New American Dream Create Your Own Job Security

New American Dream Create Yur Own Job SecurityNew American Dream Create Yur Own Job SecurityWhat would you do if you were approached by a secret online group of workplace activists who said vulture capitalists had rigged the job market against you? And, how would you react if they also told you that the only way to protect yourself was to practice economic disobedience? Is the new American Dream creating your own job security?Those are the questions explored in my new book A Multitude of Hope A Novel About Rediscovering the American Dream. Its the story of three out-of-work Baby Boomers trying to make sense of todays demeaning and demoralizing world of work.Whats economic disobedience? Its the practice of refusing to accept the boxes employers try to put us in. These boxes limit our sense of possibility- our hope for the present and the future- and, as a result, they undermine our ability to achieve success.New American Dream Create Your Own Job SecurityThe First BoxThe first box is this belittling notion that people in transition are job seekers and that those who work for a company are its employees. They arent. They are people of talent, because talent is like our opposable thumb. It is an attribute of our species. Talent is the capacity for excellence, and it is what defines us as human beings.The Second BoxThe second box is this equally as belittling notion that peoples performance is locked into a normal distribution. Some will excel, some will fail and the majority will do O.K. Thats how employers rig their performance appraisal systems because doing so minimizes what they have to pay their workers.Theres just one small problem. The normal distribution was developed to describe the behavior of data, not the contribution of people. Every worker possesses the ability to deliver superior performance on-the-job. Its up to them to bring their talent to work, but its also up to their employers to get out of the way.The Third BoxFinally, the third box that empl oyers try to stick us in is this belittling notion that we are their property. What do CEOs routinely opine to all who will listen? Our employees are our most important asset. They think were just another means of production with a couple of DNA strands.And, thats exactly what well be if we dont take charge of our own careers. If we dont become as expert at career self-management as we are at our profession, craft or trade. Because heres todays unavoidable reality there is no such thing as job security any more. Given the tectonic shifts underway in the global marketplace, employers cant tell what kinds of workers theyll need six months from now, let alone two or three years down the road.So, how do we protect ourselves?Create career security- the ability always to be employed and always by an employer of our choice. Thats why I titled my novel A Multitude of Hope. Because hope is what happens when we replace employers boxes with our own commitment to finding, developing and deliver ing our talent on-the-job. We rediscover the power and promise of the American Dream.Todays blog post comes to us from formerWall Street Journalcolumnist and author/editor Peter Weddle. Weddle is also the founder ofWeddles.com, the guide to resources for employment, personal development and career success. His latest book isA Multitude of Hope, the story of three out-of-work Baby Boomers and a secret online group of workplace activists fighting the corruption and greed of Wall Street vulture capitalists. It explores how working men and women can overcome the angst and anxiety of our time and reaffirm the power and promise of the American Dream.Readers, is the new American Dream creating your own job security? Tell us your thoughts