# General Business Category > General Business Forum >  Lazy Poor Man, âStupidâ Poor Man

## sgafc

Poverty is a serious scourge in our world. Its origins are diverse, and the poverty stricken is costing governments millions. Every sane human being is in agreement that we should do our utmost to eradicate poverty. Besides the sociological and political factors, itâs a known fact that povertyâs causes are basically economical.
This section of the forum,is for entrepreneurs, so I will steer clear from politics and debate economics and self-discipline, to explore, TWO other causes, if NOT the main causes of poverty!

Lazy Poor Man
Some people go hungry, and remain poor due to utter laziness. For the lazy person, numerous factors are to blame, for his perilous state. Excuses range from the governments policies, parents, friends, the schooling system, are given. The list is endless.
The lazy poor man also remains a victim of circumstances, and has inculcated his state of poverty into his psyche. Opportunities knock on his door several times, but he will find an excuse not to grasp it with both hands. To him, menial jobs are not considered little opportunities, but hindrances. This very same man loves to sleep late, will spend hours in the lotto queue hoping to strike it rich someday, for his little efforts in life.  The lazy poor man also resorts to drugs and alcohol if he cannot cope with lifeâs challenges.



 âStupidâ Poor Man
 Please note, the use of the term,â Stupidâ, is not meant to be derogatory and insulting to poor people, but hopefully readers will appreciate my point after further reading.
The majority of the worldâs people are decent, hard working people and wants to earn their keep. They want to earn enough to provide for their families, but with rising inflation and spiraling costs, this is becoming impossible.
 The hardest working people on this planet are not wealthy. The labourers, factory workers, cleaners and domestic servants, perform demanding tasks physically. In their kind of jobs, they up early, and arrive home late. Even office workers are overworked and under paid. Why is this so? Because our parents and society worship hard work, and it is mistakenly assumed, that hard work, alone, will lead to prosperity. 
Few people dare to think or reason their way to prosperity. That telephone technician, or mechanic, could have been far wealthier, had he thought of starting a business servicing many clients instead of working for one firm.
People rarely spend time creatively, exploring ideas and opportunities to legally enrich themselves. 
The âcomfort zoneâ, of employment can become very dangerous. If a worker has never enhanced his skills in other areas, and is, laid off or retrenched, it can be disastrous for him, as an unemployed person.
Formal employment is becoming more risky. Look at it this way, a business with a two-year contract, has more security and certainty than a âpermanentâ employee has. There are no guarantees in formal employment you can be fired tomorrow!
To impress the boss, people work long hours in the office, without overtime in some cases, and cannot muster the courage, to use time spend on overtime, to work towards their own prosperity.
I am not suggesting that business is easy, it requires hard work, but also planning and strategizing. (The thinking part) That is my point exactly! We all have hobbies, or something we love to do. We all dream, but fail to take action.  Great dreams are subverted by doubt, fear and lack of self-confidence.

There are 24 hours in a day right? We sleep 8 hours and work on average 8 to 12 hours. Even with the overtime, some workers put in, there must be at least 4 to 6 âlostâ hours in a day.
Where have you spent those hours? Yes, kids and friends take up time.
How about cutting down on that sleep, you only need about 3 to 4 hours sleep a night.
Watch less television and notice how much time you can free up, to dedicate time on what really maters.

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Dave A (09-Apr-09), insulin (08-Apr-09), Superscenic (08-Apr-09)

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## insulin

Even with my current status I will not jump at the first job that comes along. I had the experience that work cost me more then what I actually made. Yes I had to dig into my savings to keep my job. See in all respect is the fact that cheap labour is the real cause of poverty. If labour was not cheap then better circumstances would be achievable. I used to work two jobs. IT technician in the day and pizza delivery person from 4 to 8. Then me boss got word and I was reminded that I was going against company policy. This also urns you a bad reputation and the consequences is far reaching. 
I feel that starting that little business can be beneficial to me however. My research showed that the competition is a bit tight and most contracts will only be renewed next year. 

