Working It

Here is a different perspective on the challenges we face relative to work. What if the things we have done in the past were simply a sort of initiatory phase for the next phase of evolution?

For example, the US invented the auto industry, and for generations, that was a major force in driving our economy. Those manufacturers required a lot of skilled employees who made good wages. It will not be easy for those people who are out of work to adjust, and it will take a long time for new industries to replace the old industries. However, some manufacturers who are making parts for the aerospace and alternative energy industries are creating some new employment because they need the skills that the auto industry used to develop like machinists, engineers, electricians, mechanics and so on. These new industries will probably never totally replace the old factories, but it does show creative thinking and new strategies on the part of some companies and some employees.

A hundred years ago, coal fired power plants were the modern technology. Today, wind and solar are the modern technologies. It will take a lot of manufacturing and construction to bring these new power sources on line. So we get less pollution than building coal fired plants and new jobs are created, but there is still a period of adjustment needed to make all this come true.

Of course, this is just one industry. There are many others. The challenge is similar in other fields. How can we use skills we have developed in other jobs or careers to create new opportunities?

Obviously, the answer for some of us will be to develop new skills and learn to do different things, but creative thinking could also lead to developing new opportunities using the old skills.

Right now, I am using the Internet far more than I ever thought I would. I had to learn more about it. There is still a ton I do not know, but it certainly has helped develop more business. One of my skills I use differently is that I used to write for publications. Now I write on this blog. It is part of developing my new direction.

Is any of this easy? No. But if we look at the things that we know how to do and think of other ways to use these skills and abilities, we can at least see new options, new possibilities. After doing this, we may just want or need to do something dramatically different anyway.

We are in a period of radical transition. The way to success will require a different vision than what we had before. Different feelings are involved if we cannot continue on our old track than if we simply choose not to continue on the old track. We really are entering the realm of the imagination, aren't we?