Today is Blog Action Day where many people will post about poverty. I am far from an expert, but here are some of my thoughts.
Poverty is a mind-set. Many people want to throw money (private or government) at people who are in poverty, but what we need to do as citizens is spend time and teach those with this mind-set.
The poverty mind-set believes there is no way out. It thinks current circumstances dictate the future and will never change. It reduces self-image because it is dependant on charity instead of individual earnings. Poverty thinking attracts others who think the same way.
A prosperity mind-set has hope for a better tomorrow. It learns from circumstances and adapts to face new challenges. An independent self-image fosters a resilience to challenges.
Have you ever hung out with people who are more successful than you? I have, and it challenges you to up your game and improve. Those with prosperity mind-sets need to seek out and connect with those with poverty mind-sets.
We need to support them as individuals and let them know they can break the poverty cycle. We can demonstrate and model for them a prosperity mind-set. Teach them communication and technical skills to succeed in the workplace.
When we change hearts and minds, we can change the future.
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You may say that this is a matter of semantics, but I would say POOR is a mindset, POVERTY is the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support, often resulting in malnourishment, disease, and homelessness. Many people in the United States would say they are poor, because they are trapped in that mindset. Very few of those are actually impoverished. Sure there are many that are, but not like many other countries. And the amazing thing is many who are actually in poverty in other countries do not consider themselves poor.
A great post though, may we all continue to fight poverty.
Define Poor? Define Poverty? are the millions of workers about to get laid off in the rust belt to blame because of their mindset? Do the wealthy Big 3 have an abudance mindset because they took for granted the changing economic landscape?
Thinking in abundance on a personal everyday level helps with the day to day but on a large scale, some people’s futures are dictated by people who assume everyone can drop $20K on a private jet.
Great comments Naoki.
I agree the private jet and a lot of executive antics are horrendous. All of these bailouts have lowered the water-level to see big rocks when it comes to executive behavior. Remember AIG and how they used the money to go to a spa? Sheesh.
When DHL bought Airborne Express, it was a hard pill to swallow knowing execs had themselves set up with nice high salaries while the rest of us were asked to relocate or separate.
I still think the laid off workers need to have an attitude of prosperity, even if they get the short end of the stick. (I always see the glass as half-full and know where there is a pitcher of water to refill it – so I am an optimist!)
Once people crumble and cave into the mind set of poverty due to evil external circumstances by exec nitwits, they begin a downwards spiral. If they strive to think of themselves above their current situation and belive prosperity will be around the corner, their actions will reflect it.
As far as Big 3 having an abundance mindset, I am not sure. I sometimes think shareholders drive executives to find desparate answers when an expected 20% growth doesn’t happen every quarter. We would all hope leadership gets growth through improving product, cost, delivery, and value. Once they have hit a peak or run out of improvement ideas, they have to look to take advantage of people or play around with numbers to make it look like 20%. This is unethical but I belive it happens all the time (maybe I just need a tin-foil hat!)