How To Lift People Out Of Poverty

‘How do you run a successful, sustainable business in a fragile economy? By creating opportunity.’

‘Better wages lead to improved conditions, which create stronger families and well-made houses.’

By taking care of their dreams. By taking care of their minds. By taking care of their souls. By creating an environment where growth is possible.

To do that, according to Yusuf Amdani, ‘Making impact starts with doing business well. If the company is profitable, it will have the resources needed to support and improve the community.’

‘To create a true impact, we need to shift our mindset away from token gestures. Think beyond one-time, scattered, or small efforts. Look for long-term opportunities that can be carried out routinely and incorporated under the company’s umbrella.’

‘Be on the lookout for ways that your company and the country of operations could scale together. If the economy is set to take off, align your business plan so you can both achieve exponential growth.’

‘When doing business, find the average wage offered to employees in a specific country. Consider offering a salary that is slightly above local expectations. Creating a comfortable lifestyle for workers can increase retention rates.’

‘Don’t underestimate a labor pool that is eager to earn a better wage. You can offer a salary that is slightly above average for the area. Workers pay attention, and compensation is a great contributor to employee satisfaction.’

‘If a local economy is open to your industry, show them what you can do. Focus on the improvements you can make for their area. Point out the jobs you can bring in through your company.’

‘Seek out ways to collaborate when carrying out educational projects. Nonprofits, governments, and schools may be eager to participate in a well-laid-out approach.’

‘Start small and use trial and error to learn best practices. Once you’ve found a strategy that works, seek out ways to expand efforts.’

‘Talk to team members about how to elevate the middle class in the country of operations. Ask them what benefits they would like to see.’

‘The best approach includes maintaining integrity at every step.‘

Source

Yusuf Amdani (2023). World of Opportunity: Bringing Sustainable Business to Fragile Economies

Freud on the psychic rewards of sublimation

Quoted in Mari Ruti’s A World of Fragile Things loc 1375-1381:

The task here is that of shifting the instinctual aims in such a way that they cannot come up against frustration from the external world. . . . One gains the most if one can sufficiently heighten the yield of pleasure from the sources of psychical and intellectual work. When that is so, fate can do little against one. A satisfaction of this kind, such as an artist’s joy in creating, in giving his phantasies body, or a scientist’s in solving problems or uncovering truths, has a special quality

Benny Benassi’s Ibiza Weapon

Benny Benassi breaks down how Satisfaction became a dance classic, from Ibiza heat to a chart battle with BOC. One robotic hook, one massive drop, and club history was never the same.

#BennyBenassi #Satisfaction #Ibiza #DanceMusic

Over breakfast, my wife and I had a wonderful conversation about the #Sanskrit word "kushaloapari" (कुशलोपरि), its decomposition, etymology, usage, and relationship to other words. We concluded writing it all up would mean a blog post.

#intellectual #satisfaction #languages #vocabulary

The Key to Happiness

https://gemsofknowledge.com/2026/06/20/the-source-of-happiness/

Nebraskans' satisfaction down since COVID, recovery stalled

As Nebraska continues to confront brain drain and declining rural populations, the new Nebraska Snapshot from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln illustrates that residents’ overall satisfaction with living here has fallen in the past six years.

#Nebraska #satisfaction

https://news.unl.edu/article/snapshot-nebraskans-satisfaction-down-since-covid-recovery-stalled

A quotation from Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1759-09-08), The Idler, No. 73

More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/84440…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #avarice #desire #excess #greed #money #riches #satisfaction #sufficiency #value #wealth #wealthy

"Dhammarato challenges what he sees as the widespread misconceptions about meditation practice, focusing in particular on American Buddhism and the Goenka and Mahasi methods.

Dhammarato discusses issues such as the dangers of meditation retreats, the problems with sleep deprivation and other austerities, and recounts stories of men he has known who crippled themselves through obsessive meditation practice in damaging seated postures.

Dhammarato also calls for a return to the original teaching of the Buddha, advises on how to find and keep spiritual friends, and shares his perspective on how to meditate well."—Guru Viking

Meditation Myths - Dhammarato >

https://youtu.be/uhbc5suOwlY?si=goWi1s3qm0HGZwjC

#Dhammarato #interview #Buddhism #original_teaching #postures #meditation #mistakes #retreats #damages #Western_mind #Ānāpānasati_Sutta #Jhana #Dhamma #easy #gentle #essence #asceticism #greed #psychedelics #suffering #desires #practice #abandonment #power #satisfaction #delusion #noble_friends #magical_thinking #real_strength #confidence #video

A quotation from Ben Franklin

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1747 ed.)

More about this quote: wist.info/franklin-benjamin/84…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #franklin #benfranklin #benjaminfranklin #poorrichard #poorrichardsalamanac #conflict #contention #contentment #discontent #moderation #possessions #riches #satisfaction #sufficient #trouble #wealth

Want to feel better in these trying times? Here's one way.

#Make something. Anything.

Today. (Or, it's late evening where I am, so tomorrow.)

Bake a cake.
Design a tee-shirt.
Write a poem.
Hot-glue something amusing to an ugly baseball cap.
Use tiny magnets to stick an LED and a resistor to a 9V battery, so you have a little glowy thing.
Sketch your pet.
Write a confessional sign for your pet.
Take a photo.
Take a photo of the confessional sign and your pet.
Assemble that birdhouse kit.
Pick up that guitar and come up with a new (to you) lick.
Build a campfire.
Turn an old-fashioned wooden clothes peg into a toy by Sharpie-ing a face onto it.
Fold a piece of paper and cut out a paper doll chain.

Just create something - whatever you have skills for, or materials for, or the desire to do, whether it's going to be #great or #terrible, whether anyone else is ever going to see it (but you should share it, if I can convince you of that).

Creativity is something you do, not something you are. And the need to #create is universal. It fulfills us, releases us. Just knowing that there is now #something in the world which was not in it before, and that the reason it exists is you *chose* to #create it, will satisfy an inner craving so deeply buried we don't think about it most of the time.

And then share it with someone. And ask them to share theirs with you, if they want to.

#philosophy #creativity #create #creation #satisfaction #happiness