Dear Friends and
Colleagues,
Welcome to the May
2003 issue of the
True Livelihood
Newsletter! We were
thrilled with the
overwhelming
response to the
first issue and it
is with great
enthusiasm that I
write to you again!
The theme of last
month’s newsletter
was Rekindling the
Flame - keeping hope
alive for ourselves
while working to
keep the flame lit
for the people we
serve. This month’s
theme piggybacks on
that idea – Thinking
Abundance in
Difficult Times.
With the prolific
incidence of company
lay-offs and the
continual increase
of unemployment in
nearly every sector
of North American
business, the
questions arises:
How do we respond to
the fear and concern
of today’s job
seeker that there is
more and more
competition for
fewer and fewer job
openings? Those
fears and concerns
are rooted in a
“scarcity
consciousness”. This
month’s newsletter
counters those fears
and concerns by
addressing this
question: How do we
enable ourselves to
see the limitless
possibilities and
opportunities that
exist for each of
us, in any
community, at any
point in time?
In
previous
publications I have
shared the following
classic teaching of
the lady who was
sitting on her porch
as a stranger passed
by. “Good morning,”
he greeted her as he
tipped his hat.
“What a beautiful
day! I am new in
town and quite
excited about my
prospects. I
understand this town
is just brimming
with possibility for
someone like me.”
The woman responded
gaily, “I see a
future so bright
coming your way that
it hurts my eyes to
even look at you!
Welcome to our fine
city!” And he walked
on. Just moments
later another young
man passed by her
porch. “Good
morning,” he said as
he tipped his hat.
“Boy it’s hot today.
And the mosquitoes
are biting too! I am
new in town and very
worried because I
understand there are
lots of people here
competing in a very
limited job market.”
The woman responded
in a concerned tone,
“I’m afraid you’re
right, young man. I
see a troubled
future ahead for
you. Don’t forget
where I live, if you
ever need a bit of
charity. Good lu
ck!” And he walked
on. A moment later
the woman’s husband
opened the screen
door and commented
to his wife, “Pick a
lane, dear. There
you are telling one
young man that
everything is coming
up roses and in the
next breath you’re
all pity and gloom.”
His wife, in all her
wisdom, responded,
“That’s because, my
dear, I am
absolutely certain
that each of those
young men will find
exactly what they
expect to find!”
The woman in the
story bespeaks a
basic truth:
cynicism is a
self-fulfilling
prophecy. Everything
seen through the
eyes of fear proves
itself true. In like
manner, optimism is
also a
self-fulfilling
prophecy. The world
seen through the
eyes of hope proves
itself equally true.
We may think that
everything we
experience is to
some extent a
reflection of our
minds – like looking
through a kind of
mirror which
receives accurate
impressions of
reality. But the
human mind, with all
of its attitudes and
perceptions, is the
principal element of
creation – the
creator of the
reality we see. It
should give us pause
to realize the
extent to which we
author the story of
our lives each day
and each moment, not
just in the choices
we make and the
actions we take, but
in the way we think.
Like the two
newcomers in the
story, whether we
experience scarcity
or abundance has
more to do with us
than it does the
outside world.
There is so much
about our culture
and our upbringing
that is reflective
of our minds’ bent
toward the scarcity
mentality, none more
so than in the area
of employment. The
scarcity mentality
professes that there
is not enough to go
around and that we
had better fight to
get our small piece
of the pie. From
this perspective, we
are all in
competition with
each other; it is a
dog eat dog world -
survival of the
fittest.
Anyone who has
attended my job
development training
knows that I am of
the strong belief
that there is more
opportunity for any
given member of any
community than they
could possibly take
advantage of in only
one lifetime! Our
job is to live our
lives fully and to
hire ourselves the
right employer, to
put our gifts to
work in our own
unique way. From
this perspective,
our world is
affected by our
choices and actions,
by the opportunities
we create or do not
create. I am not
competing with
anyone because there
is only one me, and
the same is true for
everyone else. By
consciously choosing
to look for the “as
of yet unidentified
opportunities in the
invisible job
market”, one sees an
abundant community
ripe with
opportunities.
I
am not denying or
ignoring the harsh
realities we are
facing in the
economy. I am not
pretending that
massive budget cuts
are not taking place
in every nook and
cranny of government
funded programs.
What I am
suggesting, however,
is that in light of
these realities it
would behoove us to
focus our attention
and energies where
doors will open
rather than where
they have closed.
