An urgent love letter!

What follows was driven by my respect and much appreciation for those who once inspired me to move forward.

Taiwan is my second homeland. There I entered different professional areas that helped to mold the person and the professional I am. I polished my bkoming more alert, more responsible, more capable, more competitive, more adaptable, more tolerant, I learned to keep learning, and became more compassionate and thankful. During my sixteen years on the island, I improved my persona in every sense.

One of the things I liked very much about Taiwan when I was there, and noticed to be handy during the 2008 economic crisis, was the push of its people. They were active individuals moving forward, getting anew and motivated all the time. Those were times when a large international community concentrated there to conduct business locally and with China. Taiwan, by that I mean its people, was drawn into action thanks to Taiwan's international appeal. There was a snowball of constant and growing encouragement. The macro environment was in their favor.

The situation for Taiwan and other countries in the region is different now than it was when China was a sort of "unreachable country" by most westerners. Taiwan was a near and friendly spot to reach the once-upon-the-time factory of the world; now it is not, and that has changed the economic landscape worldwide, which represents new challenges as well as new opportunities. These new challenges and opportunities require new approaches, and these new approaches require to put our brains at work. That goes for the whole world.

Eight years after I moved out of the island in the pursuit of my next step in life, I returned to visit some friends and walk the streets that once inspired me to become a better individual, and all I hear is the pitch of discouraged people. "This is not the Taiwan I know", I said to myself.

Every person I met in Taiwan during my last visits speaks of how difficult the current situation is, and how "没办法" (there is no other way). Nonsense! Such affirmation, as many others I hear, only limits creative capacity and reinforces the depression, which has become a snowball of negativity.

Taiwan made it happen when there was nothing there. So, in the most respectful manner, my question is: "How is it possible that you cannot make it now that you have everything you need?". 'You have the economic resources. You have a population with a level of education that puts you above many others in the region; you have the experience in business and in dealing with, literarily, the whole world. You have everything you need to stay positive".

I, not being originally from Taiwan, feel that something has to be done now, not one of this days but NOW! My suggestion for such urgent action is to change those negative affirmations into questions such as "what is the best way to approach the current situation?". A period of of crisis is the time for anybody to bkome that special someone or place using whatever there is to offer, taking real advantages and limitation under consideration.

I know it's easy to stay up when things go well, and difficult when things go wrong. But I remember someone from Taiwan telling me: if I fall down, the only thing to do is to stand up. That was very inspiring to me, and I keep that maxim in mind all the time. Thanks to that, when I fall down, I stand up. Not without effort, but I do stand up.

Is there anything to learn from this? Yes, a lot! Use the following as a catalyst for self reflection.

1.   Crises. They bring anxiety, depression, much doubt, cause loss of self confidence among many other mental turbulences. But at the same time, they represent a great opportunity to push forward, perhaps in a different direction. This is, and has been, the case of many nations and individuals around the world. Those able to read this post have, at some point, been able to make something out of nothing. How did you do it? I was not able to read or write, but now I can. In crisis, those who don't panic recover, those who do, end being conquered by foreign players. The same goes for individuals, organizations and nations. So, put yourself together start unveiling your potential.

2.   Stagnation. Crises also bring stagnation of creative thinking to find the way to evolve. On the positive side, periods of crisis are right for us to find the way not to let the wider environment moves us at will. To avoid that, we have to carefully match our real potential and environmental challenges so that we find the best approach. Easier to say than do? Well, yes, but say it anyway, and then act upon those words. Here is where "positive" out suggestion is key. You either work on your own destiny or someone else will. During crises, "easy" should be the least of our concerns.

3.   Negative affirmations. What follows is a list of affirmations I hear from countless individuals in Taiwan, and many others from Europe and Latin America who feel trapped and find no way to bring their creative potential back to life. We all can use the following reflections to move forward as individuals as well as a nation. The most common affirmation I hear are: "This is a good place, but...", "Now it's different", "the new generations are not as hardworking as the previous ones", "只能这样", and "the government..." are few of the most salient negatives affirmations I hear. Nonsense!

• "This is a good place, but..."? No "but", if it is a good place, keep good and make it better. Of course, you have to know what makes it (you) good for yourself and others.
• "Now it's different"? It's never the same. Nothing is ever the same!. So, take this one off your vocabulary.
• "The new generations are not as hardworking as the previous one"? Remember that the previous generations formed the new ones. Stop blaming your own creation. Perhaps what happens is that at some point in our development, we got a bit too comfortable with our riches and forgot passing on the hard-working and saving habits that once help us to excel our economic state. Now it might be the time to retake such practices.
• "只能这样"? (There is not a way out) Nonsense! There is always a way out. Always! Of course, you need to stop racing and following, and look for your true advantages. For example, if when you had nothing, you found opportunity in imitating and reproducing, later in producing, then in breaking through world markets directly, and then in service and high tech, you can find opportunity now. All those, were steps in your evolution process as individuals and groups. So, this new scenario place two main questions that really matter: What is the next move in your evolution process? and how should you start the journey?
• "The government...?" Well, I will reserve my opinion on this. The only thing I always say when hearing this one is that governments have no problems; the problem is in the people who elect them. Perhaps a look into that helps?

This post is an invitation for reader to get back to that energy that once transformed a not-too-promising individual/group/nation into a significant one. It's possible! But first, you to got to believe it is. Feel free to share it in your networks.

Have fun evolving! Reach out anytime, I am just a click away www.alternatives-a.com