This is a clever initiative from Volkswagen. Also, it’s a telling illustration of the fundamental truth that people require incentives—not simply information—to change their behavior.
Dan Pallota explains how the way we think about charity is dead wrong and, as someone who’s worked for nonprofits for years, I can say it’s one of the most necessary (and potentially revolutionary) TED Talks I’ve ever seen. This conversation needs to happen, and these wrongheaded ideas absolutely must change. Watch it.
Sorry, Founding Fathers. Viktor Frankl and recent research agree: The pursuit of happiness is overrated.
One of the interesting things about success is that we think we know what it means. A lot of the time our ideas about what it would mean to live successfully are not our own. They’re sucked in from other people. And we also suck in messages from everything from the television to advertising to marketing, etcetera. These are hugely powerful forces that define what we want and how we view ourselves.
What I want to argue for is not that we should give up on our ideas of success, but that we should make sure that they are our own. We should focus in on our ideas and make sure that we own them, that we’re truly the authors of our own ambitions. Because it’s bad enough not getting what you want, but it’s even worse to have an idea of what it is you want and find out at the end of the journey that it isn’t, in fact, what you wanted all along.
” Alain de Botton, author of The Pleasures and Sorrows of WorkAlain de Botton, in his 2009 TED talk, offers an insightful critique of meritocracy and examines a kinder, gentler philosophy of success.
Congratulations to whoever took this for capturing the most adorable moment ever.
The SOLD Project is in the final 8 hours of The Girl Effect Challenge and we need your help! To win, we need as many people as possible to give just $10 before Midnight tonight to secure our place as a Finalist (right now we’re in 1st!). Your simple $10 gift helps SOLD secure a potential grant worth more than $30,000 to help educate at-risk children in Thailand and prevent child prostitution.
Click here to give $10: http://goto.gg/6718.
Please spread the word and get everyone else you can involved, too. We can’t do this without you, so THANK YOU for helping out!
For the past two years, photographer Lisa Kristine has traveled the world in partnership with Free The Slaves to document the harsh realities of modern-day slavery. She presented her experience in a truly stunning overview of the issue at TEDxMaui in January 2012.
If, after watching this, you find yourself wanting to do something to help, I’d start with prevention. $10 can help prevent child exploitation in Thailand. Learn more at thesoldproject.com. #westartthegirleffect
Mike and Danae Yankoski, adapted from Zealous Love.
Make a difference: Start the Girl Effect >
