Passionate Theme of the Day: Greater Good

"The world is my country, and to do good my religion."~Thomas Paine
“Happiness is the only good. The place to be happy is here. The time to be happy is now. The way to be happy is to help make others so."~Robert Ingersoll
“Many persons have no idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose."~Helen Keller

This is gonna sound weird considering I work in the field of marketing communications - but the media is bullshit. We’re hand fed these lies that our world is unsafe, heartless, and violent. The spotlight shines brightest on the bloody, the booty and the scandalous. We’re bombarded with messages about political, business and religious corruption. 

And yet…and yet I continue to witness quite the opposite. My new gig in PHX has found me attending a lot of local networking events. In the past two months I’ve attended events for the AAF, AMA, IABC, AZ Sales Pro’s, Phoenix & Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce and many others.

It was while attending the AZIGG meeting this past Friday that this random tangent first began. AZIGG is the Arizona International Growth Group. This was the first AZIGG meeting that I have attended. Cold Stone Creamery headquarters was the gracious host of this panel discussion and I’d guesstimate that about 75-100 people attended.

There was an incredible energy in the room and after the panelists discussed various viewpoints on international growth, marketing and sales strategies and cultural communications the floor was open for questions.

It was amazing to witness such eloquent and well thought out questions being asked. There were such positive ideas for wanting to understand other cultures, explore and expand Arizona business beyond the borders of the U.S.A.

Business owners looking to not only grow their own businesses, but to help the growth of the businesses of our global neighbors. To provide services and sell products that add value to the lives of our foreign counterparts.

Not gonna break out into a round of “We Are the World” here, but I’m not buying that these trying times are the end of the world as we know it. And I gotta say, if trash and drama and gloom and doom is all you’re seeing, perhaps you simply need to paint yourself a prettier/bolder/friendlier/quirkier/more imaginative picture.

I’m not going all Pollyanna. Nor am I being “obnoxiously optimistic” (thanks Jason wink wink). Just making a request that as the busyness of everyday life swarms around you, that you stop, look around and really witness what’s taking place in the world around you. It’s easy to focus on the negative. That’s our predisposed default mode. Let’s notice the people that are really out to serve the greater good.

One way to lighten the “we’re going to hell in a hand basket” load is to go on a media diet. In the news the saying is “If it bleeds it leads”. So STOP watching it. If there’s something really big going down, you’ll hear about it at work, on the radio, or catch wind of it online. But the 5, 6 and 10? Tune them out!

Same goes for the gossip rags. Yes, I know it’s funny to see cellulite on celebrity thighs. Or watch them get stalked coming out of Starbucks with no makeup on. But honestly there’s not much value in tearing other people down in order to feel better about ourselves is there? I’m as guilty as the next gal, so let’s just try a little gossip-rag-o-rexia for one week OK?

How are YOU, your neighbors, your community, your city serving the greater good? What ways are you being responsible for raising the vibe and the collective consciousness of this planet?

Let’s all ante up and play bigger, grander, badder-asser (bite me grammar freaks). We don’t need rose colored glasses to visualize a brighter future. We just need to set our intention, focus and step into it one peaceful/playful/creative moment at a time. Can you dig?

Peace & passion,
Kam