Leadership Economics
It’s very important that all members of society learn economics. Many people do not understand it.
Easy definition – How the forces of Supply and Demand allocate resources. What’s bought and sold, how many? At what price? Who gets what? If it has value and is rare it will be in high demand and will cost more. A brain surgeon earns more than a janitor. This is not a put down to a janitor, it is important that floors are clean, but most people can do that. Not a lot of skill, training and education are involved.
Lesson #1 Other than air, nothing is free. There is no Free Lunch. Politicians run around saying “free college or free health care. Does the Professor or the Doctor work for free? Do they get all that education and work for free? Just because someone other then you is paying for it, it doesn’t mean it is free. Free means no cost at all! As a Martial Arts student you may not have paid for classes but your parents did. So there was a cost. Anything of value will have a cost to it.
Lesson #2 If you pay for something you value it more. Training, working and testing for a Black Belt has so much more value than your instructor just handing you a Black Belt to wear. Earning helps us appreciate what we receive then just getting for it free. Studies in economics show that most people treat private property better than they do public property. Why is that? Because little to no labor or sacrifice comes from getting something for nothing. But the opposite is true when we have to earn it.
Lesson #3 When the cost of something is more, as a whole, people do less of it. The opposite is true. If the cost of something is less, people on the whole do more of it. This is called the law of Demand. This is true with most things in life. If getting a Black Belt is so tortureous and miserable very few would obtain it. If it was easy as pie, practically everyone would be a Black Belt. So price discriminates! Are you willing to pay a certain price for your goal?
I hope you found this useful.
This article was written by Master Jack DeSousa 6th Dan Black Belt in Taekwon-Do. Master DeSousa also has ranking in Hapkido and has been in the Martial Arts since 1982. Master DeSousa served in the US Air force and has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of New Hampshire.
Master DeSousa founded Martial Arts Advantage (formerly known as North West Taekwon-Do in 2003.
Martial Arts Advantage recently was voted the top school for 2018 from the UTA (United Taekwon-Do Alliance).
Martial Arts Advantage is located in Centerton AR, but also serves Bentonville, Gravette, Bella Vista, Cave Springs Pea Ridge, and Rogers. Our school is proud to have graduated over 130 Black Belts, making the communities of Northwest Arkansas better, one Black Belt at a time.