Nowadays, when one looks at the economic picture, it’s easy to lose hope that things will get better any time soon. The “Elite” holds 90% of the wealth on this planet and is still hoarding more and more by the minute. The environment is getting messed up, thanks to the influence the elite has, to “tailor make” any legislation to their advantage. All those jobs that we lost during the recession won’t be coming back, Period. While Wall Street is doing better than ever, the rest of the “real” economy is still sluggish. The large corporations wont rehire workers (they will outsource the jobs, at best), and the smaller companies don’t have the financial means to expand and hire. All of this will not change for a long time to come. It all seems pretty hopeless and bleak for the average person. Anger and frustration are growing, and most people feel unable to do something about it. But not so fast, I say to you my friends. There is a way out of this, and it’s not even very complicated. There are three factors that can enable the average person to improve their personal situation, help the environment and restart the economy at the same time. We will examine each one of these options, one at a time. Even if your life is going fine right now, it might still be a good idea to consider the suggestions in this post. Since this is a fairly lengthy article, I will write a follow up piece that will tie all those aspects together and show how they interact. There is no particular order to these steps, since each one by itself can already make a huge difference in your life. ? So, what is the answer, what’s the way out, what’s the first step, you ask? Starting your own business based on your passion. That’s the answer!All of us have a set of skills and talents. With a little bit of brainstorming and a little bit of research, you can find a way to start your own little business. Many economists out there agree: The next “industrial revolution” will be small, individually owned business. Now, no one expects you to start the next “multi million dollar” company. If you simply work within your niche of passion, you will do just fine, and the benefits of working out of your home or garage are multiple. No commute (saves wear and tear on your car, and of course gas money), no boss or coworker to deal with, a very positive attitude, since you are doing what you love to do, flexible schedule, independence, etc. etc. And the list goes on and on. You also don’t have to worry about competition too much. Even inside a specific niche, there is always room for sub niches. For example: One person is good at writing love stories, the other is good at writing for children. One person is good in making sandals; the other is good in making house shoes. One person is good in business consulting, the other is good in life coaching. I’m sure you got the picture. Also, don’t worry about the large companies. Yes, they are big and powerful, but they are also slow to adapt and inflexible. As more and more people worldwide start their own business the economies as a whole will start to recover. Look at all those so called “developing” nations. The reason that they are starting to get ahead, is in no small part, do to the fact, that their population is starting small individual business by the thousands. So, as you can see, there IS a way out for the average Joe. So, why not go for it? We don’t have to rely on the elite to supply us with jobs. We can make our own. We can become fairly independent from the influence and power of large institutions. You want to fight back, get rid of the anger and frustration? Here is your chance. Spread the word. With a bit of imagination, research and effort, you can make a nice life for yourself, without having to depend on the elite to give you some handouts. ? I am of course fully aware that there are many other aspects of life where we still depend on the large corporations (the Health/Pharma industry for example), where people feel helpless and frustrated, because of the dependency. A feeling, that only the rich can get a share of the pie. ? Education is one such area, and It’s also the second aspect that we will cover in this article. College tuition is rising like crazy and It’s very hard for the average family to produce the funds that will enable their children to get a collage education. As soon as you take out a student loan, you’re on the hook with the banks (elite-financial institutions) for most of the rest of your life. But that is exactly how the upper class wants it. More and more people have to go into debt in order to get an education. On the other hand, most programs that would help people to get into college are being cut. This is an old method to keep the poor uninformed and uneducated. Remember that in ancient times, only the elite (mostly the religious leaders and the aristocrats) were able to read and write. This went on throughout the centuries. Only the already wealthy had access to good education. This practice continues even today. It’s just a bit more “camouflaged”. Okay. So, again. What can the average person do about this situation? Well, this time the answer is not quite that simple. First of all, keep in mind that education doesn’t necessarily mean to get some kind of certification from a highly regarded learning institution. Education means first and foremost – to acquire knowledge. With this in mind, one can take a different approach towards learning. There are literary thousands of resources out there, on the internet, as well as subject specific courses that one can use to get a quality education. Most of those resources are free, subsidized, or of little cost. Of course, having a qualified teacher is the preferable way to go, but