. If we don’t sit on our laurels; if we continue to strive to become better citizens of the state we live in.

Recession is not new. It has happened before. It has happened in the time of Joseph while in Egypt. The bible recorded how they dealt with it back then. They went into production of more goods. They also saved more than they consumed. I talked about the importance of becoming a “positive human octopus” in my book, as a way of getting out of financial mess. A means to overcoming unpalatable financial scarcity is to acquire multiplicity of skills to the end of becoming so indispensable and resourceful such that you are ever needed irrespective of whatever happens. This self development principle needs to be adopted by every individual. The next age is going to be filed with uncommon things, new concepts, innovations and more. More of these will come through people who are prepared and whose minds have been developed. What we will be experiencing will be astounding. Brands will be seriously redefined. Corporations will be diversifying at the speed of light. Individuals will be loaded. Industries all over will improve, expand, increase to what we can not but pause and ponder over. There will be true miracles in guise of innovation in all sectors, all walks of life. There will be results that systems, nations will come and study as a program is being studied in the institutions. All these and more will work as the antidote to the present scarcity and the future recession once we start doing them. Once we start contributing our individual parts right now.

THE GREAT GAMEPLAN OF GREATNESS

In asking who is the next icon of change? The answer can be found in the words of a great woman: “One can never consent to creep, when one feels an impulse to soar!” - Helen Keller

Everyone must aspire to be the next icon of change. Live beyond the trend. Maximize change. Amidst pressure of various kinds of daily lives; it could become challenging. Amidst numerous challenges, we want the edge…topping the career ladder, getting mortgage, changing homes as we change diapers, settling down, raising kids among several. Generally, our priorities differ. Considering what we face daily, amidst normalcy of daily routines, in the race for survival, there is that dilemma to be successful achievers. We want to be better, to be more. With every desire comes the will to win, to get financial secure, to become richer. And lurking secretly is the ambition to be known and famous. We want to matter in our generation. Beyond the routine of feeding our hungry stomachs; and more; becoming significant and getting better is another goal for so many. Therefore when faced with the daily decadence that looms at us; we ask how we will be able to reconcile them all. Nevertheless, we choose our path in it all. Our life moves in the direction of our heart. We chose to die or thrive in it all.

It’s a new move in the New Year and the slogan says: The change we want. If you are asking how far can you go in life? You are asking for a change. It is no longer how far you can go. It is why not go there? If you have been thinking of becoming significant; what will you allow to stop you from reaching those places this year? Haul all the fight against mediocrity! Aspire and desire the peak! Be the best you can! And if you are ready for the top; then the top is calling for you. Self-ask: how can I get there? Yes! The top is good but what is my strategy? What is my plan? How much can I give for it? What will it cost or take me? What am I giving up? Where do I love to be? And when will I like to be there? What am I giving up for it? What new move am I making daily? That is pushing me upwards? What deliberate steps? What drastic measures are my making? Somehow you must understand that you need people to get there. And that means not just ordinary people. You need to meet or make extraordinary people to reach the height you see. How do I mean? Read on.

There is a strategy to bonding with greatness. You deliberately meet people of timber and caliber, you are loved, and you are invited into their fraternity. Oh! It’s not that simple. I know. On the other hand, you can make ordinary everyday people into the ladder you climb through your influence. You can make something out of them if you are ready to give them all the resources for development, confidence they need. There is a law called the law of influence. It is an art of winning. This taught how to persuade people. There is a place for staying in, staying put and staying there throughout the process of their learning. Involvement cannot be separated from requirement for part of what qualifies you to lead. There must be a role play, a contribution, a support or more; for you to be respected and permitted to lead. There must be some inputs, some values, something you’ve given or you are giving, or you have given in time past for us to believe you are qualified to really lead. And we believe that you have to give such support, concern; tangible or intangible things all the way through leadership era and beyond. Sacrifice and leadership goes and in hand. Authority actually means responsibility according to God’s word.

Somehow, there are people who know how to relate well with other people in such a way that, through their relational skills, leadership skills; some people just like them, opportunities arise for them and through that they are able to leverage to the actual top. We must learn from such people. When you intentionally cultivate a habit of networking with people; following up with newly met guests, you are becoming a “human octopus”…someone who is able to strategically draw a team, a following, an association or a community of people. You are like a positive and healthy ganglion, spreading your self upwards. You have wings to fly to the top. Your influence is extending and it can get you somewhere. It is by being able to influence people, businesses and more. By being able to develop community of people that can surround a noble cause. That is when a society is said to have been taken. It is the responsibilities of leaders to take over communities, societies and nations for a positive reason and motive. It is not for mere men. Today, as policies, laws are changing and bills are being passed daily at each nation’s senates. We are either losing territories or gaining them.

Due to the fact that it is costly to raise a people through influence route and the processes described above; the tendency to cling to power is more rampant in today’s leaders who want authority without responsibility. In capturing a society, you cannot use force, brute methods. You will become an oppressor, a tyrant and that way, you are not really fulfilling purpose. You can never change a society by showing that society the dysfunctional it possesses. You can only change the society through models. Showing the model of what the society ought to be. The principle is still the same. In order to conquer a people; you must capture the commerce, reshape the people’s philosophies, affect their education , change their orientation, change their laws, their way of thinking, indoctrinate them in a new paradigm, lead them out into a desired culture and do everything to change their lifestyle. That is why there is a measure of assertiveness to this thing. For a people to change, it will require influence. And if the change agent is not celebrated and accepted, it will be oppressive. Sometimes, tactical compulsions or imposition may be required in the process of changing leadership. That was the way changing of kings and governors of old was done. It might be barbarous but it was result oriented. Since, it seems to me that there is no point where there will be no more war in the world. As in those days, so it is in our days. How do we then capture societies in our day without learning from history? In taking over a society; we need right strategies. Model Leaders must be detailed, thorough and result oriented. To achieve that, they need to be tutored in decision making, policy implementation and plan evaluation. They must master the art and science of team management and more. We need to measure our progress per time, per value added to the system. We must measure civilization by what we have been able to add to people’s lives beyond the city terrains. We must adopt policies that will advance our nations at grass root level upwards. The essence of our leaders’ attempting second term in office must be to benefit the society. Their coalition into new political parties must never be for recycling dysfunctional leaders. True leaders will respond more to issues in a timely manner so that things will change.

Descent culture, right values don’t just jump on people. These things don’t start overnight. It evolves in process. It takes a period of time for culture to be. It takes a true leadership and a willing followership. Our traditional clothes, music, and dressings are not all what it means to appreciate our culture. Neither is clinging to heritage and freedom which some people fought for, and for which they even laid down their lives. There must be a kind of spirit. A kind of attitude; and it has to spring from a core, not just a superficial “thing”. When people see that, they know it, they can identify who we are by mere seeing these things. In the way we live, in how we view issues and respond. And it says a whole lot about us.