When a market unfairly stacks the deck against sellers, you're certain to end up with sub-standard products and services, all to compete in a race to the bottom.
When the sellers actually play along and, in turn, plays the same game with their contractors / sub-contractors, you know you have a really problematic industry.
And then you take a step back and realise that this is tried in almost every industry, but there are sellers and providers out there who fight back.
These are the ones to learn and take inspiration from.
Thank you for showing us that we don't have to take unfair treatment, even if they are policies, and even if they seem like unsurmountable obstacles.
Crisis in the Middle of Your Career? There Are Ways Out!
Mid-career crises are particularly tumultuous.
There is the apprehension of what is to come, along with worrying that you won't have the time, agility, or support to transition into a different industry.
There is also the backwards-gazing of what once was, along with the dying hope that things will go back to the way they were.
And it's very easy to get caught between the two, nostalgia and uncertainty, resulting in a stagnant but sinking situation.
As with getting caught in quicksand, the first thing to do is to calm yourself. The more you struggle, the faster you sink.
The next thing to do is to slowly change your position. For quicksand, it's recommended that you try to get into a supine (facing up) position. In your situation, it may be breaking your silence and exploring options.
Then, finally, try to drift towards a safe spot.
If you have the benefit of supportive people around you, and you likely will if you break your silence, they can help you.
Ask them for for thoughts, ideas, even referrals if they can provide them.
You can face a crisis alone, but that's a choice you make.
You don't have to.
Playing With Fire is Just Like Playing With Anything Else. Or Is It?
"Don't play with fire."
And yet, there are professional “players” of fire - Cooks, Welders, Metalsmiths.
Why is it ok for them but not for us?
Managed risk. And experience. You can be sure, though, that they've all been burned more than a couple of times in their professions.
In my years as an educator, presiding over activities involving fire (e.g. we use a flame to do microbiology work that requires a sterile environment), I've only witnessed 2 incidents.
Both were minor and both occurred because strict instructions were willfully ignored.
Nobody was hurt, but a container had to be replaced, and somebody's fringe had a corner go missing. She laughed about it, and her friends were more concerned than she was, but she was fine.
More and more, I meet teachers who refuse to allow their students to handle fire or sharp objects.
Which is perplexing, because these same students have classes in the kitchen that require them to do those things.
It irks me when well-meaning adults treat teenagers like young children, mollycoddling and wrapping them around bubbles of protection. It's health and safety gone mad!
Please. They are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, as long as we give them guidelines and show them that we trust them to follow these guidelines.
Furthermore, those of us who come up with programmes for them know what we are doing.
All these fears are doing is depriving students of quality experiences, education, and life lessons.
Which, to me, is a great tragedy.
Have You Been In My Classroom? You May Have Been the Subject of an Experiment.
Despite having been an educator for such a long time, I still test out new methods and information whenever I get the opportunity.
Which means that, if you've ever been in my classroom, lecture theatre, webinar, or similar setting, there's a very high probability that I conducted some kind of experiment on you.
Don't worry, you weren't being bombarded with gamma rays or breathing in odourless chemicals I infused into the air.
It was more likely a test to see how you would react to a certain way of delivery, a new activity, or a new way of conducting an established activity.
I approach it the way a stand-up comedian approaches new material that he/she has written - basically, test it until you know whether to keep it or dump it.
And I've dumped a whole lot more material than I've kept.
So, this is to say thank you for allowing me to test them out on you, and for participating (albeit mostly unknowingly - oops!) in my experiments. ;)