For much of my life, I've thought about philanthropy. When I took the Strength Finder's test, significance showed up in my top five strengths. Essentially, I want to matter. I want the fact I existed to positively impact reality. As I've worked to build my business, I've always thought in the back of my mind what it would be like to build enough wealth in order to give a bunch of it away and see the world improve because of my actions.
I just finished reading the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation's annual letter. You can see it here:
Dear Warren. Our 2017 Annual Letter. Bill and Melinda Gates, February 14, 2017.
Some highlights:
- 122 Million children saved who would have otherwise died since 1990.
- Warren Buffet and Bill Gates use coupons, even at places like McDonald's (i.e. they care about savings and efficiency).
- "For every dollar spent on childhood immunizations, you get $44 in economic benefits."
- "From 2008 through 2015…Rwanda cut its newborn mortality rate by 30 percent."
- Breast feeding, skin to skin contact, and healthy cord cutting all decrease child mortality rates.
- Contraceptions and family planning are not only helping bring nations out of poverty, but ending sexism which impacts women much more in impoverished areas.
- Global poverty has been halved since 1990.
Some quotes that stood out to me:
"Your success didn’t create your optimism; your optimism led to your success."
This. So much this.
“All lives have equal value” is not just a principle; it’s a strategy.
That's an incredible stance to take. In our daily actions, we don't value lives equally. We think in terms of tribalism, not humanity. This alone is a powerful concept, one we have to think on more.
The optimism in this letter was really encouraging to me.
...we’re confident of one thing: The future will surprise the pessimists.
I also liked this nod to one of my own favorite books as well:
One of my favorite books is Steven Pinker’s The Better Angels of Our Nature.
The world is getting better! If you don't believe it, spend four minutes and watch this video:
Many only see fragmentation and division in our society. They see what the media feeds them and think it's an accurate representation of reality. As mentioned in the letter, this is not true:
But if you look along a timeline, the periods of fragmentation often come when society is digesting its new diversity. The larger historical trends are toward greater inclusion and caring.
As someone who has been labeled a Voluntaryist / Anarchist, this also gives me hope. I envision a world where human interactions are voluntary. Where authority is a foreign concept because each individual owns themselves and the results of their actions. I've been called idealistic and optimistic, but maybe I'm in good company.
To the Gates haters out there:
I know, I've seen the same memes about how Bill Gates is literally the devil and wants to sterilize the world via evil, evil vaccinations. This, I've come to believe, is ridiculous. He's someone who provided a product via Microsoft that the world wanted via voluntary exchange. He benefitted all of humanity and got incredibly wealthy doing so. He's now using that money to improve the world and further increase his significance. I understand that and respect it. We need more people reading books and watching less of crackpots like Alex Jones. Facts matter, now more than ever. Let's not get divided against false enemies and stay focused on increase wellbeing. I know, I'm vulnerable to the same critique as I don't see authoritarian thinking embodied in nation state governments as a good pattern for the future. Maybe I'm missing the good things they are doing also and need to question my own perspectives. Maybe some day I'll be able to connect with people like Bill and Melinda who really are making a difference in the world and see what they see regarding the benefits of government support as outlined in their letter.
I hope you get a chance to read the letter and respond with your comments.
The world is getting better. There are so many out there who profit from your fear and work to convince you things are getting worse. They want you afraid because that's when your reasoning facilities don't function. That's when you are controlled by the inputs fed to you. The future requires more critical thinking.
The future demands optimism.