“Success is not about resources. It is about how resourceful you are with what you have”

–Tony Robbins

 

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Jobless? Really?

My mentor, Dr. Mike Murdock says he cannot understand why someone would call himself jobless! He says that there are very many problems out there to be solved. When you solve a problem, you get paid. He also famously says that [ictt-tweet-inline]the difference between a twenty thousand-dollar dog and a two thousand-dollar dog is the ability to listen to instructions.[/ictt-tweet-inline]

I want to tie those two thoughts together and provide what I consider to be one more answer to the scourge of joblessness in the world. I can tell you emphatically (having graduated from it) that joblessness is a reality we created. It is also a big negative label. Any time you label a product or a human being, the perception of their value will for the most part be (mis)interpreted through the label.

That is why a “jobless” person will suffer greatly with low self-esteem and self-worth. Humans inherently have the nudge to be productive and to grow…and when you tell one that they cannot do either by labeling them as “jobless”, you kill so many things in them.

The Illusion of Joblessness

I however contend that joblessness is an illusion. Controversial, no? Let me ask you a big question: What do jobless people do? I am willing to be that they do not do much apart from two things:

• Looking for a job
• Waiting for a breakthrough.

But then, the question is, is that all there is that a “Jobless” person can do in 24 hours? The answer is an emphatic NO. So [ictt-tweet-inline]why is it that if you find yourself to be “jobless” you also have a calendar as dry as the Kalahari?[/ictt-tweet-inline]

I will tell you why: someone somewhere has told us that the only way to be productive in life is to have a job! They are wrong, and yet multitudes of people the whole wide world have been hypnotized with this “teaching”.

Facing Reality

Now, let’s be realistic and honest. We do need to cater for our basic needs: food, shelter and clothing. We need to pay for medication and many other important things of life. We need an income, if not several streams of income. What I am against is a multitude of people in this world sitting around waiting and doing nothing because “they have no jobs”. [ictt-tweet-inline]There is so much you can do between now and the next job[/ictt-tweet-inline]. In fact, what you do “In between” is to me, the most important thing that I want to address today.

[ictt-tweet-blockquote]

“What you do in-between seasons is the most critical thing”[/ictt-tweet-blockquote]

There is only one way you can do this, and frankly, that “In between” moment is never really exorcised when you finally get a job. Did you realize that jobs are not as permanent as they were during the days our fathers graduated from High School? My point is that you will have to go through several “dark patches” when jobs are not there, or when the business is not thriving, or when the income coming is not a promise. I think the most important thing is to have a system in place that “Keeps cracking” come rain or shine.

So What do you do?

If you were the trainer of the Bengal Tigers, you would know what to do. You would continue cracking the whip and guiding them killers through the dark even when the lights have gone out. In short, you would rely on the system that you have created to see you through. This is where Dr. Mike Murdock’s $20,000 dog comes in. In your dark moment of joblessness, what system are you using? What instructions are you following? Woe to you if the only instruction you are following is “looking for a job”

I know a Christian would argue that “You will need to rely on God to see you through”. Well, how is that working for the multitude of jobless people (very many Christians in the bunch)?

What I am suggesting today is not so popular a gospel. Why? Because it does not guarantee immediate monetary gain, which is perhaps the greatest need of a jobless person. However, [ictt-tweet-inline]you can move from being “jobless” to instantly being “Productive” within minutes of making up your mind[/ictt-tweet-inline]. Make no mistake: it is going to be tough and rough, but it is much, much better than “job seeking” and “waiting”. Are you ready?

Install A Self Executive Officer System

This system ensures that you are actively becoming a better human being regardless of the circumstances of work/jobs around you. It is the ultimate system of deliberately growing and using the most of your life now with what life has given you. It is a system of resilience that you won’t put off when your break finally comes. In a nutshell, this is how it looks like:

1. Perspective

God asked Moses, “What do you have in your hand?” What God was insinuating in short is that at times deliverance does not have to be expensive. At times (may be most times) what you need for your deliverance is within your immediate environment NOW.

I will admonish you to scurry around you and see what can you use at the moment. Here are some suggestions:

• You have a perfect body to jog and improve your physical capacity for endurance. If you give you mind a challenge in this area, you start growing
• You live in a community where there is something that can be done together such as cleaning, community watch etc. Find something in the community and be useful.
• You have books or friends with books that are instructional and inspirational that you can read. In fact, some jobless people I have seen have come to my interview wielding better top range smartphones than mine. These gadgets could become instant growth universities.
• You have at least a blank paper and a pen that you can use to brainstorm
• You can get friends and loved ones and form a Mastermind group instantly and have much more done. The trick is to not just look productive, but be productive. Such friend and loved ones will see your resilience and help you in your “job search” in ways you never imagined. They would not even need to put effort in it, because you will be always in their mind because of your resourcefulness.
• You have a heart that is the center of your universe. Your dreams, aspirations, desires and deepest thoughts of what you want lie. However, very few people access it and document what they get from it.

At times (may be most times) what you need for your deliverance is within your immediate environment NOW.

You get the picture. Your first assignment is to look around you and unearth as many options as you possibly can.

2. A Body of Focus

Secondly, you need to determine what you can put your focus on. There are three major areas that I can suggest:

• Your Growth (Spiritual, Mental, Physical, your Gifts and Talents)
• Your Personal Brand (Who you are, why you are here on earth, whom you were created to deliver, what you hate
• Your Biggest Goals

Believe me, No. 1 and 2 if done well will give you a “full-time job”. The only reason you do not see it as a job is because you see no immediate monetary gain from it. However, if you can have these things set, you are way ahead of a “jobless” person, believe me.

3. A Timetable

Thirdly, you need to determine what of these activities you can be able to do daily and non-negotiable. For example, if you find out that your gift and talent is in writing, then you make it a non-negotiable daily to write something…anything and develop that gift. It is much better than waiting for employment or much more powerful than “looking for a job”. Of course you do not want to do this because there is no immediate monetary gain.

Make sure that this non-negotiable has a place and a time that you will consistently focus on to make it done. “Nothing changes unless it is done daily”

Then, you need to lump all the other activities that you generated from the body of focus and from your perspective into a coherent timetable. Include in your timetable everything, including the day you will go visit your grandmother. You know what I am saying.

Finally put all this information in your digital Google Calendar widget that is found on your android phone…or any other calendar widget found in the smartphone you are using. This is the mother of it all. What are you doing? You are learning to be an executive, in fact you are being an executive way before someone appointed you as one. You are a Self Executive officer.

4. Action and Tracking

Follow through your activities. Track what you did and what you did not. Be diligent. Hold yourself accountable. This is it.

There is so much to share here…and I have documented them all in a book that I will be publishing soon.

In all you do, please do not be “jobless” today.