This is an example of an article written by Jim Feldman for a publication or newsletter. Jim is an author, keynote speaker and consultant who writes and speaks about Change Management, Customer Service and Innovative Problem Solving. Contact us about using Jim as an author, interview or speaker at 312-527-9111.
When your children and grandchildren ask about the great prosperity of the early 2000s, what will you tell them? Will you be explaining how you re-positioned yourself and benefited from the opportunity, or will you be justifying how you missed it? Can you look at your business model and see it prospering in the next decade. Can you honestly say that you are following trends that will share your future or are you fighting change?
As the number of self-made millionaires in the US increases at the rate of 1 every 14 minutes, and with the average American having a net worth of less than $15,000, one is wise to consider the questions: How can I capitalize on the wealth that’s being created all around me? How can I position myself and take advantage of the Great Boom in which we are now engaged?
I believe that the predictions of the boom times ahead are accurate. We are watching change take place at the speed of the Internet. Global barriers to doing business are gone. Brick and mortar is being replaced by web sites and portals. Customer service responses are monitored and replicated throughout chat rooms, emails, and news groups. The good guys win…the bad guys get buried. Each of us has a choice. Become a part or be apart. There is no in between.
How to Take Advantage of the Changing Times
1.Get out of debt. The quicker the better. You can’t take advantage of opportunities when you’re mired in debt. You need an attitude and a confidence that comes from being on top of your finances. The chance to buy comes only when you have the resources (however small) to invest in those prospects. Reduce expenses, increase income, negotiate your interest rates, and cut your taxes.
2.Invest in the wave. This is the time to take all cash resources available to get in on the stock market explosion. Buy and buy consistently. Buy some for the long term. Buy others for the short term. I do not advocate day trading, but I do advocate riding the wave. Watch new companies emerge. Investigate old companies that are discovering new customers, creating new products, and reaching new markets. Look at where the company is going and how it will get there. Large companies are becoming nibble(nimble?) by competing with the newer upstarts. Lucent, GE, Pfizer, Compaq, Dell, and others(and the like?) are stable companies with stocks trading at lower than normal entry costs. Do not count out aggressive, creative companies.
Less than a year ago Apple traded at $15. Today, it pushes $125. Only when you see the future through the eyes of progressive companies can you invest wisely. On the other hand, if you like to gamble, the risk/rewards for Lycos, DoubleClick, AOL, Ebay, and other high tech Internet companies have made millionaires out of stay at home traders. Start with what you can afford to lose and go for it. Get online, do your homework. Subscribe to a service that gives you online trading. And be aggressive. The rewards are phenomenal.
3.Be flexible. Things are moving at a rapid pace. This demands adaptability. Things will not remain the same nor will they go back to the way they used to be. Changes that used to evolve over decades or even centuries are happening in years–even months and in some cases, days. Entire industries emerge and die within ten years. We must be willing to change directions quickly. It’s dodge and weave time. It’s time to embrace change. Shift Happens!®
4.Become techno-savvy. As of January, 2000, over half of all Americans use the Internet. This technology will become more a part of our lives than was ever thought possible. Take a course, get a coach, teach yourself. Whatever you do, get up to speed on using a computer and making the Net work for you.
5.Be inquisitive. Constantly ask yourself, “How does this affect me and my industry?” There’s no time to sit by and watch things happen. We must be proactive. Talk with people about what’s happening. Read. Study. Ask questions.
6.Think globally. No longer can we afford to think and act locally. We must have a broader vision. We must think about how our vocation, our business, and our industry will operate in a global economy–because it does, or soon will.
7.Be entrepreneurial. This is the age of the free agent. Even if we are and plan to continue working in a company or organization, we must at least THINK like an entrepreneur. We need to be in-trepreneurs. Seniority and experience does not have the value that it did. Producing results and profits, is what matters.
8.Learn how to learn. What we learned in high school and college will not support us over the next decade. . We must learn how to obtain and integrate information and skills quickly. Computer-based and web-based training will abound. What do you need to learn now? Where and how quickly can you gain the knowledge or skills? Do not be afraid to learn. Do not be worried that you do not know the answers. But, be afraid that you are not learning. Be concerned that you spent another day without trying to surf the Internet, trade online, shop the web, and email your friends and associates.
9.Embrace change. Be open to the dramatic changes that are occurring. Saying it shouldn’t be, or making judgments about what’s happening is counterproductive. Open yourself to enjoying change. As the Zen Buddhists say, “When you’re falling off a cliff, jump.”
10.Become a capitalist. Wealthy people own assets, other people own liabilities–things that cost money to own and maintain. Capitalism is not a dirty word. A capitalist, by definition, is someone who owns assets–assets that produce income. Stock, equipment and businesses, are assets that generate profits. Eighty percent of all millionaires living in America are self-made. Be one of them.
