We may feel powerless at times like these, but we are not.
Over 70M people in the U.S. didn’t want the outcome we are dealing with now. Millions more are now regretting choices made that enabled what is happening.
However, if we unite, we become powerful. The coordinated focus of our time, energy, and money would have a massive impact on those who think we have no voice.
We are familiar with the idea of voting with our dollars. We change our spending habits to favor one business over another, to show that we reject a corporation’s policies, and to influence a company’s actions. It happens all the time.
But we also live in an online world that isn’t about the money we spend with a company. Instead, it’s about the time and attention we give to their platforms, services, and apps. We are the product. Our data, behavior, and clicks are harvested to feed their advertising platforms. We don’t pay Meta to use Facebook, for example. But that corporation sure makes a significant profit from our time spent in the app.
So, we can vote with our time and attention, too, not just our dollars. By deactivating or deleting our accounts, we can starve specific platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X). We can also feed other platforms that represent the values we believe in (e.g., Bluesky).
Money talks. When a company loses enough advertising revenue, they take notice. They may decide to change their policies and actions before it’s too late, and they lose everything. We have the power to make that happen if we are willing to redistribute our time and attention.
We can decide how we spend our money, time, and attention. We get to choose the companies that we feel are aligned with our values. But there is another way to live your values and influence policy that we don’t talk about as often:
Where you work.
You can also “vote” with your blood, sweat, and tears. Our jobs are where we spend a significant portion of our adult lives. Of course, we need to work to live. We must cover our bills, buy groceries, and pay for housing.
But work is already hard enough without being completely miserable while we are doing it. And working for an employer that doesn’t align with your values adds another layer of pain to the misery.
Being selective about choosing an employer is undoubtedly a privilege that not everyone can enjoy. If you live in a small community with few employers and no options for remote work, you are stuck with few choices. I grew up in a tiny farm town like that. The online world hadn’t been created yet, and few local employers existed. You took any job you could find.
However, those who do have more options for their career paths can use this opportunity to research, plan, and select employment that:
Aligns with their values.
Supports their belief system.
Positions them for the future.
Gives them flexibility and resilience.
This podcast episode discusses these points in more detail, so scroll up, hit play, and listen.
In summary, you have more power than you think to help change this world and right wrongs.
You can vote with your dollars to help influence policy.
You can vote with your time and attention to make change happen.
You can vote with your blood, sweat, and tears to reward the right kind of employers with the precious remaining time in your career.
You deserve a career and a job that makes you feel good about waking up on Monday mornings!
📖 Get your free chapter from the book I’ve been writing for the last few years, Becoming Invincible in Life: A Guide to Reclaiming Your Power, Freedom, and Future. I’m in the editing phase right now, so I’ll hopefully be able to publish it later this year!
I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” My wife and I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe.
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