Entrepreneur – breaking the societal mould
As we grow up we are all taught that we need to get a good education. We are told this will help us to get a decent well-paid job. In other words, we are systematically conditioned to understand that getting an education is ‘good’; and that this will enable us to get a job, which is also ‘good’. The alternative, not getting an education, will supposedly plunge us into poverty.
However, while the statement about poverty is probably true, there is an unforgivable sin to be addressed here: that we have only given an illusion of choice. Get educated and get a job; or don’t get educated and end up on welfare. The welfare route is undoubtedly bad, but education can lead us down far more promising avenues than simply working a 9-to-5.
Educators need to be careful when shaping the minds and thinking of our children, as the use of hypnotic language patterns is extremely powerful. The education-job scenario above has become the social norm, but is nevertheless very similar to the hypnotic bind used by therapists – or indeed savvy parents trying to get their kids into the bath! In the latter, a parent might say something like:
“Would you like me to read your bedtime story before or after you take your bath?”
This gives the illusion that the child has the power of choice (before or after), but doesn’t offer the child the choice of opting out of taking a bath. I offer no guarantees this technique will get your children dashing to the bathroom; often they’ll see right through this little ploy.
In society though, with peer pressure adding to the programming, people don’t see past this choice illusion. And for better or worse, they take their pick from the two possibilities. In other words, most end up working in jobs, many end up on the dole, and a very small number ignore the ‘bind’ and invent their own option – entrepreneurship.
The new choice of being an entrepreneur doesn’t have to mean becoming an inventor and trying to manufacture something. It doesn’t mean ditching everything else to try and start a brand new business. In short, it isn’t about taking a big risk. Often the risks are reduced when you use a little enterprising thinking.
You can still do a day-job, and try out some small business ventures – online perhaps – in the evenings or at the weekend. This allows you to test out your idea while you still have that salary ‘safety buffer’.
Alternatively, you might be out of work because you are an independent thinker, or wanted to be ‘in charge’. And you may never have thought of going it alone, because the choices were job or welfare, right? Start something up and keep going for it! At least you know your future is firmly in your own hands.
So have you always followed these rules that society has created for you? Maybe, in these days of recession and with the ever-increasing threat of redundancies, it’s now time to break the mould, think for yourself and define your own future.
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