A shift in thinking

I have been thinking lately that the fundamental beliefs, which are true to us all, have basically fallen apart. This is one of the, most unsure periods in history since the war
(and by that I mean World War ll).  All of the rules have changed and the goalposts have been moved. For some the game has completely changed or does not exist anymore. It is indeed a very scary time.

During the Great Depression there were more people who became Millionaires than ever before. There was a shift in the way of thinking. There will be many Millionaires as a direct result of this recession as well and there will once again be a shift in the way of thinking.

This time however going into this period in history the world was connected in a way that as such is unprecedented. We have the ability and the technology to connect immediately to each other via facebook and twitter, by websites and blogs and the news is now reported as it unfolds. Because of these technologies exposing us to the successes and sufferings of others all over the world and now because so many have lost so much as a direct result of so few, I believe there has been a shift in the collective conscience. Now more than ever people are asking why they are doing what they do? Why do we get up in the morning and go to a job, spend eight hours there and then return home? Live the life we live. Have the friends we have? What price are we paying for those things? And is it worth it?

For many years generations have gone along with the flow doing what our parents did before and never really questioning why. It is a shame that we had to get to this point before we truly asked and then listed to the answers….

Because my parents did it. Because I got a degree in it. To pay the mortgage. That’s what I thought you did.

When I left school in 1971, I joined the Army as a boy soldier. The reason I joined was because when I went to see the guidance counselor and said I wanted to be a PE Teacher, she did that stupid English thing and screwed up her face as though she had something smelly underneath her nose and…well if your English you will know the rest. So I joined the Army because I did not want to work in a factory and because I believed that you left school and got a job. Admirable but not what I truly wanted to do and the WHY was the wrong WHY.

So now more than ever people are realizing that they will spend their whole life working at something, who said it cannot be with a passion? Who said we were not allowed to make a difference? Be a Teacher? Fireman? Artist, Actor or Writer?

While tragic to many I believe we had this coming. We have allowed others to run our lives for too long and given ‘carte blanch’ to those who were in charge. For some the price has been total loss and for most of us we are finding it tough. But for many we have looked at the situation and said if this is the price I pay for following the rules then the hell with it. If I am going to be in charge of my own destiny then I get to chose how my life turns out and that means how I spend my time.

If you are wondering what the next move is and who is going to give it to you, I have the answer. The next move is what ever you want it to be and you are the one who is going to give it to you. The question we must start asking ourselves is WHY we do the things we do. I assert that to make money (While not a bad thing) is also not an inspiring enough reason anymore. If that is the only reason then we are prone to take the best paying job we can get, which we may not really be that passionate about work hard for years at it while paying a high price for it’s monetary rewards and then find ourselves out of a job when there is a change in the economy. My suggestion is to find the thing we love and are passionate about, make that our life’s work and truth that we can create an income from it. Check out these links I hope they inspire you as much as they have me.