Shift Happens!® to all of us. Make the best of it.
As the song says, “The times…they are a changing.”
When your children and grandchildren ask about the great prosperity of the early 2000s, what will you tell them? Will you be explaining how you re-positioned yourself and benefited from the opportunity, or will you be justifying how you missed it? Can you look at your business model and see it prospering in the next decade. Can you honestly say that you are following trends that will share your future or are you fighting change?
As the number of self-made millionaires in the US increases at the rate of 1 every 14 minutes, and with the average American having a net worth of less than $15,000, one is wise to consider the questions: How can I capitalize on the wealth that’s being created all around me? How can I position myself and take advantage of the Great Boom in which we are now engaged?
I believe that the predictions of the boom times ahead are accurate. We are watching change take place at the speed of the Internet. Global barriers to doing business are gone. Brick and mortar is being replaced by web sites and portals. Customer service responses are monitored and replicated throughout chat rooms, emails, and news groups. The good guys win…the bad guys get buried. Each of us has a choice. Become a part or be apart. There is no in between.
How to Take Advantage of the Changing Times
- Get out of debt. The quicker the better. You can’t take advantage of opportunities when you’re mired in debt. You need an attitude and a confidence that comes from being on top of your finances. The chance to buy comes only when you have the resources (however small) to invest in those prospects. Reduce expenses, increase income, negotiate your interest rates, and cut your taxes.
- Invest in the wave. This is the time to take all cash resources available to get in on the stock market explosion. Buy and buy consistently. Buy some for the long term. Buy others for the short term. I do not advocate day trading, but I do advocate riding the wave. Watch new companies emerge. Investigate old companies that are discovering new customers, creating new products, and reaching new markets. Look at where the company is going and how it will get there. Large companies are becoming nibble(nimble?) by competing with the newer upstarts. Lucent, GE, Pfizer, Compaq, Dell, and others(and the like?) are stable companies with stocks trading at lower than normal entry costs. Do not count out aggressive, creative companies. Less than a year ago Apple traded at $15. Today, it pushes $125. Only when you see the future through the eyes of progressive companies can you invest wisely. On the other hand, if you like to gamble, the risk/rewards for Lycos, DoubleClick, AOL, Ebay, and other high tech Internet companies have made millionaires out of stay at home traders. Start with what you can afford to lose and go for it. Get online, do your homework. Subscribe to a service that gives you online trading. And be aggressive. The rewards are phenomenal.
- Be flexible. Things are moving at a rapid pace. This demands adaptability. Things will not remain the same nor will they go back to the way they used to be. Changes that used to evolve over decades or even centuries are happening in years–even months and in some cases, days. Entire industries emerge and die within ten years. We must be willing to change directions quickly. It’s dodge and weave time. It’s time to embrace change. Shift Happens!®
- Become techno-savvy. As of January, 2000, over half of all Americans use the Internet. This technology will become more a part of our lives than was ever thought possible. Take a course, get a coach, teach yourself. Whatever you do, get up to speed on using a computer and making the Net work for you.
- Be inquisitive. Constantly ask yourself, “How does this affect me and my industry?” There’s no time to sit by and watch things happen. We must be proactive. Talk with people about what’s happening. Read. Study. Ask questions.
- Think globally. No longer can we afford to think and act locally. We must have a broader vision. We must think about how our vocation, our business, and our industry will operate in a global economy–because it does, or soon will.
- Be entrepreneurial. This is the age of the free agent. Even if we are and plan to continue working in a company or organization, we must at least THINK like an entrepreneur. We need to be in-trepreneurs. Seniority and experience does not have the value that it did. Producing results and profits, is what matters.
- Learn how to learn. What we learned in high school and college will not support us over the next decade. . We must learn how to obtain and integrate information and skills quickly. Computer-based and web-based training will abound. What do you need to learn now? Where and how quickly can you gain the knowledge or skills? Do not be afraid to learn. Do not be worried that you do not know the answers. But, be afraid that you are not learning. Be concerned that you spent another day without trying to surf the Internet, trade online, shop the web, and email your friends and associates.
- Embrace change. Be open to the dramatic changes that are occurring. Saying it shouldn’t be, or making judgments about what’s happening is counterproductive. Open yourself to enjoying change. As the Zen Buddhists say, “When you’re falling off a cliff, jump.”
- Become a capitalist. Wealthy people own assets, other people own liabilities–things that cost money to own and maintain. Capitalism is not a dirty word. A capitalist, by definition, is someone who owns assets–assets that produce income. Stock, equipment and businesses, are assets that generate profits. Eighty percent of all millionaires living in America are self-made. Be one of them.
Shift Happens!® to all of us. Make the best of it.
