I hate political statements. 

We see the proliferation of political statements of companies and businesses during the 'Black Lives Matter" protests. What did we get as a result? Nothing. Aside from millions of money going to the pockets of the organizers.

Now with the war of Israel and Hamas after October 7th massacre, hundreds of political statements were issued but nothing had come out of it, aside from more entrenched position against one group over the other.

I find these statements hollow and hypocritical. 

With the UN-speak, everything is coached in very vague terms and yet the slant is visible. If these terms were used you know what side they're on:  genocide, ethnic cleaning, starvation.

Mere words of solidarity don’t move the needle on world’s challenges. Action does.  And if you want to make a difference, teach your community how to handle conflict based on perspectives and stay away from words that agitate and further divide people into camps. It starts with us to hold that line very clearly.

Words are so cheap but action takes courage.

Political statements are mere political positioning. 

Really, do you really have to waste time just to prove that you have an opinion.

Your opinion doesn't matter.

If you come to educate and inform, I will listen.

I will be open-minded.

If you come to tell me I'm wrong and you are right about this.

I guess we call it a day!

A fellow scholar I know recently posted a heart-warming appeal to help him find a job. Mind you he was a veteran, a scholar on conflict resolution,  a Volunteer Corps, and an educator.

He found himself without any savings after taking care of his mom and her health bills for six months. He doesn’t have the runway these few months until the next job which, if he did get that, would be for fall of next year.

What a sad predicament for those who think that these jobs will be there when they need them and they will get them when they apply. In one job posting, there will be 500, close to 800 applications in Canada for a great job, not even counting the US statistics. You’re very lucky if you were even short-listed and interviewed.

People are addicted to the paycheck, and once this goes away, they don’t know what to do. They didn’t plan to become business owners or entrepreneurs in their minds. But this denial of the insecurity of employment is grave.

Getting a degree or, in my friend’s case, a double PhD won’t give you a free bus ride to downtown. Maybe just a reservation at the nicest spot in a restaurant. But you will not enjoy that if you can't pay for a nice meal and always feeling worried about how to pay the bills.

This is what I would do: 

Instead of posting for help to donate to my personal appeal page or ask for a job from colleagues on Facebook or LinkedIn, I would be resourceful by getting a short-term contract work in the community. Maybe the library can use a hand when it's peak season. The community college might need a substitute teacher or a researcher for a funded project. Maybe the municipality needs event organizers for an upcoming festival. I would go out, call people, and visit the office and ask directly to help. I would be pro-active and will not rest until I find something in the meantime. I'm pretty sure that there will be somebody out there who wants what I can offer and take me in willingly. 


Offer to help for a fee. No one rejects that.

If you ask to people to donate to you, who are actually strangers, it takes a toll on your personal brand and it harms your self-worth too.  The latter is more damaging. 

Have the courage of your skills, talents, and value. 

Hit the road, knock on offices, call people.
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I hate to say this but certifications added to your name doesn't give you free meals or free rides on a public transport.

If you have a great personal brand with a million following but, posting  low-level content doesn't make you more attractive or entertaining to work with.

If you think that another course on top of the last will prepare you for your next assignment, this too will not be useful. 

If you have a double PhD, guess what you need to know how to use these degrees in the workplace and become an authority in your field. 

There's so many mediocre people playing mediocre games at the lowest level.

Get out there as fast as you can.

The higher-level playing field is never crowded.

Aim for the big game. 

Excellence, mastery, and more courage to take new stretch projects. 

You've got to provide value in your industry, fill the gaps,  and lead without asking. 

And never take no for an answer.

They just do the work and their resourcefulness brings them to the next stage.

Again, there's no perfect time, resources, circumstances to act on things that will propel you forward.

Quit getting ready, fire the cylinders. 

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