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Count me among the Agents of Change
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Posted on Dec 30 2008
[I]The only way to take control of your life, raise your standard of living and move beyond merely surviving is to create your own unique product or service that you offer to increasing numbers of people in exchange for the things of value that you desire. This simple formula applies to countries as well as people. A self-sufficient economy has its own products or services of value to export to the world. Similarly, a self-sufficient individual has something of value to exchange in the global marketplace. That thing of value is based on your natural talent, skill, or interest—in other words, your passion!
“It is impossible to help another being directly. It is only possible to make [a] catalyst available in whatever form. …We cannot offer short cuts to enlightenment. It can only be accomplished by the self, for the self. Another self cannot teach enlightenment, but only teach information, inspiration, or a sharing of love, of mystery, of the unknown that makes the other-self reach out and begin the seeking process.” (B1, 161-162)—The Ra Material[/I]
In a previous article (The Paradox of Change, Saipan Tribune, Nov. 28 and Dec. 5, 2007), I spoke on the art of getting one’s message across to a community, as well as how to identify the stages of change that community might be going through. The paradox is that those who are most in need of change are the hardest to reach with the necessary information, inspiration and love that would help free them. Let’s talk a little more about that.
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The Challenge[/B]
People want change. Or, so they say. Actually, if you spoke to most people, you’d discover that what they want is for things to change for the better. They want to get richer, happier, and more secure, but don’t wish to get poorer, unhappy or lose a degree of security or peace of mind.
The reality is that things generally must go through a bit of reconstruction before they can truly get better. The old must be torn away, before the new can be erected. Before you can quit smoking, or be free of drugs, you must go through withdrawal. Before you can get healthy, you must go through a healing crisis. In matters of direct individual concern, this is the challenge: People have to be willing to let go, to be uncomfortable, to be vulnerable, even if just for a while, while the transition occurs.
The challenge, on a larger scale, on community/global level, is getting people to realize that they have been living a lie; that things are not what they seem; that events are not random but proceed according to plan; that the truth is being branded as subversive; that “they” are not like us; that what passes for science is really marketing in disguise; that what they fear would actually set them free; that debate is merely a smokescreen people use to delay and defuse the actions which would empower. The list goes on, but here again, a community-society must, en masse, be willing to let go, to be uncomfortable, to be vulnerable, even if just for a while, while the transition occurs.
And here’s where the challenge exists. In order to change, we must all adopt a new way of thinking and behaving, as a group. Once this change takes place in our thinking and acting, by extension our experience on the planet changes.
The challenge is that by the time you are intellectually capable of understanding the very words and concepts that change requires, you’ve already had to accept their polar opposites in order to survive, and by extension, you perpetuate the very reality you need to change. In other words:
By the time you’re frustrated enough with working for someone else, and making them wealthy, you’re locked into a system of debt, responsibility, image maintenance, impression, shame and obligation from which it seems impossible to extricate yourself.
By the time you make enough money in this system to be able to change it, you’re too vested in keeping it the way it is just so you can survive.
By the time you gain the courage and insight to take charge of your health, you’ve been trained to believe that others hold the key to your health. You’ve been converted to a religion of sorts that requires and often gets your blind faith in methods of treatment that actually make you sicker.
In other words: By the time you’re old enough and wise enough to question the belief system, you’ve been indoctrinated into the belief system to such a degree that opposition seems futile or contrary to your survival.
In still other words: By the time you’re really ready to have the new life you want, you’re too busy living the old life you don’t want. And escape seems darn near impossible.
It is for these reasons that change—real change—often comes when life, limb or some aspect of one’s identity or survival is threatened with imminent termination or extermination. Choices become clearer. Actions take on the necessary sense of urgency.
That’s why things often must get very bad—often at the threat of revolution, or teetering at the precipice of destruction—before they start to get good. The reality of impending doom or destruction of what exists must take hold in their minds, before people admit that change is necessary, and urgent, and before they find the necessary motivation to see things through, and do what must be done.
The good news, however, is that change is essentially a challenge of will. It doesn’t take any more money, any higher position or any more power and status than you currently have. You can start where you are and move toward where you want to be.
You must, however, be able to answer positively the following questions to decide if you are truly an agent of change:
Do I have the will power to actually think critically about life, about my situation, and about the world rather than simply parrot what others tell me?
Do I have the will power to “opt out” of the current system, with all its perceived perks and benefits, and pursue a different dream and stream toward happiness?
Do I have the necessary will power to weather the storm of indifference, ridicule, opposition, attack and even the threat of annihilation, which may follow such a decision, in order to realize the dream I envision?
Do I have the will power to sacrifice my own present individual happiness and safety for the sake of a future happiness and safety and perhaps the happiness and safety of a community of others?
Do I have the will power to persevere even after many years, perhaps even a lifetime of preaching to the choir, advocating on behalf of others, encouraging new ways of thought, setting an example by altering my own lifestyle, fighting, marching, protesting, and challenging the system, only to realize it is impossible to help another directly, but only to be a catalyst that they may or may not heed?
If you can answer yes to these questions, you will surely have what it takes to quit smoking, change your diet, lose weight, change professions, learn a new skill and/or pursue your life’s passion—to realize the dreams of individual pride and happiness that makes life worth living.
But, you may also find, to your amazement, that you have within you the seeds of true greatness, the ability to lead others by the example you set, the gift to inspire others to embrace the challenge, the talent for moving them to take the necessary actions in the interest of change. You may find, that you are indeed an agent of change—better, true, meaningful change—that the world has been waiting for. Excelsior!
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Note:[/I][/B] MLK Day and “Obama Day” coming in January! The African-American Cultural Preservation Committee announces the upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. Day activities and commemoration—along with a special event to acknowledge the historical significance of the upcoming Inauguration. There will be dinners, our annual “civil rights march” in Garapan, public forum and panel discussion, essay contest winners performance, plus—from the people who brought you the famously successful “Saipan Soul Train Night”—a down home, Southern style, Cajun-flavored, buffet and social, plus events on Tinian and Rota. It all begins Jan. 10, 2009! Stay tuned for more details.
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Until next week, remember, success is a journey, not a destination!
[I]Walt F.J. Goodridge is author of 12 books including[/I] Turn Your Passion Into Profit.[I] Walt offers coaching and workshops to help people pursue and profit from their passions. Originally from the island of Jamaica, Walt has grown several successful businesses in the US, and now makes his home here in Saipan. To learn more about the Saipanpreneur Project and Walt’s philosophy and formula visit www.saipanpreneur.com and www.passionprofit.com[/I]****
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Send article suggestions, entrepreneur nominations and feedback about this article to walt@passionprofit.com.[/I]
