Below are some thoughts I have had on the Stimulus Package and what the unemployment level should really mean to us. President Obama will sign the $787 billion economic stimulus plan in Denver this Tuesday. This staggering spending plan is supposed to add 3.5 million jobs into the economy. In other words, we, the tax payer, are going to rehire all those who lost their jobs over the last thirteen months.
Without discussing the rights and wrongs of this there’s one observation I would like to make: people are still finding jobs even in this economy. So who are the people that are being laid off?
Obviously there are some people who are very talented but the companies they worked for went bankrupt and they lost their jobs. People who worked at Circuit City or Lehman Brothers would be an example of this. However, the very talented people with real skill and ability are still able to find new jobs even in this economy. The real problems are for those who are mediocre.
In a growing economy where there is extra capital and more business, companies will hire people who are decent at what they do. However, the moment the economy starts to slide and business tightens the OK people are the first to get the axe. The problem then is that those same people find it difficult to get another job and they really suffer.
The best way to prosper during this economy is to move beyond mediocrity and into excellence. The way to do this is to ensure that your career is within a field that you authentically have a passion for. This is because to become excellent you need to put in the time to practice and develop your skills, talents and abilities. You will only put the time—many solitary hours—needed to achieve excellence if you really enjoy what you are doing.
As we try and navigate the ‘interesting times’ we are in we should be asking ourselves if we are really brilliant at what we do—and if we conclude that we are not we must begin to ask ourselves some really tough questions and then find our authentic passion.
My four step program to finding your authentic passion is taught at my FREE seminars—the next one will be held on Thursday March 15th at 12pm in Evergreen. I am also happy to coach people through the process individually. If you are interested in this opportunity contact me through this site.