[bigletter]Does COVID-19 have you feeling trapped? Yeah, me too. Some might see our current social climate solely as a global crisis, but I see opportunity as well. This is a key moment for the movers and the shakers to reflect, work hard, and center themselves again.[/bigletter]
Lil Wayne’s famous lyric “Real Gs move in silence like lasagna” will always be one of my favorites. The debate on whether the G is lasagna is actually silent is a conversation for some other time, but the point is that Weezy was right about G(angster)s and how they move. They quietly get things done, and it shows in the results, and *full disclosure* I’m not glorifying gangsters and their lifestyles, but I stand by the fact that whether you’re a hustler on the street or a company CEO when you’re making loud moves you don’t need to be announcing every little thing. In fact, whenever I’m given major news, it’s usually off the record. The rule is not to announce it until it’s set in stone and ready to go. Then you attack and watch the results shine through later.
Putting aside Lil Wayne, gangsters and lasagna, all the announcements made between yesterday and today regarding the most relevant topic of the moment, being the Coronavirus – which by the way crept up real quick, and the next thing I know Italy’s death-toll hits 1000 and Trudeau, his wife, Tom Hanks and Rick Scott are all within the thousands of people in quarantine – have inspired me to think and reflect a lot about where we stand as a population.
I find it so interesting that people panic because death seems so potentially close, but many of the ones panicking and stocking up on 80 rolls of toilet paper are the same lot who turn a blind eye to the fact that climate change is just as much of a terrible threat to all of our lives.
I may not understand the double standard but I do come to terms with the root of this reaction: fear.
People are afraid of contracting the virus or losing a loved one because of it, and of course, people are afraid of the unknown. At this point, the virus is moving fast, but it’s all very new…and besides speculation, we don’t know where it’s going or how it’ll end up. All we know is that COVID-19 sees no social class, race, bank account or nationality…oh yeah, and it sees no borders. When shit hits the fan, we come to realize how vulnerable we truly are and how minuscule and ridiculous our 100,000 self-invented criterias to classify each other, really are.
Though we face a possible recession, days off from work, inflation, and many who are coming to terms with the fact that their health will possibly never be at its peak again, I do see the light within the isolation recommended when someone is considered to be at risk.
I think many of us would agree that as long as that virus poses a serious threat, this situation and recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will remain the same or get worse. So if you are working from home and you happen to be one of the privileged few with a computer or a smartphone, with access to the internet and the availability to read this, I encourage you to take the time at home to make some moves for yourself. This is an opportunity to have extra time on your hands to work a bit more on personal goals. Don’t announce so much, just do it. You don’t need to be at events and showing off on your stories or at the best restaurant in town in order to feel like you’re making progress in your priorities and goals.
In 1665, the University of Cambridge temporarily closed due to the bubonic plague. Isaac Newton had to work from home, and he used this time to develop calculus and the theory of gravity. https://t.co/EA98WDihJA
— Martin Kleppmann (@martinkl) March 9, 2020
Being loud about the wrong things might give others the illusion of your success, but it won’t drive you to accomplish whatever you feel is an actual success, and I would hope that doesn’t involve trying to impress others. Your hard work will speak for you. So take this time alone to dive deep without distractions. Then reap the rewards.
In order to feel truly successful, start that website you’ve been thinking about, work out that business plan for that company you wanted to start, look into investing in the stock market – I hear it’s a great time to do so, finish that book you’ve been putting to the side. Work on your goals a little more. Take time to bond a bit more with a family member or to make pancakes for you and your parents, husband, kids, and siblings on a Tuesday morning.
This is a valuable time to use the advances we have in technology to make your goals and your time at home count. Show your boss you don’t need to be at the office every day in order to be productive. Facetime with your business partners, if you happen to have any (I do – he’s in London right now and we screen share once per week). Companies such as Google are waiving fees for conference calls so that working from home within teams is more effective. Brands such as Asana have been developing business models for a moment like right now where we are forced to change and adapt to the current circumstances while remaining productive. As I state in my Linkedin article, the internet gives us an infinite stream of chances to make things happen.
Don’t let this circumstance stop you from seeing the opportunities that you have in front of you. It’s up to you to take advantage of that.
Think about those who are actually caged or are being held in places that aren’t so pleasant, while being alone, cold and unhappy. Take advantage of the privilege of being able to wake up and work from your bed or the comfort of your couch. Maybe this time at home will give you the rest you needed from the hectic day-in-and-day-out lifestyle.
I’m sending out so much love and light right now – more than ever! Times are strange, but as Deepak Chopra says, “try and seek the good within the bad.”
Every negative instance brings lessons and opportunities. Take them.
With love, from Miami…
By Cata Balzano
