I read an interesting post at the blog Escape From Cubicle Nation. Pam Slim states the following:
I have a theory I am postulating in The Book that once people disconnect from the "my corporate job sucks and I am trapped in cubicle hell" world and start a successful entrepreneurial venture that they naturally become more compassionate and interested in social change.
I like to ask my students what they would do if they had enough money to take care of all of their financial needs for the rest of their lives. The majority talk about such things as giving back to parents who have supported them, focusing their time and resources toward addressing social problems, and giving to their church.
I see evidence every day -- from my students and from the entrepreneurs I meet in the community -- that supports Pam's assertion.
F. Scott Fitzgerald said, "Optimism is the content of small men in high places."
I could not disagree more. Optimism is the content of free people who have been empowered to make change.
Once entrepreneurs are freed to make economic change through their ventures, their desire to turn that energy toward making social changes makes perfect sense.
Great post! My feeling along these lines is that the reason we are seeing so much social change now is due to the world becoming "flatter" as well.
When your students are offering up "helping my parents", "giving to their church", etc. those are driven by their current world view. As our world views collectively grow due to the shrinking of the global community, our desires will naturally shift to making bigger impact social change.
Once you are inspired by a specific cause, most people who have experienced work life outside of the cubicle won't be able to forget that cause. This leads to fighting like hell in business to get to a point of making a real difference.
Thanks for the great inspiration for today!
Jason Moore