Why do so many people drag themselves off to a job each day that they hate? Why do people do things even though they think what they are doing is not right? I’ll cut to the chase and tell you what I think. I think that people do these things out of fear. But, why do people fear so much? The answer is that they simply don’t know that they do not need to be afraid. They have been conditioned that if they do not behave in a certain way imminent doom awaits them. The form of doom that seems to be most feared in our society is the loss of a job or being without money. I’ll agree that this is a bad thing. But, what so many people don’t realize is that their perspective is coming from the wrong direction. They are looking from the outside in instead of looking from the inside out.
Let me explain what I mean by taking an inside out perspective. I mean that people need to decide who they are and what they want instead of trying to figure out what everybody else wants. In other words, don’t be a sell out. Find out what your convictions are and stand by them and don’t take the easy way out by taking a job that doesn’t conform to your values. If a job doesn’t exist that meets your expectations then make your own. If you spend the time to do what really drives you people will take notice. People will notice because when you are doing what you love you do great work.
Now picture a world where more and more people live their lives according to what is important to them. I would like to use the environmental movement as an example of how this works. Some people like to believe that America cannot be competitive with other countries that have less stringent environmental standards. This may be true in certain industries such as mass production of low cost goods. But why do Americans want to continue to make these items in the first place? Why do Americans want to get caught in a race to the bottom to become the low-cost leader for commodity items? Instead Americans should start thinking about what will create a world that they want to live in as well as for their children and their children’s children.
If we decided to do things according to what we value whole new industries will spring up. These industries will do things such as make sure that we have clean air and clean water. If we became serious about recycling whole new companies would be created around that. A new economy with a new set of values will create new jobs. I call this new economy the Values Based Economy. Under this model the goal is not to produce profit as much as it is to produce something that is beneficial to society. Under this model businesses still attempt to make a profit but are motivated by more than fear and greed. They are motivated by a higher calling to do what is more important such as promote peace and keep the air and water clean. How would it feel if you came home from work each day knowing that you made a difference and not just money? The increasing number of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and non-profit companies is evidence that many people are. I believe that this trend will continue. Ultimately Wall Street will be recognized as the ponze scheme that it is and a new form of economics will emerge. So rise up, fear not, and join the revolution armed with your values to bring about a new age in economics, The Values Based Economy.
