Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Are You a Cog in the Wheel?


The Cog in the Wheel

A week-long series by a local paper concerning poverty has led me to observe and re-iterate a few things.

1.     The Rust Belt built its core foundation on manufacturing.

2.     The manufacturing era has been over for some time.

3.     People have not been able to grasp the concept of line #2.

4.      Consequently, many of the people lack the tools necessary to be productive in this environment.

Boomtown

Years ago, cheap labor was the solution to a factory owner’s success. Many of those people were from Olive Hill, Kentucky and moved to Mansfield, Ohio. Working hard to be a “cog in the wheel” meant receiving a decent paycheck and retiring comfortably.  

Performing a repetitive task quickly and effectively was all that mattered. Increasing employee’s pay and marketting to the massest  permitted the factory owners to sell more products resulting into expanding production facilities and increase in revenues.

Corporations and unions maintained the status quo and continued to protect their own best interest. Everyone profited for decades.

Greed

We bought into all the marketing ideas to purchase stuff that wasn’t necessary. Employees never realized they were being slowly duped by buying into the overall concept of the manufacturing era.

We kept up with the status quo going deeper in debt to appear rich. We lived beyond our means mortgaging our future.

Greed within- unions, employees, corporations and government opened the doors to cheaper labor- overseas. Suddenly mass jobs disappeared. Debt replaced our ability to live comfortably. The global economy slowly replaced the need of the local economy.

The global recession, bailouts, and national debt deepened our concern for stability.

The Rust Belt Era

Mansfield, Ohio suffers the same fate as any “rust belt city”. Civic leaders failed to plan ahead and were unable to fill the void with a new industry. Former factory workers continued to long for the “good old days”. They’re gone!

We will never see a large factory open with hundreds of jobs paying $100,000 a year with overtime in our lifetime. The premise has always been about cheaper labor. Once your job is written down in a manual someone else, somewhere else- will do it cheaper.

Where do we go from here?

While attending school is a viable option, many people with college degrees are unable to find work in their chosen field.

Photo used courtesy of: Ralph Bijker.
The trick in today’s workplace environment is to find a void and fill it with a passion and sincere desire to be successful. Merely being a “cog in the wheel” guarantees failure. Multiple skill sets will be needed to standout and be unique. Discovering available options allows you to “get in the game”.
Eliminating and avoiding debt is paramount for surviving and succeeding in the years ahead.
Being able to provide a service or a need at a higher quality verses the mass produced goods from overseas is the best option for success in this new economy!

The question is- when will we as a community and individually decide to become a free agent and move past yesteryear?

Only then- will we begin to prosper again!

Until We Meet Again,
 Jim Carver
 Author: The Legacy of David A. Wells-The Lexington High School “Band of Gold”
Something Meaningful that Matters!
www.successthroughmusic.com
Disclaimer- Books and links on this website contain affiliate marketing sources between Jim Carver and 3rd party companies. I only recommend products, brands and businesses that I strongly support. Photos used on this site are used courtesy of the original authors and in no way endorse The Rust Belt Chronicles or my work. Thank you.

2 comments:

  1. I hear you loud and clear here, Jim, but I'm stuck.I feel like I'm at a good place to begin, but I keep looking around like... where do I begin? I have an image of a person shocking me with a defibrillator to get me going. I keep wishing an epiphany is going to just kick a light bulb on and all will become clear. Any suggestions?

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  2. First checkout this video about this project:
    http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/191428
    The project only has so many hours left to obtain gifts with the book, but it may be a good start. You could also wait until the book is out in the book stores. I think it could help you determine what you are passionate about.
    I think the little voice in your head is your passion calling you. I am expanding my business to a coaching business soon. My goal is to help people discover their passion and true calling and lead fruitful lives.
    Something I would like you to consider is writing me with your thoughts and ideas on what you would like to do and where you are in your life now. I need several hours of actual coaching experience and perhaps you could be my first client. Let me know, I would be honored!
    You and I know you are capable of doing so much more and the only thing stopping you is the resistance. That’s the little voice in our head that says- don’t or we’re not good enough, smart enough or have the time. The resistance is fear and the only way to silence the voice is to find what we want to do and begin- one baby step at a time.
    Something to consider- I know you are an excellent writer and I think you could write a book. Perhaps take all your blogs and publish a book based on your thoughts and journey of your faith and experiences to share like you do now.
    Hopefully this helps I will look into more resources for you, but write me and I will be glad to assist you!
    Sincerely,
    Jim Carver

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