Excuses! Excuses! No Excuses! DO IT!

Last week we discussed the need for residents to become small business owners and skilled tradesmen. We should be the shopkeepers; we should operate the repair shops; we should own the service companies. I stressed that unless we do that, we will never become strong again economically. Instead we will become a nation of dependents accepting handouts from foreign investors and the federal government more than we are now.

Several people gave me reasons why local people cannot become business owners. I dismissed all of their negative comments as garbage that soils the mind. We have the ability, the will, and the courage to change. We have matured. We realize that unless we take control of our destiny, someone else will and we will never be free or happy again.

What we seem to have forgotten is that prior to 1983, there were numerous locally owned “mom and pop” shops on Saipan. These businesses were exclusively run by local residents. What happened?

After 1982, and prior to 1995, the CNMI encouraged open foreign investment. The Foreign Investment Board had been abolished and the foreign investment section of the Trust Territory Code was repealed. For $50, an individual could obtain a business license and set up as many different businesses as desired. Some of these license holders took advantage of the favorable conditions which included low wages and few restrictions on foreign labor. Recall that in 1987, there were 66 garment factories in operation and more to come.

Nonresidents and foreign nationals exploited the liberal system. The business license became a vehicle to facilitate immigration. Under the guise of establishing a legitimate business, illegal immigrants inundated the CNMI. By 1994, 90,000 business permits had been issued! A majority of these businesses never existed. But the doors were opened for foreigners to settle in the CNMI. Enough of history. Let’s look to the present and the future.

It is good to look back and see what caused the situation we are stewing in. The excuses given why we should not or cannot be business operators are only hot air smoke. To believe that we cannot change is to submit us all to crippling dependency and handout aid. I refuse to believe them. We must become business operators!

We must take charge of our own economic development and destiny. Instead of waiting for things to happen, we must make them happen. To do this, we must figure out what we want, learn how to do it, and go out and get it! One of the first actions is for each of us to want to become independent owners and help ourselves.

As you know I recently started a trades school. Most of the students did not have jobs and were very depressed. In less than six weeks, over 10 students have found jobs that never seemed to exist. In fact, some of the students told me when the employers heard they were attending the trades school, they were immediately hired.

When these students graduate, they will become independent tradesmen servicing our homes. They will not be collecting handouts nor working for minimum wages. They will be proud skilled workers of our community.

The Guam Contractors Association Trade Academy, started over two years ago, has over 100 students who are in great demand as employees. Yet many of the students before attending the trades academy could not find work before. This is starting to happen here.

I am not trying to persuade you to enter any business you don’t want to. That is a choice you have to make individually. However please do not complain when the rest of the island leaves you behind. Remember the more foreign investors operate our small businesses, the weaker and more dependent we become.

On June 9, 2009, the United States will take over our immigration office. From that date on, they will decide who comes in as a guest worker and investor. On Dec. 31, 2014, the influx of guest workers will become zero. We still have time to help ourselves.

In the hope that some of us will become motivated and seize the opportunity to become a business owner, let me suggest two sources that will help us get motivated. The first is a book written by Peter McWilliams entitled DO IT! Let’s Get Off Our Buts. Notice that the word “buts” has only one “t.” The “buts” are the many excuses we have for not moving ahead with our lives. Mr. McWilliams is telling to get off our excuses! This is a MUST read book.

In the book Mr. McWilliams discusses why some of us realize our dreams and some of us never do. Those who never fulfill their dreams have thousands of excuses. While those who succeed do not have excuses because they are too busy doing.

Mr. McWilliams reveals a secret that keeps us from gaining success—our comfort zone. Our comfort zone includes all the things we’ve done often enough to feel comfortable doing. Any behavior outside our comfort zone can result in fear, guilt, unworthiness, hurt feelings, anger, discouragement—you know discomfort. But how do we get off our buts? Simple. Just… DO IT! Read this book.

Another book is Who Moved My Cheese? This is a brief tale of two mice named Sniff and Scurry and two little people named Hem and Haw. The writers Spencer Johnson and Kenneth Blanchard relate this short story about change and how it impacts our lives. They instruct us to adjust our attitudes towards change in life, especially at work. Change occurs whether a person is ready or not. The CNMI has changed and is changing daily. It is sad to see and hear so many people trying to relive the past. We must move ahead or be left behind!

Repeatedly I have mentioned that a nation is only as strong and productive as it citizens. The more motivated and the more determined we are, the more chance for becoming strong again. Change and improvement can only come from our inner passion and determination to overcome all obstacles.

Stop whining about how corrupt some of our leaders are. Stop complaining how bad the CUC situation is. Stop waiting for the government, both local and federal, to help us. It will never happen.

Our bellyaching complaining will not change anything. Instead start thinking what can “I” personally do to improve myself and thereby make a change for the better. “I” can and must make a change!

Let us seriously act on becoming business owners. Let us take back our economy. Let us become the backbone of our labor force, not a splinter in it. Why are over 8,500 of our citizens on food stamps?

Yes, I am preaching and preaching loud and clearly, and we all know that what I am expressing is true. We must help ourselves before anyone can help us. The next time we point a finger at anyone in blame, notice that three of the remaining fingers point back to us. Try it now.

Fellow citizens, we have an inner power that needs to come out and restore the courage and the dignity we once had. Let us feed ourselves. Let us become the true owners of our land. Let us stop giving it away. Become the business owners before we lose all opportunity to do so. Let us seize the day!