Change is in the Air!

_{Photo: Empty Street in Manhattan on March 15th, Jeenah Moon, Reuters} 

This is certainly not a time for business as usual. The Covid Pandemic has forced us, as global citizens, to alter the very paradigm of our way of life.  The pandemic struck us to the core.  Factories shut down across the globe, millions of people lost their jobs, and global events have been postponed and even cancelled.  Our way of life has been interrupted to such a point that we can only shelter at home even while keeping physical distance from the ones we love. 

The crazy part is that if that's the extent of our inconvenience we are the lucky ones because many people will lose more than a lifestyle. Some have or will lose their actual life.  

It’s amazing how our outlook on life is changing all of a sudden.  Things that we took for granted, such as enjoying a dinner out with friends, attending a ball game, going to a movie, or even making an impromptu stop at the grocery store – are all temporarily taboo or downright forbidden. 

This is certainly a time to slow our pace and spend more time at home with our loved ones.  It’s also an opportunity to show concern for our neighbors as we look out for one another’s well-being during this period of inescapable inter-dependence.  

This global lockdown is tantamount to an ecumenical period of meditation.  We would be remiss if we did not go down this untraveled road thoughtfully and reflectively.  Had we been moving too fast?  Had we been too cocky about our greatness as individuals or even as a nation?  Have we finally reached the illogical extreme of the wealth gap?  There are a ton of other questions that we all are, or should be, asking ourselves as we grapple with what lies ahead.

Like it or not, we have changed, and our paradigm has too.  Some of the changes that we’ve made during the pandemic may not be all bad.  For starters, PROSQUARED is addressing social distancing by building a virtual community.  It will be our members’ portal into a dynamic and enterprising network of individuals who are intent on building wealth and community.  

Interestingly, the new recommendation to wear a face mask is symbolic of the shift we have to make as a global society.  Rather than self-protection,  It  turns out that the primary purpose of the face mask is to limit one’s own germs and viral droplets from being spread into the breathing space of the people near us.  In fact, people in parts of Asia consider the person who does not wear a mask to be brutishly inconsiderate. 

This is a shift that we need to make in society.  Be less self-absorbed and more concerned about the well-being of others around us.  It would certainly be a more humanistic version of capitalism if, like wearing a mask on a crowded elevator during a pandemic, companies studied and factored in consideration of how their decisions will impact the “greater good.”  In addition to calculating the effect on shareholders’ value, companies should self-regulate and earnestly consider how their actions will affect their employees, the environment, their consumers, and even future generations.

This spirit of mutual concern and support for one another has always been embedded in the ethos of PROSQUARED.  While we certainly don’t profess to have all of the answers, you can tell from the testimonials of our “PROSQUARED Proteges” that we are building a caring and supportive network in which we are constantly looking for ways to help and advance our members, in any positive direction to which they aspire.  We genuinely believe that the best way for us to prosper as an organization is to champion the best interests of our members.

In reality, we don’t know what the future holds.  But it is clear that the Covid Pandemic marks the end of an era.  The sixty-four-thousand-dollar question is, what’s next?  We invite you to join us at PROSQUARED as we set the course toward a new paradigm, in which fairness and the well-being of all is our paramount concern.