You’ve heard the saying “Stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything.”
In my time spent studying self-determination, asset maximization, and the psychology of winning “followers” (customers, voters, etc.), a few patterns have emerged.
Teaching college government, I talked about the Lockean principle of the rights to life, liberty, and property — the building blocks of America’s foundation. The United States is built on Liberalism, the political philosophy that espouses liberty and equality. (It’s not about the political parties, so I hope no conservatives get their panties in a twist…)
With my old ‘Maximum YOUtilization’ initiative, I talked about taking an inventory of your skills & talents, AKA: your personal assets. Learning about Economics and Wealth Management, a term came to my mind: Asset Maximization. I haven’t seen an official definition for it anywhere, so maybe it’s up to me to make it a thing…
‘Asset maximization’ is, to me, the natural predecessor of wealth maximization. We utilize our assets to generate wealth. Rebecca owns a plane. It’s worth $, minus depreciation. But! She rents it to corporations and makes $. Rebecca is using her asset.
Rebecca could use the plane to its full extent, finding a use for it to serve in every moment of every day, using all the different aspects of the plane itself. That’s maximizing her asset.
We have the same ability to recognize all our unique gifts, re-package them to make the biggest impact in our lives, and reap major rewards from self-actualization to financial security. And, the psychology of winning people over has all sorts of implications, most of which go back to the premise: Stand For Something.
There are multiple forces out there, trying to get your money, your time, your health, your votes, your attention, your likes, your clicks… and it will all slowly diminish you, if you let it.
So, you have to own your path. Harness the unlimited power of self-determination. Don’t give up your freedom.
Know your worth. Own your ability to make change and shape your destiny.
Don’t take any wooden nickels. Craft a vision for your life, something to shoot for… & don’t be distracted by the things that aren’t “for” you.
In short…
OWN YOURSELF.
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