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Trickle Up Economics: The New Economics of Spiritual Growth and Personal Development

by Kathy Kirk

At the start of New Year 2010, the unemployment figures according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics held at 10%, up from 5% in December, 2007. This translates to 15.3 million unemployed in a population of 308 million people, which appears to be looking to the US Government to provide jobs and fix the recession. It seems we are a nation of hungry baby birds helpless and vulnerable, waiting for Papa Bird to feed us.

In the past, economic recoveries were, indeed, stimulated by governmental actions; for example FDR initiated the New Deal and the Social Security Act. Ultimately, however, the Great Depression came to a definitive conclusion with the start of WWII, which provided an expansion i.e. new business to the economy.

The fix, however, for this recession is not going to come about from large corporations creating new jobs for thousands of people or the government making news laws and providing capital. This economic recovery is going to come about from of the personal awakening and expansion of millions of individuals. In other words, the people are going to expand first, and the economy will follow. This economic recovery will be the result of the new economics: trickle up economics.

A friend of mine decided to start a new business at the end of 2007. She quit her job with a modest savings in the bank. What was her rationale? In her own words, “I can’t seem to work and launch a new business at the same time. I want to do work that is meaningful to me, that is me; so I am going to do what my heart is telling me, at last.” Over the course of the last two years, my friend has worked to put the foundations of her new business in place. She has gone through her savings and with banking in a state of debacle; she used the credit line on her home to finance her start up. She chose to expand, rather than contract. In the course of her expansion, she has employed printers, designers, marketers – all small business entrepreneurs; and she has purchased teleconferencing services, a new printer, phones and other tools required for her new business. These dollars and energy flowed out to others, assisting their expansion.

This is an act of spiritual authenticity and human courage that has real, tangible effects in the world.

Spiritual Growth and Personal Development

Asking and answering for yourself the really hard questions is what spiritual growth is all about. Do I love what I do? Am I having fun in my life? Why am I not happy? Why am I not prospering? The answers to these questions have little to do with the external environment but rather have everything to do with one’s own attitudes and beliefs about life, your position within it, and your personal worthiness. One must release the old, fearful limiting beliefs that keep us imprisoned in order to take our expansion into joy and prosperity. In short, we have to do exactly what we fear to do and become more than we are right now.

The journey from giving all power to everything and everyone external to you to accepting the responsibility for your own life is the spiritual journey. It is realizing that “they” never had any power over you except what you gave to them. It is realizing that you are the sovereign decision maker for your life, creator of your experience, and ultimately powerful focuser of Source Energy, Itself.

Personal development is the umbrella label that we give to all types of self improvement. We take the human steps required to realize something new, better in our skills or talents. Maybe we take that computer class at the library. Perhaps we turn the television off and study a new language or go for a run. Personal development is just that: personal to your own development and growth. One pursues self study in ways that they desire to become more or better than one is right now.

Individual Expansion Leads Collective Expansion

The individual’s selfish act of reaching for his/her own joy is essential to the collective economic recovery. People who dare to do what they love show up every day with more joy, more love and more enthusiasm having harnessed the flow of Source Energy in pursuit of their personal passion, unlike those who merely take jobs out of desperation and find themselves performing meaningless work (to them), which is lifeless.

On a plane flight recently my seatmate was telling me of his friend in Indiana who had been laid off from General Motors with 90% pay. I asked him what the man was doing with his opportunity. My seatmate said, “He’s watching TV waiting for them to call him back to work.” What an opportunity missed, I thought. A chance to move in a new direction supported in a new personal adventure of growth and development.

You have the chance to change course and pursue the life of your dreams; yes, you do. The most important thing to realize is that your growth, development and expansion into joy are what will ultimately lead America back into prosperity via the new Trickle Up Economics.

You’re not a helpless baby bird, rather a soaring eagle. The time to fly is now.

Kathy Kirk was raised in the Midwest, and has lived in MT, NY and CA and currently lives in Ohio. She has a BS degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from Cornell University. She is the founder of Applied Spirituality and the author of The Earthling's Quick Start Guide and Well Done both released this year.   Her website is http://www.appliedspirituality.com and her blog, A New View, She also blogs for the Cleveland Plain Dealer at http://blog.cleveland.com/newview/ Kathy is a provocative and inspirational speaker and has spoken to such groups as North Island Naval Air Station, Qualcomm, BAE Systems, SPAWARS, Mensa, the US Post Office, Cornell University, Phoenix House and the San Diego County Libraries. She gives Seminars and Workshops to groups and corporations on Applied Spirituality™. Kathy is also available on a limited basis for private coaching. She can be reached at 619-445-0972 or at support@appliedspirituality.com. "Like the moon, we illuminate without scorching."