Me, You and the Pandemic

As I write this, the “the most important American election of all time” is just getting underway and COVID-19 cases are rising rapidly throughout the western world. Restrictions are tightening, and with that the consequences increase.

Those of you who follow this blog will know that my prediction on where we would be right now was accurate to a degree which I find uncanny and uncomfortable. After reflecting in a state of deep relaxation I see things clearer. There’s no magic, only practice and a commitment to thinking clearly.

Fortunately, clear thinking is not a function of IQ, EQ, or education. In fact, all of these have to be overcome on the way to clear thinking. It is using your entire range of emotion, experience, imagination and understanding of how your body works to understand the environment you are in, and so judge what is on the other side of the hill.

In my view, the purpose of education should be to get people to think clearly. Of course the reality is that it is not. Its purpose is to prepare people for their slots in Society and to separate the potential elites from the chaff.

Liberal democracies and dictatorships of the 21st century are the same. Education is a tool of control geared towards creating the cogs to keep the wheels turning and to keep everyone in their place.

The threat of clear thinking to dictatorships is obvious. Liberal Democracies on the other hand have been very clever in hiding their hand under the guidance of the “Ad Men”. Western society has become about buying what you do not need and voting for incompetence. This is not a recent phenomena; it has been going on since at least the end of the Second World War. Clear thinking is a threat to the dominant ideologies of the western world, to democracy and capitalism, and so is actively discouraged.

Since Engels and Marx, there has been no new thinking about how to organise society for production, distribution, and fairness. Despite the explosion of places of higher learning, and their attaining mystical auras, very little thought has emerged over the last 100 years. The collapse of Capitalism began with the industrial revolution and was accelerated into the ludicrous construct of the financial markets: trading in nothing, creating nothing, enriching a few. When the inevitable collapse came in 2008, the elites acted swiftly to repair the illusion and protect their privilege. Too big to fail was not about you or Society at large; it was and remains to be about Elites educated in similar places, taught to not think by similar systems, who joined a machine that promised an orderly comfortable existence so long as the playbook was followed.

Capitalism was born out of the efforts of millions of individuals to make their way. It was small, harsh, and dependent on communities and co-operations. Banks arose when those who achieved great success found themselves with excess money and made it available to others within their communities to pursue enterprise. The shortcomings were many, but the opportunities changed the lives of millions.

The Industrial Revolution changed all of that. Having not too long escaped the economy of African slavery, the western world entered into the era of the Wage Slave, in which we have firmly remained.

Now what does this mean for you? Firstly, you need to acquire the habit of clear thinking, and anyone can get there.

Secondly, you need to acquire the habit of the wealthy. Keeping wealth has become a function of the structure of the market system; the rise of Family Offices and the like prevent the generational loss of wealth by putting the control of fortunes into the hands of professional money managers who are connected to a system in which capital cannot be destroyed, no matter how stupid people are. The persons who created the wealth in the first place were usually very different (clear thinking individuals). This is why they often did not finish university. This is what they do: as a situation is unfolding, they take a moral and ethical position. The tide is against that; people are bent on doing foolishness. Recognising the inevitability of nonsense, the wealthy do two things: protect their capital, then aggressively look for the opportunity to make money. Many consider this exploitation. The wealthy would say that faced with the determination of people to do silly things and understanding the inevitable consequences, they took steps to protect themselves (and benefit if possible). You, too need to develop this mindset. You do not need capital. You can start right now from where you are. Think it through, protect yourself as best you can and look for the opportunity.

Thirdly, you need to set the basis for investing in yourself. I was watching a presenter named Cramer on CNBC, an American ‘business’ channel, some years ago. He was explaining how to become an investor. What struck me and has remained with me ever since was his first rule. Before you invest a dime, take out a robust health insurance plan. No amount of money you make in the stock market can pay for hospitalisation if you develop a serious illness. Of course, the American approach to health care is mystifying, but what I got from that is to invest first in your personal health. After this, all things are possible. It starts with nutrition, then vitamin and mineral supplementation. I have written extensively on this and have detailed my approach in posts on my Patreon page. This is a robust insurance plan; it will protect against degenerative conditions. You will still be at risk for catastrophic injuries which you should guard against by positioning yourself in an area where healthcare is paid for or with private health insurance.

Lastly, become a real capitalist. See your income, regardless of the source, as earnings for the business of you. Save, invest, protect. Be promiscuous, multiply your sources of income by side hustles or second and third jobs; grow you. When you see folly, tweet, march, sign petitions, but also look for the opportunities that are created and take advantage.

My first client as a Performance Coach was on a very good trajectory at the beginning of this year. Then came the Global Pandemic, and with it lockdowns around the world. She was very fearful of what the future held. We talked it through a few times, using the techniques for clear thinking, then she was off. She grew two existing businesses by several fold and started 3 others, significantly reduced her debt, and bought a new car. Then, she fell down a flight of stairs and bruised her hip, elbows, and shoulder. She broke nothing and recovered in her home using ice, heat, and massage. She has not touched another human being in seven months.

Remarkable, by any standard. Let me add that this person is my mother, Blossom O’Meally-Nelson, who turned eighty on September 6th.