Invested and Indebted

Greetings and welcome back to Consumers and Creators!   If you are new to C&C,  check out the Start Here post.  Today we'll continue to work our way around the Creator's Wheel looking at the Invested trait of the creator and contrasting it with the Indebted trait of the consumer.  This trait is part of the Proactive hallmark of the creator.  This will complete the seventh of the twelve creator traits.  Here's what we've covered so far:

Proactive:
Creators are Responsible and Consumers are Victimized

Passionate:
Creators are Disciplined and Consumers are Negligent
Creators are Honest and Consumers are Defensive

Grateful:
Creators are Compassionate and Consumers are Selfish
Creators are Encouraging and Consumers are Judgmental

Creative:
Creators are Lean and Consumers are Wasteful


So, let's talk about investing.  I like to think of investing like planting seeds.  We all have a bag of seeds we are given every day.  These seeds represent our time, talents, money, passions, and energy.  Creators see their bag of seeds as a means to meet their daily needs and prepare for the future.  For the consumer, their seeds provide them the luxuries that they believe they have worked hard for, and their bag is never enough.

Creators are investors,  proactively thinking about their needs in the future.  They are intentional about how and where they plant their seeds.  They work hard preparing and nurturing the fields they want to prosper.  They are generous with what they have and plant seeds of encouragement and joy in their neighbors' fields.

Consumers are indebted.  Simply consuming their bag of seeds will never be enough so they borrow against future bags.  Perhaps this means they take out a monetary loan.  Perhaps it means they borrow against future energy by squandering their time and letting problems grow out of control.  They only take a break from their self indulgence to occasionally chuck seeds of bitterness and discouragement into a neighbor's field.

We all have to decide what we will do with our bag of seeds.  If you have two hours with your family in the evenings, that's a seed that will be planted.  You could decide to plant that seed in a field of indulgence, spending that time watching garbage TV and online shopping while falling into debt on your relationships and needs.  Or you could plant that seed in fields of value by spending that time planning out meals for the week to prevent eating out, streamlining your budget, learning a new skill with your family, or tackling a lingering problem.  You could even plant it in someone else's field, encouraging a friend or having the kids write a love letter to a remote family member.  Your daily bag of seeds is your most important creator asset.

Like it or not you are planting seeds all day long, and like it or not, those seeds will grow.  When you think of yourself as a farmer planting seeds, you start behaving totally differently.  So why doesn't our consumer culture teach us to wisely plant our resources?  Because, wise investors are terrible consumers, and terrible consumers are bad for business.  Our culture is driven by social and mainstream media, both of which are funded almost entirely by consumer products.  Broadcasted TV networks have now reached a 1 to 4 ratio of commercials to programming(1).  That means that 25% of the TV that you watch is advertisements trying to get you to plant seeds into fields of self indulgence.

But you don't just plant seeds all day.  You live in the fields that have been previously planted.  Perhaps you planted them; perhaps they were planted by someone else.  Are you grouchy and irritable all the time but don't know why?  Do you feel lazy and unhealthy?  Are your home and finances a complete wreck? Chances are, you are living in fields of self indulgence that were planted months or years ago.

Change where you plant your seeds.  Plant them wisely and be generous with them.  There's a interesting rule about seed planting.  When you plant a seed in someone else's field, you get a bonus seed in your own field.  So when you help someone in need,  you are sewing a strong and enduring fruit tree in their field and one in your own field.  When you gossip and spread rumors about someone, you plant a big rotten skunk-weed seed in your neighbor's field, and sure enough, another putrid weed that will grown in your own.

So, your challenge is to think about how you invest your seeds.  Don't plant them in fields of self indulgence only to borrow against the future.  Plant them in fields where you want to see growth in your life.  Or better yet, plant them in your neighbor's field and watch as you both prosper together.   Don't be listless with your time, energy, and resources.  Invest them and live in fields of peace and success.  The creator grows.

(1) TVweek.com "How Many Commercials are Shown in an Average TV hour? The Number Has been Steadily Climbing"