Where we are with the Pandemic Right Now
April 6 2020.
Right now, we are going through the Coronavirus pandemic. Everything is closed down and lockdown is in effect. We don’t know how long this will last, but it’s already been three weeks and we foresee it lasting a while.
Social distancing is enforced. What that means is everybody has to stay 6 feet away from each other as this virus is passed through contact. At least, in a more positive manner, it isn’t airborne.
I’m 28 right now, and I’ve never been in a lockdown such as this. It’s like Mother Nature is punishing us humans, as it should because as inhabitants of this planet, we’ve NOT been treating it very well.
I’m living in Alabama right now and working every day from home. How great technology is! I wonder what the technology of tomorrow will look like. By tomorrow, I mean fifity, seventy, a hundred years from now.
I likely won’t be here during that time.
But for one second, let’s define what a pandemic is. Here’s the pandemic definition from Google.
Pandemic Definition: (of a disease) prevalent over a whole country or the world.
Let’s also define what an epidemic is.
Epidemic definition: a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time.
What to Do During a Pandemic vs Epidemic
As I’ve bolded above, here’s the difference between a pandemic vs an epidemic.
Pandemic vs Epidemic
“A simple way to know the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic is to remember the “P” in pandemic, which means a pandemic has a passport. A pandemic is an epidemic that travels. – Intermountain Healthcare“
So now you know the difference. Pandemic spans around the world, which Coronavirus definitely did. Thus, every pandemic starts with an epidemic.
Back to where things are…
Everyone is spending a lot of time indoors to avoid being infected or to reduce their risk of contracting coronavirus because when we contract it, we are NOT ONLY putting ourselves at risk, but also the ones we love at risk.
A side note, I say everyone, but as these exists everywhere:
They are stupid people, who goes out shopping and does not maintain social distancing and think everything is OK in the world. It’s not. I literally had this senior who came up right behind me during checkout at the Walmart. These types of people are likely to be the first ones to go, which, this may sound horrible, does a service to the world.
I care a lot about the planet and it is not stupidity that is polluting the planet, because I often think that I’m not smart or clever. In fact, I’d say I’m stupid because it fuels me to improve, learn, and get better. But it’s ignorance that is killing the planet.
And ignorance is ALWAYS a choice.
5 Things of What To Do During a Pandemic
We’re all quarantined at home and not doing much. This entire post is just going to be a big long rant because I’m just seeing a bunch of people on social media wasting time, day in and day out, complaining about things (i.e. not going outdoors, already binged-watched everything on Netflex, Hulu, and Amazon prime, there’s nothing to do)
Go ahead; call me a hypocrite because I’m spending time on social media as well. I have been, I find Facebook a great place to join groups and help people with questions about how to do certain things. Right now, I’m helping a lot of folks with their wordpress issues. There’s a bunch of being trying to start some side gigs now that they have nothing but time.
But aside from that, I have a lot to do right now! I don’t have Netflix or Hulu (I do have prime for 2 day shipping) so I can’t binge watch anything, which is great because I think TV or shows are just a big time sink where you’re not improving yourself n any way. Get rid of television, it’s an addiction.
What to Do During A Pandemic, Here’s Your 5 Things:
Pandemic #1 Activity – Learning
I’ve said before, or maybe I haven’t?
Generally, people think learning is finished once they graduate from university. I did too. Oh, I remembered that day so vividly.
“Finally, after 25 years in school, I got my degree and I don’t have to open up another book for the rest of my life. I can just work and make money and I’m set.”
How funny life turns out. Now, I am reading more books than when I was in school. A lot of them are in self-help or personal development. I’ve written post after post about self-help and personal development and I encourage you (reader) to look into it. If you’re ever going through tough times, in a situation that’s making you depressed or feel like the world is against you – all things that I’ve been through – then looking to self-help and/or personal development books, recordings, seminars will be a god send.
Anyway…
Like I said, right now, most of the world is at home just waiting and hoping. A lot of people are losing jobs and businesses are closing down FOR GOOD due to the coronavirus pandemic and them not having the cash flow or emergency fund to stay afloat. Never depend on one source of income.
Side note, If you haven’t learned about personal financing and budgeting at school, then please visit my Youtube channel where I’ll give you a quick rundown of what you need to know that school did not teach you.
There’s a lot of opportunities and time right now and the best use of that time is to start learning. It’s quite a shame to see a lot of people missing that memo. But not you, if you’ve made it this far into this post that means you’re different! You’re looking for more… just like I am!
