economicmultipliers_75

Economic Multipliers (75)

Do you know what these are?

They help CREATE wealth in systems.

Not knowing things can be an economic multiplier for you if it keeps you out of trouble.

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In the late 90’s, I met (while working on a project) a rather older single gentleman who shared similar interests who lived over 100 miles away. As I corresponded with him a few times and oddly enough (for me because of his age), pondered the possibility of him as a ‘dating interest,’ I received an email that I thought might lead to ‘explicit’ conversations online.

I sent a note back to the effect that even if I was dating someone, I would never use email to engage in certain kinds of conversations. Guess what? He ‘listened.'

Although we never did date, it didn’t bother me that he ‘tested the waters’ because ‘he listened.’ And, I myself was already ‘older’ and had considered the many disadvantages of online communication that went along with the many advantages and had already made a conscious choice regarding how I wanted to use the technology.

My computer skills usually follow my projects versus leading them and over the years (particularly most recently), I’ve considered myself ‘lucky’ that I don’t know how to do a lot of things:

• • I haven’t yet learned how to splice or alter audio and video files and rarely ‘record’ anything.

  • I wouldn’t know how to ‘hide my tracks’ if I did anything inappropriate online (or anywhere else for that matter) so I’ve never been tempted to. Very few people do know how to ‘hide their tracks’ online and ironically, when they do, they think they are protected. But, because so few people know how to do this, they themselves are an easily definable and small class of people if problems ‘crop up.'

  • I don’t know how to tap into other people’s accounts (for anything) and have never had any interest in ‘pretending’ I was anyone other than who I am online or anywhere else: I find it challenging enough to be myself and get all of my own stuff done.

  • I’ve never had a need to send photos over a cell phone … but I’m sure it’s not too hard to figure out. I can think of thousands of uses for digital cameras and the cameras on cell phones and computers if a digital camera isn’t immediately available … all of them oriented toward creating wealth in ways that are beneficial for individuals AND the communities and the nations that they live in (it really is possible to have benefits magnify) … I can also easily come up with uses that aren’t beneficial (but might seem ‘fun’) but believe there is more value in explaining to people (particularly young people who are the most versed in all the ways technology can be applied) why they shouldn’t do certain things IF they want to create economic multipliers in their communities (and for themselves).

  • I don’t have access to anyone else’s personal information via any job, don’t spend my time trying to pry into other people’s personal lives and don’t have a ‘reality TV show’ mentality: Did you ever notice that shows like this rarely focus on regular (I guess boring) people achieving regular (I guess boring) things and collectively creating extraordinary results?

I do always worry about becoming a ‘gossip’: I have opinions on just about everything. As a result, I sometimes believe that limited conversations and a lack of information have occasionally been beneficial for me.

I don’t always abide by this rule but have a philosophy that you should complain in private and work to solve problems in public so you don’t feel a need to complain in private. As a result, when people have reality TV show mentalities, I usually think they don’t know how to prevent and solve problems because it’s never possible to exit the ‘complaint loop’ and for ‘excitement,’ they are probably running around creating EXTRA problems (for OTHER people of course).

When I do purposely take an interest in anything (be it a project or a person), I do so with the expectation that my sole goal should be to create longterm value. I particularly enjoy seeing young people venture into the world with the sort of happy-go-lucky feeling that goes along with knowing that they can make a positive difference in their life and/or someone else’s, even if it’s just a little one.

Usually when I don’t know something, I consider myself to be at a disadvantage.

But access to and the ability to use certain kinds of technology have created all sorts of new ways for people to get themselves into trouble. Sometimes when problems crop up, it’s nice to be able to say that it wouldn’t have even been possible for you to have created any of them.

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Some ‘operating rules’ that might keep you out of trouble:

• • Keep ‘personal’ conversations as personal as possible (via the mail or direct communication) and if anyone ever engages you in any ‘conversation’ that’s not going to make sense (relative to your work and hopefully long and happy life), let them know and expect them to listen. If they don’t ‘listen,’ block their emails and calls/messages. If they persist (to the point where it seems like stalking), give them a 3-6 month away date and indicate that they can contact you again then and you’ll see if you’ve changed your mind. A persistent person with a genuine and respectful interest (who may actually be a ‘good catch’) will wait and is not a ‘stalker’ … Unfortunately, for good or bad (for either of you), you still may never be interested.

  • If anyone ever sends you ‘very questionable’ materials and they look ‘police worthy’ (mainly because it wasn’t ‘for hire’ work that you’d find in a legally operated store or it involves children) forward it on to the appropriate authorities. Likewise, don’t find it ‘funny’ to ‘provide’ and ‘share’ adult materials with kids.

  • If you receive any questionable materials, send a note back to the sender asking why they sent the materials to you and indicate that you don’t accept anything other than items that will create VALUE for you and your community: Those are your terms if they want to associate with you. Don’t let them convince you that they are protecting the community if they are sharing anything with you that they aren’t sending to a police department: Ask yourself how and why THEY are collecting all their ‘goodies.'

  • If you receive materials that pertain to anyone you know that are questionable (even if it only seems like some sort of vindictive ‘gossip’), avoid helping create a communitywide mess. Let the targeted person know, do not forward the materials on to others (unless it’s the police) and give the targeted individual copies of the materials and let them know who sent them: The person who sends questionable materials is usually not your friend: They are usually a community bully and may have or may be committing a crime (Do you really want to become part of it?). The person you notify could end up being one of the best friends you’ll ever have the rest of your life.

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If everyone made a commitment to using their knowledge and access to technology to keep people out of trouble, we’d all live in a much wealthier (and, I expect, more happy-go-lucky!) world.

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P.S. I picked up a book to read on election day about the U.S. Presidents (I think I’ll make this a habit since I rarely schedule enough time for history): Grover Cleveland’s Rubber Jaw and Other Unusual, Unexpected, Unbelievable but All-True Facts About America’s Presidents by Stephen Spignesi (one of the many, many books available): If you think that much has changed in the world regarding technology (and people), consider that cameras were invented around the mid-1800’s and per this book, ‘A Union captain once sent (Abe) Lincoln a mail-order ad for pornographic pictures’ because he wanted Lincoln to know what was going on within ‘his troops.'

Personally, I think a lot of guys would have found this early use of technology to be ‘funny’ and a lot of women would not have …

You just need to ask yourself:

• • ‘What kind of world do I want to live in?’

  • ‘What kinds of relationships do I want with the people around me?’

  • ‘What kind of person do I want to be?’ And, if you ever have kids:

  • ‘What do I want my children (or other young people) to think of me?’

If anything that you legally ‘collect’ or ‘create’ or ‘share’ promotes a healthy relationship with your spouse or significant other and creates no longterm problems for you, your kids and other individuals in your community and nation, you’re in good shape. Then all you need to be concerned about is never collecting, creating or sharing ‘anything else.’

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P.S.P.S. It isn’t possible to know who would be prone to becoming a sexual deviant or prone to violence or control problems if they got too much ‘visual stimulation’ so I hope some technology companies are developing computer programs to help law enforcement agencies ‘scan’ materials without having to continually directly view certain kinds of materials.

When you’ve got an ‘exponentially expanding social problem,’ the last thing you’d want in any community is for anyone just doing their job in the judicial or social services system to become part of the problem.