So I did some innovative thinking and found to possible business that will produce a sustainable income. Sadly not a profitable income. Right now money is tight and so I am thinking that less may be more thus my profit will suffer but I will still sustain income. 

Needless to say is that the work factor is getting out of hand. With economics as excuse people are being paid less but the work stays the same thus production is where it was at the beginning of last year but pay is at a minimum. Then comes the blackmail bit. When the workers point to a possible strike the company will just point out that they are retrenching thus keeping job security as ransom. 

Now a person in the firm that is being blackmailed will say; what can they do? Nothing right! Wrong I have pointed this out on several occasions. Contact the buyers and make them aware of the job blackmail within the company thus a consumer strike will be staged. Now a consumer strike is devastating because the company and its financial health get a heavy blow. This will translate in worker negotiations. Jobs can no longer be held for ransom because the company in question will face closure and liquidation. 
So in the end of the day: Poverty is the result of cheap labour and lack of empowerment.

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## Jacob Zuma

One wise man once said - "No one is deprived of the opportunity of being rich/successful". He continued to say "No one is kept poor because other people have monopolized the wealth and have put a fence around it".

swim against the tide of opportunity and you will reap just that.

It is therefore proven that if we want to go forward and be successful/wealthy/rich, our minds must not be kept within the dungeons of poverty.

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## Superscenic

> One wise man once said - "No one is deprived of the opportunity of being rich/successful". He continued to say "No one is kept poor because other people have monopolized the wealth and have put a fence around it".
> 
> swim against the tide of opportunity and you will reap just that.
> 
> It is therefore proven that if we want to go forward and be successful/wealthy/rich, our minds must not be kept within the dungeons of poverty.


Corruption is not a fence, but nothing less than a form of enslavement. It (corruption) is a dungeon few can escape regardless of attitude and it undermines if not destroys absolutely everything good in our world.

Cute name btw. Henceforth I will be known as Napoleon the pig from the book animal farm. Now I intend to join a spontaneous celebration in my street in honour of our glorious leader: Adoons the Constantia baboon troop leader.

"Let no dustbin be left unturned in our march to freedom"

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## wynn

The only reason people who work, especially labour booking type work, remain relatively poor is that there are only 24 hours in a day and you can't work all 24 all the time.

Take a plumber, he spends the best part of his work day plumbing for 8 hours and in between he orders and collects material and looks at a few more jobs.
Then at home time he spends up to 4 hours traveling, dropping staff off and calculating quotes, collating job cards, doing banking, calculating wages, invoicing whatever.
That leaves 12 hours  say 3 hours in the PM communicating with his wife and family, eating supper and spending time with the kids.
8 hours sleeping, he needs it cause he works a physical and mental 12 hrs most days.
1 hour in the AM doing his ablutions having breakfast, taking the kids to school, collecting staff etc.

For him to earn more he must work more, but he can't, because the balance will tilt and it will cost either admin, wife, sleep or kids, not much choice.

He can employ another plumber and more staff, whom he can pay less than the total extra that they earn but that requires extra admin so an assistant (secratary) will also probably be added to the mix.

He must temper the extra earning ability against the added cost of admin so he will probably have to employ a second plumber to justify the added input cost of admin, vehicles, labour etc.
Then there is the added risk?

And so it goes, even Doctors, Lawyers and Accountants fall under this rule.

If the economy is good the plumber can save enough to put some staff building a spec house and sell for extra profit or something along those lines.
But he will never get truly wealthy and if he has an accident, unless he is insured, that's that.

Wealth lies in skimming a little at a time off a lot of what others do, for example Building or Plumbing supply merchants, they get lots of people to sell lots of materials, to lots of plumbers, for lots of profit, if you get my drift. The owners of these organisations get really wealthy during the good times and if they sustain themselves through poorer times get mega- wealthy the next cycle, provided there is not too much competition and price cutting.

