Are you villain or hero? It may depend on the adjectives someone uses to describe you.
“Greed and boredom.” That’s what the New York Times suggested in a tweet as motivation for individual investors making money in the recent stock market rally around GameStop and other businesses targeted for short sales. The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Zweig called them a “ragtag army,” saying “These new mobs of amateur traders resemble swarms of animals that often coalesce in the wild.”
AOL, on the other hand, described them with the hero’s cape: “grassroots Reddit warriors united to foil Wall Street hedge fund bigwigs from cashing in on the video game retailer’s anticipated demise.”
For me, a system where elitists (notice the choice of word) make money by rooting for another company to fail is mean. Wasn’t that covered (at least in metaphor) in the anti-bullying or SEL curriculums that are required at most schools now?
Your POV Is Always Showing
Even if your point of view (POV) is not explicitly stated, it’s in the words you choose. That’s important to remember because in 2021, people want to buy from companies whose values match their own. It doesn’t mean you have to profess an opinion on everything. Certainly, many try to disconnect politics from business with clients on both sides of the chasm.
Do, however, try writing down three things that you stand for. Think of it as the spark inside you that drives you to spark change through your business or life projects. Not just the multi-billionaires and famous movie stars in the news.
That spark is also inside the everyday person who is building a business, guiding their family to thrive, finding time for self-care, making a living, and committing to have a positive impact within their sphere of influence. You are the hero in your life.
See how others are putting their spark into action in upcoming episodes of our weekly livestream, Intercultural Spark (see below).