The 2008 recession was terrible; 2.6 million people lost their jobs in the US alone. The great depression was historic. If it wasn’t, why would they call it GREAT? But guess what? Between 1929 and 1932, only 12 million people were unemployed in the US.
Now that we are in for the really great one; COVID 19 which started less than four months ago, and by now, according to Washingtonpost, 22 million people are already unemployed in the US alone. Nothing in history is even close this, nothing.
So, what are we expecting, since we might be in this hell for the next couple of months? Well, if the whole world loses 50 million jobs at the end of this pandemic, then, we are lucky because the numbers might even rise to as much as 100 million or more with the rate at which the virus is spreading.
In today’s article, I’ll be sharing with you what I think you should do to prepare for what is coming, and I’ll like to warn you ahead by saying, I really don’t expect many people to be able to do what I’m about to recommend. If 1% of the people who watch this video can do what I’m about to suggest, I’ll consider myself extremely lucky.
- Make sure you don’t need a job, ever again
When I was around age 18, I got to understand how unemployment is by far the biggest problem in my country, I then decided that I will never in my life need a job. If unemployment is a problem, I better don’t need a job because I would be in a challenging situation. Does that mean that I never worked a job? No. I did work a job for about 17-19 months, but that company needed me as much as I needed them, so I was very much respected.
Let me explain what I mean here; there are two types of people who will forever remain relevant in the future regardless of what the unemployment rate is. They are; the people who know how to create what others want to buy and the people who are needed by their companies as much as they need the company regardless of any situation.
The people who don’t need a job are the ones who own the future, and when I say people who don’t need a job, I don’t mean that everyone should become an entrepreneur. Instead, I mean that everyone should figure out how to be of so much value that they are needed all the time in the economy.
If you know how to create values which others can’t, you’ll be forever needed in the future, even if you’re an employee. Some skills are forever going to be required, regardless of what happens in the future. If you have any of these skills, even if you lose your job, you’ll be very much valuable to the economy and getting a better job won’t be an issue.
Those who are truly valuable don’t need a job; instead, jobs need them.
- Value is skill
When I was an employee, one day, my boss wasn’t able to make it to a meeting he had scheduled with the company’s clients, so I had to chair the meeting. When the meeting was over, I heard people saying, “Even the boss can’t handle people this way”. What people don’t realise then was that years before the meeting I had with the company’s clients and even before I got the job, I had spent my time reading about and practising leadership, public speaking and human relationship.
When I was employed, my boss did not know how much magic I can get people to perform but when the need arose for me to show my skills, he was so impressed that while he complained to other employees in the company that the business isn’t making money, he offered me a promotion and increased my salary.
This, I tell you, is going on in all companies. While some people are being fired, some people will be bribed to remain in the company just because such people are needed more in times of crisis than in times of peace, and it’s not about your degree. It’s not even about how many hours you work each week. It’s about your skills. It’s about what you’re able to do which most people cannot.
How then can you gain valuable skills that will make you relevant regardless of what happens in the economy?
First, identify the three most valuable skills in your industry. Then, go out and buy at least three books for each of the skills. Don’t just buy any book, buy books with a great review, so you won’t waste your time reading junk that won’t make you better.
You can also look at the internet and download a lot of free books.
For me, as an entrepreneur, the three most important skills are marketing, communication, and leadership.
I’ve read more books on marketing in the last decade than most entrepreneurs. The reason is that I want to know what makes people open their wallet and know more than any competitor. Because of this single skill, I’ve competed in the market with people who are far bigger than myself and won a larger market share, not once or twice.
I hope you get my point here. Identify the three most important skills in your industry and be ready to acquire those skills and be better at it than anyone else. Read and practice those skills, and you’ll soon become very much valuable to any economy, good or bad.
- Start thinking like animals
When a bird is hatched, just within 15-21 days, it leaves its parent and become independent forever. Snakes leave their mothers almost immediately after they come to life. Humans are the only creature who depend on others for 70 years, and the reason for that is simple; we’ve been conditioned to do so. School has programmed everyone to think that someone is out there to give them jobs, and all they have to do is to get the degree.
If people had been programmed to think independently, most people would never have needed a job at all. Then someone will tell me, “But it’s not easy to build a business or pursue your dreams”. Yes, but why do you want it to be easy?
How do you think it’s easy for fishes to be independent of its parents? Why do you think it’s easy for birds to cater for their own needs independently? Who told you that insects and other millions of animals who look for their foods all alone without the help of any government find it easy?
Animals are independent not because it’s easy but because there’s no other way. Humans depend on jobs and fellow humans not because they cannot be independent, but because it’s easy to blame others or rely on them than to face our fears.
If you start thinking like an animal, if you start thinking independence, though your life may be difficult at first, you will end up having a better life because you won’t plan all your life on someone else’s help or job.