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Superscenic (08-Apr-09)

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## insulin

Wealth is not an easy thing and one of the many reasons is what I call the âHandshake Principleâ Now the Handshake Principle is unethical and its existence secret. The Handshake Principle works on 3 basic rules. First you target the Fat Cat. Now the Fat Cat is normally someone that can cut through red-tape without being noticed. Donât worry if you know she or he is. They will come to you if you are about to get a substantial contract. It is at this point where the first rule comes into practice, taking the form of an expensive gift or a nice cash bonus. You get the contract and because the Fat Cat knows you are the sharing kind they will approach you with more lucrative contracts. Now the second rule comes into effect. It is known as pub-meetings, now belief it or not but more meetings are held in pubs then in the office. It is at this point where the Fat Cat never pays for its milk. Also other distractions depending on the Catâs needs are arranged. Thanks to your generosity you will be favoured when the next big contract comes along. Now the third rule and also the most sinister is you having to continuously feed the Fat Cat or it will go to the next person and the Handshake Principle is established and the story repeat itself. 

Still think that wealth is there if you want it?

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## Jacob Zuma

> Corruption is not a fence, but nothing less than a form of enslavement. It (corruption) is a dungeon few can escape regardless of attitude and it undermines if not destroys absolutely everything good in our world.
> 
> Cute name btw. Henceforth I will be known as Napoleon the pig from the book animal farm. Now I intend to join a spontaneous celebration in my street in honour of our glorious leader: Adoons the Constantia baboon troop leader.
> 
> "Let no dustbin be left unturned in our march to freedom"


Superscenic: I am reminded of American slavery. As you know they were two types of slaves; House Slaves & Field Slaves. The House slave will always be close to the master whilst field slaves get scorched in the sun. When the field slave said to all slaves; "Man! Let us burn down the master's slave and escape to our freedom". The house slave will respond; "Nigger! Are you crazy? Where are we going to get a place like this. A place where we get food and shelter? Huh?"
The house slave was so enslaved that he thought is was a way of life.

I will say it again: ENSLAVEMENT OR NOT; we are only limited by our imagination. Everything we have on planet earth started off as a thought in someones mind. Teac people to think and teach them to manifest those thoughts into objects, then, red tape or not, they will be masters of their destiny.

It is not for me to worry about the poor, for my mind will be dragged into thought association of poverty and I end up manifesting those thoughts into my own poverty. I do not suggest that we just leave the poor suffering but for me (personally), I will not worry about the poor but can only admire their struggles to get out of poverty. If I enrich myself, I am sure I am one person off the poors list so we should all strive for that.

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## Dave A

> it is mistakenly assumed, that hard work, alone, will lead to prosperity.


Very true and worth stressing!



> Few people dare to think or reason their way to prosperity. That telephone technician, or mechanic, could have been far wealthier, had he thought of starting a business servicing many clients instead of working for one firm.


It's the risk that puts most people off from taking the plunge, I think. But I also think more people take that risk at least once in their lives than is given credit for. I employ a fistful of people who have tried to open their own businesses in the past and have failed.



> Formal employment is becoming more risky. Look at it this way, a business with a two-year contract, has more security and certainty than a “permanent” employee has. There are no guarantees in formal employment you can be fired tomorrow!


Bear in mind there are no guarantees with that two year contract either. It is only as sound as the company you are contracted to. And when it does go bang, trust me - the employee has the advantage.

I like the saying "Being broke is temporary - however poverty is a state of being."

With poverty there is a negative cycle between the mental state and the physical reality that needs to be broken to truly escape the poverty trap. I suspect why poverty relief programs don't seem to get ahead of the tide is that they focus on the physical reality and don't poor enough resources into the mental state of the poverty stricken.

Looking at the "poor worker," I consider the challenge is substantially different - a case of "the good life is the enemy of the great life." Basic needs are being met but there isn't a strong enough desire present to motivate the person to seriously attempt to achieve more.

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## sgafc

Thanks Dave
True indeed, the mental state, of an individual determines his/her direction in life. *"Vision without action is a mere daydream. Action without vision... is a nightmare".*

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## insulin

Do you think that you are not a slave? Then I feel so bad for you because we are always slaves. You will answer to those that provide you with wealth. Wealth can be R80 or R80 Million the point is that someone is rewarding you thus you are a slave to that person because without that person there is no more income...

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