if you can’t make ends meet, than this is still a great way to a good fundamental education, that will get you started and very likely will open doors to you first job in your desired field. It can also give you a great advantage if you are starting your own business. There is also one more way that education can be helpful to you. If you are not happy with the current socio-economic situation, you can start educating yourself, in order to gain a better perspective as to, how and why things are as they are, and to recognize whether we are being told the truth about things. Get yourself informed online, so that you are able to make a decision based on your own conclusions rather than just copying someone else’s racist bias, fear mongering, or just straight out lying opinion. Being informed will lead to a better understanding of the relationship between national and international affairs and it will limit the ability for the rich to pull the wool over your head. Some helpful areas in which you might want to educate yourself could be: Geography, science, history, political news (from other than domestic sources). Armed with unbiased knowledge, we’ll be better able to hold our politicians accountable when they twist the facts to their advantage, or try to advance the interests of their corporate masters, rather than the interest of all people. ? Alright, now, there is one more area which can give you a little bit of power to fight back at the economic giants. And that is: Eco-friendly, or “green” living. How can a “green” attitude have any impact on our current, unbalanced socio-economic system, you might ask? The answer is: Plenty! Let me explain. If you do a little research, you’ll find that most people on this planet would readily prefer a “green” lifestyle. (Some studies suggest up to 90% of the population). Of course, when I say “green”, I don’t mean that everyone wants to become a vegetarian. What it rather means is that most people would like to use Biofuels, renewable energy, cleaner, unprocessed foods, etc. etc. . However, in the world that we live in right now, a green attitude is not ranking very high on the priority list of the large corporation. For example, we are being told that we need more oil, not less. That alternative fuels and clean-tech energy production is too expensive and the logistics would take decades to establish, and so on and so forth. This is of course all propaganda nonsense and not the truth. (Hey, some corporations, with the help of their political allies, even want to abolish the EPA). So, how can we change all this? By simply adopting a green lifestyle as much as possible. If we raise the demand for green products and procedures, the large conglomerates will be forced to change their behavior or they’ll be left behind. Rest assured if the demand is big enough, they will come around real fast, because they smell their favorite food: Money! Don’t believe it? Here is an example: Remember, way back when the recycling movement started? Back then when you were trying to recycle something, rather than throwing it straight into the trash can, people would look at you like you were some kind of nut. Today, recycling is a worldwide multi billion dollar industry. Remember the smell? Money! The same process will happen when the demand for all sorts of green products and procedures will increase. The industrial giants will still try to circumvent any law that deals with pollutants and the disposal thereof. However, with enough pressure applied, this will change too. For now, just remember how much cleaner the environment could be, if every one of us just goes a little bit green. Have you ever seen all that debris that washes ashore on the beaches? If all of those materials would be environmentally friendly (ie: biodegradable), they would be much less of a problem. Just start small, like I do. Purchase biodegradable plates and cutlery and trash bags to start with. If you are out camping or on the beach, and the wind accidentally blows your trash all over the place (or if you “forget” Jto clean up) it will still look ugly, but at least, it will degrade and become part of Mother Nature again. Of course, this is just a small, simple example, but imagine the impact we will have, if more and more demand for “green” products is generated. The positive changes will be enormous. If you think this is all just a dream in my head, simply check around online for some statistics. There are many nations around the world that have surpassed the US in the usage and development of alternative energy and other eco-friendly products and procedures. Germany, along with other European nations, is leading the way in the usage of solar and wind power. Brazil runs 70% of their cars on biofuel, which they produce right in their own country. Oslo, the capitol of Norway, an oil exporting nation, has the highest number of electric cars on its streets. So, if they can do it, why are we being told that It’s too complicated? ? I am certainly aware that there are many more issues out there that need to be addressed. As time goes on, I will try to present my point of view, and also deal with whatever will be the current important issue at that time. For now, let me close with this: If all of us get up, get ourselves educated, go green and use our individual passions to build a little business, then we will have an impact and become more independent of the large corporations who are trying to tell us what’s possible and what not. ? I hope this article gave you a few helpful ideas and insights into what really is possible. Join me and spread the word. As always, I am looking forward to your comments and suggestions.
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