Helping what-we-know become what-we-have
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Tag Archives: people matter most
The more we know of life and successful organizations, the more we realize how much people matter.
We can change the world
It doesn’t take rocket scientists or MBAs to change the world, just you and me showing that people matter most. Let’s show how people deserve to be treated – with fairness, with compassion, and with respect.
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Live well not wealthy
In times of challenge, people rediscover what is truly important.
Decades of marketing had us thinking we wanted stuff, we wanted wealth, we wanted it all.
What we’re rediscovering is that, at its core, life is about people.
When people work together, share community and respect each other, we all do better.
There will always be people who are wealthier, but if they’re smart or encouraged, they’ll remember each day that their success is built on the efforts and strength of regular folks — hard working people. So they’ll share too, and use their positions to help the world, not just themselves.
The prosperity and legacy of every person, wealthy or not, is interwoven with those around them.
Let’s be the ones who look and see those really needing help.
Let’s be the ones that share their time, skills and appreciation.
Let’s be the ones historians point to and say:
“This is when we figured out that people matter most.”
Live well not wealthy
A poem by Rob Hueniken, 2012-Aug-04
We’re on our way, to spend some time
with friends and family.
We’re sharing life and being part
of our community.
We may not have every single thing
but we laugh and dance and talk and sing.
We’d rather share than hoard and boast.
We know that people matter most.
—
I’m sitting here, on leather seats.
I have a cushioned ride.
I like that I have more than most.
It is my source of pride.
I know my Mom thinks I’m a jerk
for putting people out of work.
But it makes me rich. It’s what I do.
Could I really live like you?
—
Live well, not wealthy.
—
3 key components for us to move forward
When it comes to changing the world regular folks have a few choices.
- We can elect people and empower them to hopefully work on our concerns. This is the system that is currently floundering in a sea of lobbyists, #extremegreed and global complexities.
- We could get someone with an MBA to make a lot of fancy flow charts that show the hundreds of steps and departments needed to get anything done.
- Or we could look around at the people in our lives — in our neighborhood and our workplace — and wonder what we can accomplish together, on things that we care about, using our own skills and connections. Let’s go with this one.
Here are the 3 key components to improving life for people:
1) We need individuals to raise the priority of people in their personal and business life. We need to take the saying “People matter most” to heart, and live it.
2) When people are together, we need to encourage each other, and to make decisions that are respectful of people’s needs, skills and relationships. This includes wealthy people and policy makers who have become disconnected from the joy of community and the value of building good things together (“We miss you! Come back soon!”).
3) We need people using more of their time and their skills on things that are important to their communities and their environment. This won’t always be paid work, but it can bring joy and new friendships, which are the building blocks for positive change, and the core of a really good life.
The feedback loop of people caring about people, and making life better:
- When we see someone caring about others, and caring about us, we feel connected and thankful.
- When we see our own efforts making things happen, and contributing to a good result, we feel valued and appreciated.
- When we realize what people can get done together, without big formal structures, we feel inspired and hopeful.
- When we feel connected, appreciated, inspired and hopeful we want to share that with others, and around goes the feedback loop.
One thing leads to another, except this time it’s things that people need and care about. We find we are making things better, in new ways that we couldn’t see before. Because now we’re working on things together, for us.
Be a role model right where you are:
Think about a day in the life of your life. You leave the house, you see people, you’re helped by people working somewhere. What if more of the people you see cared about you, appreciated your help, and shared more of their time and skills making life better for you? That would be good.
Now turn it around. Be the person who gives a smile, and treats each person helping you throughout the day like they matter more than whatever task they just did. Be the person who talks with their friends about things that need fixing and figure out how to actually do the fixing. Be the person who volunteers for things and lends a hand.
Be a role model, building the feedback loop of people caring about people. And don’t be surprised when you see more people joining you. 🙂