Here are a few
things I think we
need to remember
during these
difficult and
challenging times in
our economy:
1.
While there may be a
limited number of
advertised job
openings at any one
time, there is has
never been a lack of
problems to be
solved or benefits
to be enjoyed by any
community of people.
Rather than ask who
is hiring someone to
do what you want to
do, it might be
helpful to ask
instead, “Who does
not hire people to
do what I do; but
should?” By
proposing and
creating your own
opportunity to an
employer you can be
assured of two
things - there is no
competition and you
can name your own
price. (For more on
this method, refer
to the concept of
Employment Proposals
in my book, “Beyond
Traditional Job
Development: The Art
of Creating
Opportunity”.)
2.
To strengthen your
belief in the idea
of “job creation”,
remember that every
single job that
exists in the world
today at some point
in time did not
exist. Every job is
the result of job
creation – of
someone’s desire to
solve a problem or
add a benefit to an
existing situation
that no one before
them had seen. A
difficult economy
does not mean a lack
of opportunities; it
means the growth of
different
opportunities. (For
example, when people
have less disposable
income they travel
less and look for
vacation
opportunities closer
to home. How can
local businesses
that typically cater
to travelers, more
effectively cater to
people in their own
community as a
customer market?)
3.
None of us need
“many opportunities”
since we can only
take advantage of
one opportunity at a
time anyway. We need
to focus on the
possibilities that
exist before us
without worrying
about the
possibilities that
exist for the world.
Focusing on things
like the
unemployment rate
simply saps our
energy. (As I say in
training, the only
unemployment rate we
need to worry about
is our own! When you
are unemployed it is
one hundred percent,
when you are
employed it is
zero!) Similarly, I
remember hearing one
gentleman who had
acquired a
disability comment
that, in seeking new
employment, there
were now only 9000
things he could do –
instead of the
12,000 things he
could do before his
accident!
4.
The more you embrace
your own personal
purposes, passion
and natural gifts,
the greater the
confidence you will
have in developing
or creating the
opportunity that is
right for you. Since
there is only one
you – with your own
individual mix of
talents, interests
and desires, what
you have to offer
the world and to an
employer is
absolutely unique.
Articulating and
communicating what
you uniquely have to
offer each
organization or
business is a better
place to invest your
time and energy than
worrying about who
your competition
might be.
5.
Like the earth
growing what is
planted in it, we
always draw to us
that which we have
planted in our
minds. The
perspective we hold
can put us in a
positive state of
mind or a negative
one, in scarcity or
abundance, in
darkness or in
light. Our ordinary
habits of thought
can be helpful and
serve us well, or
they can be hurtful
and weaken our
mental resources. It
is critically
important that we
focus on what is
possible rather than
on what is
difficult,
challenging or
impossible!
I
doubt there is a
single person
reading this who,
like me, does not
find him/herself
swaying from the
hopeful feelings
that arise from
thoughts of
abundance to
feelings of worry
and despair that
arise from thoughts
of scarcity and
lack. Yet, in those
moments, I am
reminded of the
Native American
story of the child
who confided in his
grandfather, the
elder, that he heard
the voices of two
competing wolves
within him. One wolf
was full of fear and
anger and saw only
the bad and ugly in
the world. The other
wolf was full of
hope and love and
saw the good and
beautiful in the
world. The child
asked, “Which of
these wolves, dear
Grandfather, will
win?” The elder
lovingly responded,
“The one you feed,
my child. The one
you feed.”
I
offer ideas in the
“Putting It Into
Practice” section of
this newsletter on
how to feed the wolf
of hope and love,
the one who reminds
us that we live in
an abundant and
generous universe,
the one that reminds
us that we are
gifted beyond
imagination and our
true job is to give
those gifts away, at
every opportunity! I
encourage you, dear
readers, to embrace
and inhabit these
ideas, first, in
relation to
yourself. Let’s walk
the talk and model
for the people
around us what it
looks like to
harness the powers
of imagination - to
tame and befriend
the voice of fear
while listening and
responding to the
deeper voice of
hope, the voice of
our calling.
In
the East Indian term
meaning “the spirit
in me honors the
spirit in you” –
Namaste!
-
Denise Bissonnette
© Denise
Bissonnette, May
2003 (If not used
for commercial
purposes, this
article may be
reproduced, all or
in part, providing
it is credited to
"Denise Bissonnette,
Diversity World -
www.diversityworld.com."
If included in a
newsletter or other
publication, we
would appreciate
receiving a copy.)
