Latest Articles

vertical horizontal
  • Politics Is Like Hiring A Hitman
    by Scott Woods inPolitical on2020-08-13

    For me, politics is like hiring a hitman. I have values and things I care about. I care enough about them to at least bother voting for 5 minutes every year for one issue or another. And because I care at least that much, I vote for people who align with the ability to realize the things I care about.

    Read More ...

  • Punching Above Our Weight
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-07-24

    I believe our vote is the punctuation of our voice. Without that resounding exclamation mark, I believe our voices are just incoherent noise.

    Read More ...

  • BLACK PROGRESS AMIDST SOCIAL CHAOS
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-06-16

    Recent events have raised the profile of historical injustice and inequities here in the USA. The entire world has taken note of the fact that BLACK LIVES MATTER.   We invite all of our friends to engage in actions that result in the greatest movement for change in our history. It is imperative that we take advantage of this opportunity to affect a positive change by ACTING IN OUR SELF-INTERESTS.

    Read More ...

  • Living in a Black No-Man's Land
    by Roger Madison Jr. inOur Community on2019-10-28

    There are many narratives that define the Black experience in America in this 2nd decade of the 21st century. Our striving over the centuries of our sojourn in this nation is a tapestry of every human experience -- oppression, enslavement, forced assimilation, dehumanization, exclusion, segregation, isolation, struggle, perseverance, achievement, excellence, celebration, mourning, despair, progress, setbacks, lynching, assassination, genocide, terror, self-hatred, low esteem, pride,...

    Read More ...

  • Fighting Racism
    by Scott Woods inOur Community on2018-10-25

    I had a boss who was racist. Not an outright bigot, of course; her toolbox was more subtle than most. We bumped heads a lot over inconsequential things. She frequently couldn’t keep my name out her mouth. Lot of gaslighting. You know…2018 style. I tried a lot of ways to combat or navigate her issues. None of them worked, and that’s saying a lot because I’m really good at fighting racism. But at the end of the day – every day – she was my boss, I had to deal with her, and that was that. Finally I...

    Read More ...

What Is Your True Value?


 

When you think of your career profession, how do you value your work?  If you are a laborer for instance paid on an hourly basis making $10 an hour, would you say that the value of your services is $10 an hour?  As a professional accountant, doctor, dentist or planner what would you consider the value of your services?  Many people with tangible capabilities devalue their services based on the ability of others to pay for what they offer in currency.  The value of your product or service does not change just because fewer people can afford to pay for it.  Neither does the need for those who purchase your product or service change because they don’t have the cash to buy.  Our current economic situation seems to have made this dilemma more common among businesses and individuals.

During this gifting season each of us should take a closer look at our value and what constitutes fair compensation for what we have to offer.  In order to be fair to yourself, don’t just think about what you earn from a current employer or the standard rate of pay for your industry.  Instead give some real thought to the value of your “gift”.  God has given each of us a personal talent that has the ability to sustain our every need and to gain great abundance through the use of that talent.  By placing a cash value on what it is you have to offer, one limits themselves to only what other are prepared to pay.  True value should not be calculated based purely on a cost plus basis.  If you could trade your talent for food, or clothing, or shelter, is there a significant difference than paying cash for those same things?  Don’t allow the substance of your gift to be diminished because you are intent on selling it for cash.  You could find that by rethinking the nature and value of your gift you are much richer than you ever knew.

Barter; which is the process of trading one product or service for another without using cash, can change the way you look at your value and that of the things you want or need.  The process has survived for thousands of years, through recession, devaluation of currencies and more important the reduction of mans value based on the amount of cash they might have.  These are factswe should all consider when attempting to assess our own value.