Businessmen and women, give yourselves a pat on the back!
It is often said that technology drives our society forward. Computers, the internet, smart-phones etc. are hailed as the dawning of a new age in the progress of humankind. Yet most experts and analysts of the latest gadgets and trends leave out the most crucial aspect – you, the businessman/woman. You drive your respective industry forward, you innovate, you provide jobs and opportunity. So why is there a dire need to remind you and the government that you are the essence of the modern society?
There are supposedly ‘nobler’ jobs to pursue, such as being a doctor or a teacher. However, you, the businessman/woman, make the wealth which enables doctors to learn how best to tend to the sick and which provides the tools teachers need to mould the minds of tomorrow’s leaders and innovators. My intention here is not to demean the work that others do, but to remind you that what you do is good. You make money every day for a whole range of purposes. The fact that you are making money and selling your product indicates that you are using your mind and your reason to recognise the needs of a diverse public and to act on those needs.
The economic ‘realists’ and experts will tell you, day in and day out, that the economy is getting worse and worse, that more people are being laid off and that it is becoming more and more difficult for anyone to make money. What an incredible phrase that, ‘to make money’. You, the businessman/woman, do not just take from others. You earn your own money and, therefore, you should be allowed to use it as you see fit. Money is not a value in and of itself. It cannot give you a value or meaning in and of itself. It is rather an indication that you use your mind and that others voluntarily recognise your work and are willing to exchange currency for it.
You will always have your mind, your reason, despite what everyone else says, so do not let public negativity, or that of those around you, limit you from achieving that which you want to achieve. Do not surrender your driving force to those who drone on and on about how tough life is and how you can never succeed. Use your reason to identify and connect things which have never before been imagined. Continue to push the boundaries of your specific industry. With reason as your tool, be self-sufficient, self-motivated and you will have work to generate without having to rely on anyone else other than your customers.
In The Objectivist Ethics, Ayn Rand writes that “Reason is the faculty that identifies and integrates the material provided by man’s senses. It is a faculty that man has to exercise by choice. Thinking is not an automatic function.” As businessmen and women, you recognise reality and can assess your own situation. You act accordingly so that you can live and make a living for yourself. The tools and opportunities are there for you to use, for you to prosper; use reason as your absolute and seize them.
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