The word "job" is another word added to our lexicon of counterfeit words. The word is tossed about by everyone as if they all agreed to its meaning. Politicians are praised if they offer legislation that is supposed to be dedicated to "job creation." Once such legislation is passed, unemployment benefits are extended to give the "jobs" bill time to kick in. In the meantime, the poor jobless person sits around waiting for something to happen. This is a cycle of poverty and will insure that this person stays poor all the while going to the polls and voting to keep the people in power who are the architects of his poverty. After all, everyone knows that we are all "entitled" to well paying jobs, and the "rich" must be compelled to their "fair share" to provide income for everyone else. If you think this process is accidental, you grossly underestimate the sophistication of the process that starts with public education, is actively promoted by entertainment programming on TV, and is actively promoted by so-called "news sources."
What does all of this mean?
If the word "job" is more precisely defined as "employment," it takes on entirely new meaning. Employment is what I do every day to create wealth for others and in the process for myself. If I work for a company, I strive to secure the company's success. I use all of my skills and talents to attract customers to our business and serve them well when they purchase our goods and services. If I am self employed, I work very hard to serve my existing customers well. These people tell others and I develop a reputation for quality and honesty in my own community. When someone needs the kind of service I provide, my name is at the top of the list.
Employment has a much broader meaning when it includes all of the survival skills that I develop for myself: I learn how to maintain my car and my equipment. I learn how to repair my own home. I learn how to keep myself from getting sick. I learn how to paint, till a garden, teach my kids how to do things. In short, I have a very well-paying second job that creates both tangible and intangible wealth for myself. I can choose to be employed or unemployed
Looked this way, it is obvious that a "job" cannot be conferred upon someone by anybody. Payment for non-work deprives the overall society of the wealth work should produce as well as squanders the wealth of those who have already earned it.
We owe it to ourselves to develop our own skills and talents so that we are valuable to others. In return, we receive payment for our services. Remember, when it comes time for a company to reduce its work force, they never lay off the people who are creating their success.
My question is, seekers, will we choose to be jobless and unemployed or will we get up every morning determined to advance ourselves and the people we serve? Will we choose to be employed or wait around for the government to give us some money?
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