In my day, which is the present because I’m writing this to you now – my descendants, we have these people called influencers. They are the people that have big followings and are really out there to make a big impact on the world.
Of course, there have been influencers across the ages. Notable examples include, Jesus, John F Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Dalai Lama, Ghandi, and Mother Teresa.
However, social media right now made it possible for anyone and everyone to be influencers. I could say I’m a microinfluencer because I have a 10,000 following on Youtube. A lot of influencers or people I learn from are discounting their online courses at super low prices to “do their part” in this pandemic. Although, they are all making money from it, so for marketing and sales – this pandemic is great!
Myself, I was eyeing these courses from Insane Growth by Mitchell Harper. Specifically, I bought his vault for $697, which is incredibly value because a single one of his online courses typically go for 2-4k. It is a lifetime access course.
That being said, I have a lot of courses to go through to improve and better myself overall. It’s the best time to invest in yourself right now because, quite frankly, what else better is there to do? People have the time right now and quite frankly you have the time right now because there is always time. You just have to prioritize what’s important.
Is bingeing on shows where you’re not building skills or your personal brand valuable? Will it do you any good for your future?
I suggest picking up new skills because at present (my time, I don’t know when you’re reading this), the world is changing at a crazy pace. In my eyes, anyone who is not keeping up will become irrelevant quick. I’ve said this before, when you become irrelevant, that’s when you’re most vulnerable – to death.
ACTION 1 – Spend time, buy courses, study to improve yourself and your skills or build your personal brand ALL BY LEARNING. Get off Netflix (save on subscription costs) and start…
Pandemic #2 Activity – Reading
I’ve hinted at it in the last activity.
Reading had been my one source savior when it came to getting out of a funk, keeping myself motivated, and charged to punch life in the face every single day I wake up.
Have you ever felt like you have so much you want to do and accomplish?
Have you ever felt that you procrastinate too much?
Have you ever said to yourself “If only I have the motivation to…”
Have you ever said to yourself, “If only I had the knowledge or skills…”
This is what can resolve all those questions.
That being said, a lot of what I read is sales, marketing, psychology, self-help, and personal development. If you read that in the reverse order, that’s the order of the genres in which I read. Why did I say that in reverse order?
Just to make sure you’re paying attention .
You probably have a bunch of books collecting dust on your bookshelf that you haven’t went through yet. Well, it’s time to go through them. You have time. I don’t care when you’re reading this post, pandemic or no pandemic, you always have time.
You just have to prioritize.
Personally, I read A LOT, I reflect A LOT, and from that cycle, a clear strategy, goal, and purpose came out of that.
Throughout life, I struggled with:
- Who am I?
- What do I want to do?
- Where do I want to go?
- What do I want to build?
- What do I want in the near- and long-term future?
Have you ever asked yourself any of those questions?
And then you’re left wondering, “I don’t know. This is becoming very painful thinking about it. Let’s stop thinking about it.”
And then you stop.
But let me tell you what I discovered, when you stop, that is when it becomes most dangerous. When you stop seeking the answers, then nothing will change. The same problems, the same pains, and the same sense of unfulfillment will stay with you and haunt you until you do something about it.
What can we do about it?
We start reading; we start getting some new perspectives from outside sources. From great minds that lived in the past and in the present. Maybe one day, you will be the great mind, the external source that influence and impacts someone who will bring great change to the world.
Doesn’t that sound kind of cool?
ACTION 2 – Start Reading and Clearing That Backlog
Pandemic #3 Activity – Side Hustles
Because you have SO MUCH time right now (if you’re with me in the middle of this pandemic – actually, we don’t even know if it’s the start, middle, or end), spend time building a side business or hustle because now is the best time.
Notice how I said “building” and not “thinking” because you likely thought about it for ages and your answer to that was “when I have time, I will build it”.
You have nothing but time right now and if you don’t start it now, so help me god, I’m going to come over there and smack the procrastination out of you.
You’re (if you’re with me in the middle of this) quarantined and if you leave the house, you’re going to get infected and then killed by a virus, so the next time you leave the house might be the first time you end up an internet millionaire.
Right? I hope I’m getting you FIRED UP because I’m firing myself up!
They say most millionaires are made in the time of recession. I forgot where I heard that from, I think it was from Mitch – refer to above because I bought a lot of his courses.
