History, for many people, isn’t a fun subject.
We were bored to tears with names of kings and presidents that ruled the land hundreds and thousands of years ago.
For many of us, it’s sheer torture.
However, I learnt that history can be one of the most enlightening subjects we will ever take. Assuming you have a good teacher, that is.
Here, on this site, I try to be just that. A good teacher.
My goal is, as you may already know, is to share good ideas with you.
Success ideas, business ideas, social ideas, health ideas, marketing ideas, education ideas – anything and everything that might make a difference in your life.
I’m not here looking for people to agree with everything I say. I just want to make you think.
The other day I was talking with a client about how the world has changed.
I posed the question, “What’s the difference between the world today and our parents’ generation?”
One issue that came up was the role of men and women in the family.
30 years ago Japan was undergoing incredible growth and the economic machine was rolling along.
A sushi chef told me that back then he would just go into Gucci, point at a shirt and then ask, “How many colors does it come in?”
Money practically, if you’ll excuse the expression, grew on trees back then.
Housing went through the roof.
Men worked, women took care of the family.
Life was good.
Fast forward to today and it’s a very different picture.
Today, both men and women work.
And yet, together, a couple’s salary doesn’t allow them to live as well as 30 years ago.
The economic boom is long forgotten and enthusiasm about the future has become more of trepidation.
Women no longer feeling the need to rely on men.
Divorce is up.
Students today are struggling to find work.
Those lucky enough to find a job have to deal with long hours and a bigger workload than just a few years ago.
And this isn’t unique to Japan.
Most first world nations are falling prey to the same circumstances. Unemployment, lower salaries, higher prices…it’s unnerving.
Now I’m not trying to scare people. These are what we call, “the facts.”
In order to solve any problem we must first come to grips with the situation we are in. And the situation most of us face today is, in a word, grim.
This site is about hope though.
So what good can we take away from all of this change?
I was thinking about why our world has undergone such incredible change. I used to think that it was the Internet that caused such a radical change, but these days I believe that it simply helped increase the speed at which it took place.
The real reason for change, in my humble opinion, was the change in economy.
That’s why I implore people to study economy, because it is something we all must deal with and it has incredible implications in our daily life, even if we don’t notice it.
I know what some of you are thinking, “Economics is complicated,” I get that.
But that doesn’t make it any less important.
Whether we like taxes or not, we do have to pay them.
We might not like medicine, but we have to take it nonetheless.
Sometimes, in life, it’s not about what we like, but what we must do.
I believe that today, we must make economics a study.
Way back in 1215, the Magna Carta came into being. Essentially the business men went to the King of England (John at the time) and said, “You no longer make the rules.”
Business, or economics, is how our society survives and it touches each and everyone one of us.
What I have found most amazing about history is that time and time again we fall prey to the same mistakes.
I attribute this fact to our human folly.
Despite our ever growing intelligence, each generation must learn the world anew, and unless a serious study of history is made, the same mistakes will be made.
Today the world is facing a crisis, one still unraveling. The course is set, the only question is when and how.
One month ago I did my first official financial seminar and I’m busy working on my next one which will be held later this year.
I’m working on some videos that will be made available to everyone free of charge to help enlighten people.
My videos, as well as my seminar, are designed to be simple.
Whether you like economics isn’t the issue here…economics play a huge part in our lives and we should all take the time to learn a little.
History is a cruel teacher for those not willing to learn the lessons of the past.
Get educated now in order to prosper tomorrow.
Adrian Shepherd