In honor of the holiday and in tribute to your contributions and achievements … Happy Labor Day!
For many who want to work, it will not be a happy time of year, as there just aren’t enough jobs for all those who want them.
I reported previously (and summarized here) that there are approximately 120 Million people searching for a job, a new job, a second job, or their first full-time post college graduation job … yet our economy will only be able to generate 2 Million jobs this year.
So … why can’t the economy create adequate jobs for all these that wish to work? And how did this happen?
In order to learn from history, it is actually worth taking a moment on this holiday weekend to think about what has changed, explain how we got into this circumstance, and go over what we are able to count on going forward.
As we begin, stop for a moment and ask your self, "do you remember the moment you noticed the world had changed?"
Let me inform you with a little story that has absolutely nothing, yet everything to do with the future of our world and how you fit into it.
In 1917, the United States faced an enormous difficulty. We had been working hard to compete in the industrialized economy and there was a shortage.
It was not a shortage of oil or coal or other all-natural resources but a shortage of workers; the physically obedient men and women who could be factory workers.
The solution to this economic dilemma … and it was an experiment of sorts due to the fact it had not been done before, was mandatory public school.
However, the initial objective of public school system inside the United states was not to inspire young children or generate scholars; nor was it developed for dreamers, or people who color outside of the lines, or break the guidelines and challenge the status quo.
The public school system of the early 1900s was invented to create a nation full of adults who would obediently do their job on the factory assembly line.
It was to teach kids to fit in by sitting in straight rows and organize their day using a series of ringing bells as these were the skills they would require in an effort to join the labor force. And, it was to punish those who didn't conform.
Intentional or not, this technique of turning childhood dreamers into workers was an investment in the nation's economic future. And it worked!
This led to many generations of productive and completely employed workers. But it is not working any longer.
Why? Our economy has changed. We don’t reside in an industrialized economy anymore. We live in a connected economy.
Right now, there are far more people today on Facebook than there were on the planet 200 years ago.
Technology has made it possible for us to connect instantaneously with people and ideas from anywhere in the world.
And as a result our economies have expanded from localized towns and communities to the entire world.
We've got globalized trade in almost every single way attainable.
In previous times, the obedient who did as they were told, were people who had been rewarded for working hard and putting their dreams aside to be able to toe the line.
They have been given well paying jobs and long-term careers. They were guaranteed pensions, additional benefits, and the promise they would always be taken care of.
And they have been.
But that promise is gone for most of us today.
Even if you were to have a white-collar job these days, the majority in the white-collar workers are nevertheless functioning inside a factory.
Instead of operating a sewing machine, or welding a widget, they now push pencils or type on keyboards, or process paperwork.
The work continues to be factory work because the entire focus of the day is spent on rising productivity; and this leaves small room for creativity and spontaneity or individuality.
The educated hard-working masses are nonetheless doing what they're told but they are no longer having what they deserve.
Even if you do everything you are told today … graduate from high school, go to college, get a degree, work hard in whatever job you can find, if you can find a job, you aren't guaranteed anything.
Companies are being forced, right now, to transform, or die.
Layoffs happen considerably more frequently than jobs appear and the highest paying jobs are disappearing or heading overseas at an alarming pace.
For those who have a job where your boss tells you specifically what to accomplish, they will always find someone, less costly than you, to perform it.
Did you know the average length of a job today is 4.5 years. Contrast that with the 1960s when it was 40 years.
The connected economy rewards a different group of people. It rewards individuals who see issues differently; people that don't conform.
They are people that are continuously studying; they have are educated and develop abilities in multiple areas; they're dreamers, and connectors; the have ideas that nobody else has!!
People who are willing to work really hard but understand that the old way of doing things is broken
The connected economy rewards you for not becoming a cog within the wheel of life … but for standing up and reaching out and connecting.
The connected economy rewards the connectors for actually connecting a person to a person, or maybe a business to a business, or maybe a business to a product or maybe a product to a person.
Individuals who discover how to connect will be the ones who will thrive and accel inside a connected economy.
That is certainly how the planet has changed. It's not about to change; it already has! Things are different now and they are not going back towards the way they used to be.
So, now you know that as a result of advances in technology, globalization, and a bulge in our population comprised of baby boomers, we will never be able to meet the demand for all those that choose to work.
The new Internet Economy requires we transition to an entrepreneurial economy and for this reason entrepreneurial fever is kicking into high gear.
Let me leave you with this challenge … unless you are a Blue Blood, a Trust-Funder, or have won the lottery, we all will need to work; so understand how to live life on your own terms so you can get up each and every morning doing what you like to do.
On this Labor Day weekend, I invite you to learn a completely different approach to making money. Think about how you want to work, how you want to spend your time, and how you want to Labor for your rewards. Become an entrepreneur! “Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.” Anonymous.
If you are like-minded, want to learn how to become an entrepreneur, get self employed, and work anywhere, then join me here … Passionate Professionals … Retooling Careers and create your new career blueprint that could make you rich, relaxed, and happy!
In closing, be sure to Learn How to Get Self-Employed, at my HomeBizSocial website; Obtain Some Tips About Being No 1 on Google, at aspenIbiz My Go-To-Market Partners website; and Learn How to be Savvy with Your Money Like the Insiders, at aspenIbiz The Conspiracy For Your Money blog. Happy Reading!
I hope you enjoy the posts and I trust you will find them insightful! Let me know what you think of them.
Here's to Your Success and Happy Labor Day!