The Feds have injected a 2 trillion dollar stimulus in the economy to counter the unemployment and businesses shutting down. I believe $350 billion is set aside for small businesses to keep the economy going. In times of recession, people are scared, so everything is running at a discount. Ads, office space, rent, etc… that’s all dirt cheap right now!
Therefore, it’s the best time to start building that new business or personal brand you’ve always dreamed of.
If you’re like me, you’re probably following some sort of influencer or celebrity. I always think that these people have a magic power in that they can wave their wands and endorse a product or service and get paid for that.
While you’re not at that level YET, you can start building your personal brand NOW, which is what I’m doing. I’m on Youtube and Linkedin and those are my two focuses because that’s where I see my audience being.
Dig the well before you’re thirsty.
Focus on the personal brand because everyone is spending time on Netflix, on consuming content. Those activities do not build anything, they do not improve anything, or give you new skills. They won’t give you an edge. It’s simply waiting. Don’t like that be you! Be a part of that small percentage of people that are producing the content, improving themselves, improving their skills.
Leverage the time you have now (remember, you always have time) to create content for consumers who have nothing better to do than to watch you now. They’ll start seeing you all over the place and they’ll start putting you on a pedestal when you give them value (which I’m doing now – hopefully). Once they start seeing that you’re giving value, they’ll start seeing you as someone to look up to – an influencer, a celebrity – and BOOM!
You come out of this pandemic as an influencer or celebrity with a magic wand, don’t you want that magic wand? Not bad for a couple of months work, eh?
Disclaimer: Your results may vary, and this is likely to be pure fiction pull out from the atmosphere to fire you up. But who am I to say that this can’t happen?
ACTION 3 – Start BUILDING (NOT THINKING) your side hustle or personal brand
Pandemic #4 Activity – Challenges
Start taking up challenges.
There are so many challenges out there – now more than ever to fill up time. There are challenges for working out, doing yoga for 30 days, making videos for 21 days.
Right now, I’m in the process of doing a videos challenge to build my confidence and speaking on video. I think I’m good at it, but there Is always room for improvement. That’s a great way to think about things, right?
I’m also killing two birds with one stone:
- I’m learning how to build better content for Youtube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and my blog.
- I’m going to end up with videos to use for those platforms.
I’m taking the challenge in order to improve. But going in, I was already serious and committed and I believe that is necessary for any challenge. If you go in without that mindset, you’ll just bomb and fail.
The one I’m taking now is a 21 day videos challenge by Peng Joon – an influencer from Malaysia. It was $49 USD and it’s provided me so much value – even by the third day. I do suggest taking challenges from existing influencers who are recognized and that actually care and see that you have time and are throwing challenges at you that YOU KNOW will improve your skill and help you build your personal brand.
It doesn’t matter if they know that it’ll help you. You need to KNOW YOURSELF that it will help you in order to get anywhere because that’s where you will find commitment.
Of course, take challenges from influencers that are credible. Personally, they are the only ones I take from because I know they don’t need extra money. There’s a bunch of “influencers” out there who just want your cash and don’t care if you get any value from their product and/or services.
That’s a real shame.
On a side note: Check out my course on personal finance which is there to help educate those who weren’t educated in school. It’s FREE!
I believe that the best way to build your personal brand is through video because with videos you can review your own body language, your tone, and your voice which all contributes to communicating your message to your audience. It also help builds that know-like-trust factor with another person.
So go and start taking up challenges to improve your skills NOW!
ACTION 4 – Improve and/or acquire existing/new skills by picking up a challenge!
Pandemic #5 Activity – Workout
I’ll keep this short, because you probably already do it (if you don’t, start NOW).
I do about 30 minutes of workout everyday because that’s what my schedule allows. However, being quarantined right now in this pandemic allows me more time than usual.
Because now I don’t need to commute to work and back, I can extend my workout to 45 minutes to an hour. I can reinvest the commute time back to working out.
Due to that, I’m cutting my belly fat and getting back my abs Because I can really focus more on doing efficient workouts.
ACTION 3 – Start / Increase Workout times
Conclusion: What to Do During a Pandemic
There you have it. Those are five things that I’m doing right now during this Coronavirus pandemic and I hope it’s something you will consider doing too now that you’re stuck at home! Throw away that Netflix subscription (save a little bit of money) and come out of this pandemic bigger, stronger, and badder than ever!
Again, here are the five:
- Start Learning
- Up your reading game
- Build that side hustle or personal brand
- Pick up some new challenges
- Workout more!