Now is the time to make your move. We know there are a lot of people who are freaked out by the times but the low point is the perfect time to make a major push for success. Let's slow down and look at the situation rationally. The economic implications for the common person are dire. The situation simply doesn't look good. There are small businesses that might go down and people aren't able to work due to the nature of many of their jobs. People need supplies and can't afford to pay the cost for them because at any time there could be an emergency. And it's that type of situation that really makes us panic. The uncertainty, the possible financial ruin, the fear of a health crisis reaching the home, the flawed statics and concern for loved ones, and the mainstream media's sensationalism adding fuel to the fire are all major factors. When people are scared, they become irrational...We're not being insensitive here, we're being honest. The simple truth is there is a way forward from this. All hope is not lost, things will eventually be fine, and you're wrong. Yes, you're wrong. Let's start with that. The immensely wealthy can hunker down and hold out for the end of the crisis. Most of us can't. However, their companies need workers they don't have as much access to right now. Can they destroy and rebuild? Absolutely. However, the real question is, do they want to make the investment to? Nope! They can afford to start over but they don't want to start over. Starting over takes time and lots of money they can't guarantee they'll get back in their lifetimes. What do we mean by, "now is the time to make your move?" You know what big corporations also don't want to do? They don't want to invest in change. The difference is that change is inevitable. They're well aware of that. It's not that they never want change, it's that they're very slow to make real changes. That's because of the up front costs. Here's the thing. The cost of making the change now is lower than the cost of entering a deadlock and waiting out the crisis. Businesses thrive on human ingenuity and production. If you're not being productive, they're missing out on revenue. No options are off the table if you're persistent.Work from home is one of the obvious solutions to the problem. True, not everyone has that option. But many do, and those people's productivity will keep companies afloat. That will keep the economy going, even if it's a lot slower. It's much better than a total standstill. Many positions at many companies are already applicable for work from home but there's a strange attraction to power for the current wealthy. They don't allow it because they're "scared you won't do the work." But you can't afford not to. See, you've got a lot to lose by playing the system. You know what else? There are PLENTY of people who will see how good you've got it and find themselves jockeying to take your job as soon as you lose it. Work from home is highly desirable. Even when working full-time, your work / life balance will go up. Imagine not having to waste 2 - 4 hours of your life on getting ready for work and going to work. Look at how much more personal time you'd have. In the worst case for commuters, you burn 4 - 5 hours preparing for, and traveling to, your workplace each day - especially if it's a good office job. No one wants to miss out on good money and a better job for something as trivial as sleep and convenience. Just think about what you could do with that extra time. You could resume your studies, you could catch up on your reading, you could catch up on your chores, you could catch up on your movies and shows, you could catch up on your gaming, you could get back in shape, you could reestablish communication with connections you thought were lost, you could spend more time with your family, or you could start a home business. That's a lot. Would it be easy? No. But would it be worth it?It would be worth it to explore these other options. A lot of doomsayers are either crazy or don't know what valuable skills they already have that would qualify them for remote work. Are you multi-lingual? You could be a translator or subtitler. Those are real professions. What would you have to do? Break out the ol' computer / smartphone / tablet, learn how to type at least 30 words per minute, do a Google search for these particular jobs, apply to every one you see, follow up regularly, and wait for an offer. Do you have a strong command of your primary language, read a lot, and read and retain quickly? Follow the above steps for an editing position. Do you have a great story and a reputation for telling great stories? Do the same for a writing position. Do you have a passion for current events, have a flexible opinion, and hold a conversation well? Start a blog or become a virtual journalist. Are you clean, creative, crafty, and a collector of materials? Make and sell children's toys, build that cool dream gadget you didn't have a chance to before, or invent and sell a handy tool that you think people need. All you can do is type? There are a plethora of real data entry positions available too. Tech savvy and good with troubleshooting computers? Look into providing managed services [a tech support role]. Medical staff could trim the fat and start small clinics to administer care for cash. No access to valuable medication to treat the disease? Be flexible in your thinking. You already trimmed the fat to dramatically reduce medical costs. You also have connections that most other people don't have. Hit the internet and recruit some pharmacologists to join your team. With all of the disposable income you have, you could purchase a little equipment and be up and running in weeks. High costs perturb patients and scare them away from seeking medical attention. Do your own thing to mitigate the issue and more patients will show up at your door for help. A whole new system could quickly be deployed here. There's a world of opportunity. The truth is that you have options. A lot of them. But you've been socially conditioned to believe that you can't do anything yourself, a wealthy employer has to hire you for the role. That's absolutely not true. Think about it. How were these systems formed in the first place? People did for themselves and each other. People were less inclined to seek work that was scarce and instead created their own. Merchants didn't keep looking for a job that wouldn't come to them, they built carts, found goods, hit a street, and sold to anyone who was buying. They found innovative ways to make themselves useful instead of waiting for permission to work. You think Nintendo was started by someone who spent 40 years of their life working for enough start up capital to finally found a consumer goods and video game production company? If so, you'd be wrong. Nintendo started as Nintendo Koppai by making playing cards in 1889. By hand. That's an actual fact. It didn't start as a major corporation or large company either. Fusajiro Yamauichi started the company with one small shop, making and selling the cards, then expanded into a series of shops. Why can't you do that? And for our next trick...Rationalism can and does prevent and solve a ton of problems. The Nintendo mention brings us to our next subject: gaming. If nothing else convinced your inner gamer, this point ought to. When people are home for longer, gaming won't just thrive, it'll be catapulted forward. Remember when we discussed catching up on your games? Why not record it while you're at it? Why not learn a few editing tricks and upload it to streaming platforms like YouTube as well? Why not make that Twitch or Mixer channel too? Why not use that to land some endorsements as your channels grow? Advertisers are relentless; they never stop. Why not exercise your talents and expand into other content too? Hell, why not recruit other remote workers, build a small team, and make one? If your idea is small enough, why not just take a Udemy course for $12.99 and make it yourself while you learn?
The world doesn't stop turning no matter what happens to it and civilization doesn't have to grind to a halt because of a pandemic. We've survived these countless times and had far worse pandemics. Since only October, influenza has killed more than 40,000 people in the US alone. You don't even blink at that annual threat. We made swine flu look like barely a blip on the radar. SARS? It was really bad and we didn't stop then either. How about the Spanish flu? That infected 500 million people and killed at least 10% of the infected. That's 50 million people who died! Over 3% of the global population was extinguished just like that. We're still here and we didn't have the medical technology, the technique, the number of medical staff, the quality of care, the helpful drugs, the cleanliness, the production, or the scientific achievements or resources we have today. We weren't ready for that back then but we're damn sure better prepared than we were when that monster hit us. This is not the end of the world. Not even close. Anyway, when more consumers are home, they invest more time into entertainment. A whole market just opened into a gaping maw. There's so much room to get in that you won't even bump shoulders with anyone unless you want to. You might as well be traveling through the asteroid belt, where scary big space rocks are millions of miles from their closest neighbor. Think that's not a lot? Think again. An asteroid the size of Texas would travel at least a week to only pass its closest neighbor. It's not even likely to make contact. Earth's equator is only about 25,000 miles. You think that's big? They'd have to travel on average 2 million miles to even say hi. Those boulders are quite literally worlds apart. You've got that kind of room to start something great and help completely reshape the global economy. Why are you just waiting? What you do could create hundreds of jobs for other people; a large number of them remote positions. Now imagine if thousands of you did it. Get on it! That's what we're doing. |