When Be
Unselfish
provides consulting services to individuals, organizations and
governments and after working through how each of them can and
should be unselfish, I help them work on how do we help others
be unselfish and help other survive and thrive while we and they
are unselfish?
What do we do? First, we share much of
what we have with those who have less than we have. But not so
much that we cannot survive. But many, many of us have more than
we need to survive. Some of us have much, much more than we need
to survive. Share with the rest of our family and friends. Share
with others in our immediate community. If we still have more to
share, share with other communities, with others in our country,
and with others in the rest of the world.
What can and should we share? We can
and should share our time to help care for others.* We can and
should share our money and other resources (food, shelter,
knowledge, and repairing other’s things).** We can and should
share things we create.*** We can and should help create and/or
support public goods (parks, schools, libraries, internet
access, communication, roads, energy, services).**** We can and
should help protect other creatures by protecting their habitat,
preventing harm from pollutants, ensuring adequate food and
water sources, and providing sanctuaries.***** We can and should
help Earth by not adding to negative climate change, not
polluting ground, water and air, and by restoring parts of Earth
damaged by past and future human behavior.******
What can and should we do to ensure
people are willing to stop being selfish? What can and should we
do to increase people’s motivation to stop being selfish? We can
and should help all people learn the benefits to themselves and
others of not being selfish. We can do this through education
and through how we live our lives.
We can and should help communities
increase people’s motivation to stop being selfish. Communities
(local, State, Country, global) can do this via leadership,
persuasion, positive and negative incentives, laws, regulations,
and administrative actions. We can and should help communities
reduce/remove people’s motivation to be selfish. Can do this via
leadership, persuasion, positive and negative incentives, laws,
regulations, and administrative actions.
What can and should we do to ensure
people are able to stop being selfish? What can and should we do
to increase people’s ability to stop being selfish and reduce
people’ ability to be selfish? We can do this through education
and through how we live our lives.
We can and should help communities
increase people’s ability to stop being selfish. Communities
(local, State, Country, global) can do this via education,
positive and negative incentives, laws, regulations, and
administrative actions. We can and should help communities
reduce/remove people’s ability to be selfish. Communities can do
this via positive and negative incentives, laws, regulations,
and administrative actions.
We can and should help all people learn
how to survive/thrive without being selfish. Financial security
is the first and most obvious. We can and should help people
earn and use a living income from their work. Help people
acquire and use savings or a retirement income (for example,
Social Security, a pension, 401k savings, investments, savings
accounts). If these are not available or sufficient, help people
seek financial assistance from public sources (usually State or
Federal sources). If none of these are available or sufficient,
help people seek charity. Charities exist to provide help
surviving. Again, if we have more than we need, we should share
with others who have less than they need.
To survive and thrive, we can and
should help people use the above resources and others to acquire
and ensure good shelter, food, water, clothing, transportation,
education, and protection from heat and cold. Important to help
people acquire and ensure these necessities for both the near
and long term.
To survive and thrive, we can and
should help people learn as much as they can. Acquire initial
education from pre-school to kindergarten to elementary school
through high school. Continue to learn. For some people, this is
a technical or trade education. For some, this is a college
education. For some, this is learning from another person. For
some, this is on-the-job learning. For some, this is self-taught
learning. Any or all of these can be helpful. But learning is
lifelong. There is always more to learn. Over people’s lifetime,
the world changes. So, help people to know more. This requires
continuous learning.
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* For example, Chris donates most of
his time to continuing Thrive! work with eMedia, books,
sculpture, and Thrive! Park and Center.
** For example, Chris donates all payments for GChris sculptures
he creates to the Thrive! Scholarship Fund he endowed at the
University of Wisconsin (Madison). Chris funded the rebuilding
of 1885 era farm buildings that were badly damaged. Chris will
donate the Thrive! Center buildings to Thrive! Park. In the
future, more of Chris' financial resources will go for public
goods.
*** For example, Chris donates some GChris sculptures he creates
to public spaces and individual people. Chris has written over a
dozen fiction and nonfiction books that are available as free
downloads or for purchase (royalties go to Thrive! Scholarship
Fund).
**** For example, Chris created Thrive! Park and donated his
land and buildings for the Park. Thrive! Park is now a 25+ acre
public park owned by the Village of Nelson (WI) and located on
Mississippi River bluffs.
***** For example, Chris created and donated Thrive! Park as a
sanctuary for a wide range of wildlife.
****** For example, Chris, in partnership with public agencies,
restored two bluff prairies in Thrive! Park, bringing the
prairies closer to what they were in earlier times. Chris
reduces his carbon footprint, to some degree, with an electric
utility vehicle (used to maintain Thrive! Park and Center) and
an electric car.
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