Passage to Empowerment
If there is one thing the coronavirus “lockdown” has provided it is time to think.
And what many people have recognized is this form of “house arrest” has provided them with a window to gain more knowledge and skills to use on a practical level.
I would argue that gaining more knowledge and skills is never more important than at this juncture during what I describe as the “disruptive decade” of the 2020s.
But most people are poorly prepared for what is coming.
RAPID CHANGES
Those who take advantage of this break in normal life and seek to build knowledge and skills may be putting themselves in a better place to handle the challenges of the 2020s.
Leaving aside the coronavirus crisis, all the signs in the lead up to 2030 point to rapidly changing work, business and society as big companies rush to embrace more automation, artificial intelligence, the blockchain, and high-tech forms of communication, including the “Internet of Things”.
This will be a decade of disruption on all levels – politics, economy, and society.
There are some who are willing to embrace this new society, adapting themselves, learning the right skills and putting in the effort to build the right knowledge to “ride the wave” of this decade.
But will you end up being autonomous and empowered or end up as a slave to the system?
MASSIVE PROBLEM
While it makes sense to hurry to embrace new skills and knowledge, there is a massive problem and it is not easy to solve.
What is this new reality? And what is our understanding of how society works and is changing?
Even at this point in time, we are slaves to the system. The big problem that we face is we are programmed in our families, in school, college, TV and the media to accept views of society that may at times be at odds with reality.
Most of the time, we don’t recognize we are caught up in the system and are dependent on it.
We are programmed to fit in. Those that question the status quo are often laughed at or attacked.
It takes guts to question the norm.
YOUR MISSION
Interestingly, this crisis surrounding the coronavirus pandemic is proving a wake-up call for some – and a reminder that most people are caught up in The Matrix, stumbling like actor Keanu Reeves to make sense of things in this 1999 movie.
What will you take – the red pill or the blue pill?
Most people have allowed themselves to be cowed by their governments to overreact and lock themselves up in their homes. Let’s admit it, we all followed orders and did not do enough initially to ask questions. This is not to suggest there is not a threat. But we are being frightened and being misled.
Now, a growing number of people are waking up.
Your mission, I would argue, is to ask questions, do your own research, and build knowledge so that if you want to “survive and thrive” this year and through the 2020s you have a better understanding of what is really happening to society.
If you want to empower yourself with skills and knowledge to ride the wave of the 2020s, it helps to build on a bedrock of truth and understanding.
DON’T BE FOOLED
Truth is not always easy to find but you owe it to yourself to raise questions.
If we are looking at the 2020s, you may want to “work within the system” – that’s your choice. You may want to “play the system” – take advantage but maintain some distance. Or you may want to seek to “distance yourself from the system” – even to the point of trying to go off grid.
For example, maybe your skills reside in the engineering field. You might seek to get a job in a telecom company seeking to roll out the Internet of Things. This would appear to be forward-looking. But have you done your research into what this new development really means?
Maybe you are an expert coder who is working on your skills. Maybe your mission is to work online remotely and avoid living in a city and having the responsibilities and restrictions that go with that. Maybe you have organized your assets and finance so that you are largely autonomous.
EMPOWERMENT
True empowerment comes from a deep understanding of the world you live in and having the knowledge and skills to make the best of things for yourself and your family.
As I suggested in my earlier posts and my video series 2020 RIDE THE WAVE, we are in for massive changes to work, business and society during this “disruptive” decade.
The pandemic scare should be a wake-up call.
Question what you are being told. Question everything.
Nobody will gain a complete picture of the complexity that is our world today.
But those who do their research, build their knowledge, and build the right skills could be the ones to gain empowerment.
Are you ready to get empowered?