Sometimes you read something and it speaks to the very heart of everything you believe in and stand for... and you wonder how you weren’t able to put it so succinctly yourself
That happened to me some time ago now - and it moved me so much, I wrote about it. As it's something that seriously impacts our wellbeing I decided to repost it here...
Somewhere between yet another pro-con clickbait post and ‘I don’t normally post stuff like this, but...’ there it was
In September 2020 it was said that 'If Jeff Bezos gave all 876,000 Amazon employees a $105,000 bonus, he'd be left with exactly as much money as he had at the start of the pandemic’
Now, I love Amazon. They’re efficient. They have almost everything I ever want to buy. And they make being a customer effortless. It’s almost easier to buy something on Amazon, than it is not to buy anything at all
And I’m not anti Jeff Bezos
In fact, this isn't even about Jeff B. It's about all of us
Because as I watch more and more people struggle. More and more people either lose their job, lose the battle between being paying their utility bills and buying food, or lose their wits over the continual challenges AI or the pandemic wrought on their industry, this post could not have been written at a better time
What is wrong with us as a species that - unlike monkeys - we don’t want to help each other?
Why would we rather have twenty pairs of shoes (for our one pair of feet), a faster car (despite never driving on a road without a speed limit), or two houses (even though we can only live in one) ... than give enough to our neighbour so they can feed their children?
Angels with devils morals
Our sister company is in the middle of an angel investment round at the moment – which is more about supporting a dream team of smart people who can help us help more people more quickly, than it is about exchanging shares for hard cash (although practically that needs to happen too)
One of the things most potential investors ask is ‘what’s in it for me?’. ‘What will my return be?’ ‘How much will I make?’ ‘When will I earn dividends?’ ‘Can I have a day rate if I give you my time?’
Of course, I hear you say. They’re investors. They invest to generate a return. They’re focused enough on generating wealth that they can afford to be investors... that tells you something about their character
And yet we see social entrepreneurs who find the balance between success and giving back. Isn’t that the point? Generate enough to help more?
Should the real question be:
How many people can I help?
How far can we take this?
How much good can we do?
How can I channel my inner monkey?
How can we dig deep enough inside ourselves to discover our monkey mentality and make sure the whole tribe (ie every human) is fed?
If Covid reminded us about anything, it’s that we are all mortal and we can all die at any time. Money doesn’t carry our imprint. It moves to the next person without so much as a backward glance. In your final breath will you be concerned about your material possessions and your wealth? Or will you be grateful for the good you did? The difference you made? The people you helped?
When your moment comes will you really only care if you’ve lived, if you’ve loved and if you’ve mattered?
Stephen Covey advised us to begin with the end in mind. Looking forward to your final breath, work backwards...
To be able to answer your final questions and fulfil your hearts true desire:
What do you want your legacy to be?
What can you achieve in the next ten years?
How much can you do this year?
What can you do today?
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