Consumption vs. Investment

Up to now the rationale has been to consume our way out of recessions. The prevailing idea was that stimulating consumption would activate the economy and job growth. Governments motivated people to go out and spend money. This money, far from being disposable income, was available through tax breaks or easy credit. Hence, the state and the people got deeper in debt to produce what society has called “growth”.

We are constantly bombarded with messages to continue on the consumption path with no regards to other more responsible alternatives. This post is about INVESTING in yourself as an alternative to consuming. Consuming is essentially mindless, but an investment requires conscious intent and commitment. Consuming produces fleeting but instant satisfaction, while investing has an incremental long term benefit. We have being conditioned to build the habit of consumption and think of investing as something reserved for the rich.

Does Economic Growth include Your Wellbeing?

The ongoing paradigm shift is calling into question society’s concept of growth and its sustainability. Is ever expanding production and consumption an accurate measure of our society’s well-being? Is growth, as we calculate it now, taking into account the cost of its environmental impact (and its direct impact on your health)? Is it taking into consideration resource depletion? Is there a true correlation between value generation and growth? How much of what we calculate as growth is generated by speculation? And in the mean time, are you truly better off in times of growth?

The Way for Job Growth is Reinvention

Traditionally we have related economic growth with job growth, and job growth is said to depend on manufacturing and consuming all the stuff we supposedly need. If we all suddenly decided that we don’t need all this stuff, there would be massive unemployment. However, there is something tragically missing from that rationale, the fact that our productive model does not replenish the resources used to keep it going. It is as if you where living off your savings, without ever making a deposit to your savings account.

Humanity’s savings account is our planet earth and all its deposits of oil, gas, carbon, and minerals. We are in fact living off these deposits seemingly unaware of how this practice is unsustainable – it is in fact a massive Ponzi Scheme. Structurally, a Ponzi Scheme is stable and can go on for ever as long as we keep feeding resources into it; that won’t last for ever. Hence, indiscriminate consumption is not a long term solution for sustained growth.

Going back to the question of Job creation, the good news is that ALL production models and many of the values of our current lifestyle are being REINVENTED! There will be explosive job growth in all activities oriented to making life resource-efficient. Resource replenishment and preservation will be at the heart of all business models. Entire industries will disappear bringing about massive renewal. Humanity’s collective creativity is being called to action, either to create or to adopt the ongoing changes. Are you prepared to take on this process?

Invest in Awakening Your Guru Within

As the ongoing paradigm shift unfolds, your personal livelihood will depend on your ability to tap the unrealized creative potential that you still hold. You will make the wisdom of your inner guru emerge while expressing your unique contribution in a way that generates true value to society. Investing in yourself would unlock the unique alchemy that brings forth your talents, experiences, passions, values, ideals in a way that generates value for others and for yourself.

Investing in yourself will realize a material return on your investment, but also a return for your well-being. Investment is not only about money, but also about how your personal fulfillment sets the stage for a highly productive state of being. It is all about your choices and priorities. Would you rather spend money in getting a new car or in taking a course on how to tap a passion of yours? You could spend a minute or invest a minute, you have a choice every time.

If we did all the things that we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves. Thomas Edison

Are you feeling miserable for having to spend another boring eight hours at a unrewarding job? For all the reasons above you cannot afford to subject yourself to a life without connecting to the inner wisdom of your guru. Humanity as a whole won’t be able to evolve if we all remain unfulfilled. However, if you wake up in the morning excited to go to work, then you know you are part of the solution to humanity’s problems. We simply cannot afford to have you in the sidelines. Connect to your guru within and start expressing it playfully…

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