(Published Online:
6th July 2007)
Exposure To "Poverty"
Can Prepare A Person To Be Successful
Poverty often manifests in form of
a lack of money, and painfully limited access to basic necessities
and conveniences. People born into poverty often find early
responsibility and attendant hardship thrust on them as a
result. Biographies have been written of great men and women
who in their formative years, had to help their parents out
by doing odd jobs to earn income to feed the family(Walt Disney
for instance sold newspapers as a child to complement his
father's efforts).
But just as their situation caused
(often serious) pain, it also toughened them because they
learnt to "fight" to get what they wanted - sometimes
driven by the knowledge that their parents or siblings waited
at home for them to return with "something".
This acceptance of early responsibility,
and the fighting spirit/mental stamina they developed over
time became useful qualities, when they turned their attention
to their chosen vocations. Walt Disney's early struggles for
instance, must have taught him the discipline of hard work,
which helped him relentlessly pursue his dreams to build an
empire that survives till today.
Austin "Jay-Jay" Okocha while
being interviewed on a radio program (I recall vividly) said
"All I know is Jay-Jay
Okocha sold Oranges on the streets of Lagos".
Think about it a minute. This is a man whose accomplishments
in his profession(football) cannot be ignored internationally.
Yet, when confronted with evidence of widespread adoration
for him based on those achievements he chose to recall what
could probably qualify to be called the most humbling moments
in his entire lifetime.
As has been confirmed by numerous research
studies, and real-life stories of other great people, periods
of adversity can often bring out the best in a person to the
point that s/he develops qualities that will ultimately enable
him/her archive notable success in the future. Okocha, by
that statement obviously recognized those harrowing days of
living in a single room with his mother and sisters and selling
oranges to sustain them, as instrumental to the development
of the never-say-die mental attitude that led him to achieve
success and fame as a footballer.
"Poverty" Can Be Deliberately
Used To Develop Talent In People
Poverty imposes severe lack of resources
which the affected person(s) need to function effectively
in their current situation. I believe the concept of "poverty
" can be extended beyond the more common one that relates
to poor people, and applied in a more general sense.
You could for instance talk about poverty
of "good leadership", which may result in slow development
in a nation or poor performance of a company. In essence I
am saying that poverty can be translated to mean "lack"(deliberate
or accidental) of resources or environment normally required
for effective functioning of an individual, group or organisation.
Going by what has already been said
above, it follows that deliberately putting individuals or
groups into controlled environments of "poverty"
and/or "hardship" similar to those they are likely
to encounter in real-life, can help them develop "survival
skills and abilities" that they can successfully use
to achieve improved performances at work/in life, even when
their actual circumstances are limiting.
For instance, it is well known that
creativity tends to flourish when there are limited resources,
which force people to explore alternative routes to achieve
their intended goals. Without the challenge introduced in
form of the removal of ready access to the needed resources,
most people would rather not apply any sustained intellectual
effort towards finding a better way to do the same thing.
The above principle is used in military
training. Soldiers are exposed to various adverse conditions
which if they successfully undergo make them tougher and readier
to meet the "enemy". The use of simulators in various
spheres of training endeavours(e.g. pilot training etc), also
provides some evidence that this is an approach that has proven
merit.
In summary, "poverty" imposes
the test of "Trail By Fire" on persons born/thrust
into it, equipping those who "pass", with competencies
that help them excel later on in life. Organisations (and
even societies) which want to develop high performing members
can learn from nature and utilise the "Trial By Fire"
approach (like some progressive ones already do) to develop
management talent of their people, and ultimately record exceptional
employee performances.
Steps You Can Take To Develop
Talent Using The "Poverty/Trial-By-Fire" Approach
1. Create
a deliberate atmosphere of lack(i.e. artificial scarcity)
or hardship THEN Demand those in it to deliver the same results
that would be expected if they had all that they needed.
For instance if you want to start up
a new arm of your company, rather than let the parent company
give the managers of the new company ALL the money and resources
they need, it would be smarter to give them a little, and
then challenge them to find their own feet by working hard
to start earning income, as quickly as possible, to keep going.
That way, they get to learn the important
(and sometimes harsh/hard) lessons that you learnt and which
enabled you build the parent company to the level at which
spinning off new subsidiaries like theirs become possible.
Lessons that will equip them to run the NEW company profitably.
2. Watch
out for the reactions of those who are challenged in
this way - Note those who reject the assignment. Identify
those who take action to get the described results by improvising
and being creative.
3. Decide
on the next level of challenge(s) to throw at your
"proteges" - depending of course on how they have
responded up to this point.
4. Take
them out to the real world and see if they put what
they have learnt/discovered to use as the opportunities to
do so arise.
5. Provide
qualitative, experience based feedback. Those you put
through this process will need guidance from someone with
the right mix of knowledge and experience, to make "sense"
of what they have gone through. You will ensure that they
get this guidance by way of feedback delivered in a manner
that enhances each person's self-esteem, thereby boosting
enthusiasm to work harder to achieve the needed learnings/results.
Summary
The concept of "Trial By Fire"
as described in this article can be successfully applied in
different social settings - be it at home with your kids,
in the workplace with employees etc. One must however always
remember that the ultimate purpose of a "Trial By Fire"
approach is to help those to whom it is applied discover and/or
develop FURTHER their innate abilities and capabilities, to
the point where they can truly function at their FULL potential.
No matter how we look at it, helping
people to perform at their optimal best is the most important
way to bring about progress and development. The "Trial
By Fire" approach provides a tested and proven "fast-track"
avenue through which these valuable twin goals can be achieved.
FINAL WORDS:
Some parents who rose from lowly beginnings where they
had to overcome severe hardships to achieve notable successes
sometimes vow they will never let their own kids suffer the
way they(the parents) did. In a sense this feeling is understandable.
The problem however is that in trying
to make sure your kids do not "suffer", you may
end up making them "weak" - by over protecting them
- so that they grow up incapable of withstanding challenges
that life may throw at them in their bid to achieve their
own goals.
You need to realise that YOUR contact
with poverty and its attendant hardships contributed significantly
to making you capable of overcoming those challenges. If you
really want to help your kids, you may need to seriously consider
periodically exposing them to similar experiences in ways
that will teach useful lessons they can draw upon later in
life.
This article has described some potentially
useful approaches you can adopt in order to help your kids
learn those empowering lessons. 
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