#occupyyourself

If you follow my Twitter feed at all, you probably know that I am not a fan of the whole Occupy thing. There are several reasons for that, such as the misguided attempt to raise awareness about inequality by causing traffic jams, wasting tax payer money and annoying people (ever heard 'honey catches more flies than vinegar'?) but I don't want to get into all of that right now.

What really baffled me was seeing a young woman at Occupy WallStreet being asked the following: "If one of the CEOs from these banks came down here and offered you a $150,000 job, would you take it?"

With no hesitation this girl said "No!"

So what is the message here? I thought everyone was upset about unemployment and income inequality. Wouldn't her having a high-paying job not be a small step towards balancing it out? The message to me is: "No! I want to continue to be part of the 99% because then I can loathe in self-pity and be angry and I don't want to work for one of those evil, corrupt 1% owned companies".
Right, why would you want to get a job at one of those companies. All that would allow you do is to make a real difference by changing things from within and taking small or big steps to end corruption and focus on the customer. Horrible idea. Sitting at a park all day is so much more effective.

Since this 'job offer' was purely theoretical, let's look at other things that all of the people at the Occupy events could be doing. Instead of hanging out at a park all day, drinking Starbucks and playing with your iPhone expressing your anger on Twitter and Facebook or streaming Hulu or Netflix, you could be making a real difference in the lives of people that have it much much worse than you.

Did you know that if you make $30,000 a year, you are still among the top 7% richest people in the world?!http://www.globalrichlist.com/

 Here are some ideas for things you can do to #occupyyourself and #makearealdifference:

- Volunteer at a homeless or animal shelter
- Take the time to go buy food for a homeless person you see on the side of the road
- Become a Big Brother or Big Sister
- Organize a charity event for a cause that is dear to your heart or volunteer to help out with one
- Ask your neighbors if they need help with anything and help them out if you can (moving, walking the dog, babysitting, etc)
- Teach - do you have skills that could help a child (or an adult!) make a better life for themselves? Share your knowledge!
- Use your network to help someone find a job, find a home, or whatever you can connect them with
- Help someone find a job by referring them, helping with their resume, providing interview tips from your experience, lending them an outfit for the interview, driving them to the interview, and so on
- Create a start-up
- Join a charity on an overseas trip for a couple of months helping people by building wells, teaching English, helping with relief efforts and so on
- Travel. Expand your horizons

This is just my personal list. I am sure there are many more items that could be added (and please do in the comments if you have any!)

Imagine what a difference Occupy participants could make if all of them refocused their energy on one or some of the items above. And what would the message to the banks and the government be?

"The 99% stand together and help each other ... and we don't need you". Now that's a scary statement to the banks and the government.



P.S.: I know that this does not apply to most Occupy protesters, but since I have seen it and heard of it, I just need to call this one out: anyone yelling "F**k the USA" should be sent a on trip to Turkmenistan or North Korea for 6 months. Bet that will change their mind.