The New Economy Part II

In part 1 of the New Economy, I stated that our worth is measured in our  ”networth”, defined as the cumulative value of our assets;  however in part II of the New Economy, your worth is measured in your Goals, Dreams and Purpose (GDP).  I’ve also decided to shift the focus from money and place more emphasis on human value and magnify the importance of selfworth.  I think these elements deserve great recognition and attention because they have the ability to bring the most potentially rich, satisfying and joyful experiences in our lives.  I find it very dangerous to measure your worth primarily in monetary value or materialistic achievements such as the value of your house, or the brand name of your clothes.  I believe this to be a superficial assessment and can be potentially dangerous because losing these things can lead to depression and other emotional or mental problems.  Moving away from this traditional definition of worth isn’t easy because we need money in our society.  Money is directly link to our survival; however, we can choose to redefine how much value we place on it.  But this requires a different way of thinking altogether. 

 In defining the New Economy, I’ve decided to place more emphasis on selfworth because it is time to stop equating our value to what’s in our bank accounts and our 401K’s.  In the New Economy selfworth is the measurement of your value.  Your selfworth is assessed in terms of your skills, knowledge, values, expertise, experience, aptitude, determination, ambition, and the contributions you make to your family, friends, community, the earth, and the investments in yourself.  Selfworth is the “value” that is transferred from you to your relationships, your purpose, and contributions that produce a high level of productivity and proactivity.  If you are going to accept the ideology of the New Economy you will need not only to shift your thinking, but also change your behavior.  This adjustment requires you to think outside of what you have been thought about life, your value and the way you are currently measuring success. 

This shift will enable you to place the value of money in its proper context—a tool use in exchange for goods and services, and provide the means to acquire your basic human needs (shelter, food, clothing, etc.).  By placing money into its proper context, you are able to clearly see that there is much value in your “selfworth”.  The value is qualitative; it is the quality of your relationships, your effectiveness as a person, your potential, and the quality of your contributions to your family and community.  In the New Economy, the emphasis is placed on human worth. The resources, knowledge, and information that come from people are just as powerful, if not more so, than money.

In the New Economy there is a strong focus on sustainability, building families and communities.  Actually, the concept of a New Economy isn’t really new at all; it once existed before, but it was overtaken by consumption, greed and individualism.  Unfortunately, we’ve managed to move away from family and community—important elements of our survival.  We may attribute the reason to technological advances which have influence other kinds of changes.  Change is inevitable and some may argue that to survive you must keep up with the changing times, or be left behind.  I believe it is important to adjust and adapt to change, if we don’t, we may be adversely impacted.  But it doesn’t mean we have to accept all the changes that come our way.  Basically, we shouldn’t allow our survival to be solely dependent on external forces such as the economy, a job, the stock market, etc.  We have become too comfortable with the idea that some thing, other than us, is responsible for our survival. 

We are responsible for ourselves and it isn’t enough these days to put aside money in your 401K and hope that the market will work in your favor so you can have enough money for retirement.  It’s not enough to make millions of dollars and spend it on “things” that don’t fill the void in your souls. Your survival shouldn’t be totally contingent on these sources.  Rather, your survival is interdependent and interconnected to your community, family and your self-worth. 

I charge you to think about everything you need that allows you to live the life you want, then create a system for it.  A system means a “way of doing something”, so the system you create can be outside of the traditional method of earning money.  It should be legal, meets your basic needs, enables you to take care of your family and community, and helps you explore your interests.  Also, the system should allow you to capitalize on your potential, utilize your skills, and benefit your community. Any system you create should fuel your way of life and work well, not just for you, but everyone that has contributed to the development of the system, as well as the benefactors. This system should produce new ideas, expand your potential and achieves your Goals, Dreams and Purpose (GDP). Your GDP is the fundamental element that directly impacts your happiness and quality of life.  Simply put, your system should not only be a money-making entity.

What does this really means?  How do you put this into practical terms?  Well if money is a concern for you now, as it is for millions of Americans today, you can develop a system such as a peer lending group that provides financial assistance to any member of the group experiencing financial hardship.  In today’s economy, many people have lost their jobs, cannot acquire loans because banks are very strict with their lending practices, so developing a peer lending group is an alternative to acquiring money from traditional lending institutions that usually require lengthy paper work, good credit, if not excellent credit in today’s market.  A peer lending group is a good alternative and can be a vital source of financial support that can be easily accessed by a member when the need arise.

In the New Economy human connection and human potential are rated on a higher scale than the value of money.  In this current economy, money holds a significant value and to some extent, rightfully so, because it would make it difficult, if not near to impossible to live a decent life without it.  However, human connection and human potential are equally important, and in some aspects, even more important than money. The New Economy understands the value of human connection, human potential, and self-worth and most of all the value they bring to our lives and communities.