When I begin to think about it, it astounds me. The enormity of the possible, positive outcome from all the people who are born into and live their lives in poverty, that if given the conditions, could thrive. How many unknown musicians, artists, writers, speakers and leaders have been born in places like Africa and India? The ones that died too young to realize a gift or lived their whole life under an oppressive regime, never having access to anything outside of that world.

Granted, there are many cases of people with exceptional talent in those places that have been able to rise above and/or given an opportunity from someone on the outside. But those are the exceptions. What greatness lies beneath with the rest of the population?

It isn’t just about extraordinary talent or an unusual gift. It also about the productive capacity of each person. At any level, anyone can contribute to society in a positive way and in turn, that benefits them.

I read a story in a Richard Branson book about how once he was in Africa and a lady approached him and asked to borrow 300 dollars, or some amount. She said she needed to it by a sewing machine. I think she was making shawls or some type of clothing and she was going to take that sewing machine and start a business selling her wares. After listening to her pitch about how she would repay him, he gave her the money. Some time later he returns to the same village and I think he may have forgotten about it because it may have been long after she intended to repay him. The same lady approaches him and gives him his money back in addition to some brand new clothing items that Richard Branson described as “beautiful” and “high-quality”

This is just one story.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation does a lot of great work all over the world and are attacking some of the biggest issues in regards to children’s health and longevity. They are coming at it from a foundational angle by helping to decrease infant mortality as well as the health of adults, promoting a broader sense of well-being.

Whether you believe it or not, a lot of wealthy people do a lot of good around the world. It is not government that will have the biggest impact on human health and wellness. It is the mutually supportive nature of humanity that will make the changes. An honest government can help but we can’t rely or even believe these days, that they have our best interest at heart. Government, big business and greed form a terrible threesome that can be overcome by its people. It isn’t a matter of more regulation but of less. As the years and decades have gone by the inequality in society has only grown and will continue to as long as the greater population let it. But I digress, slightly.

What if we all started cooperating more at the community level? What if every fifth household grew a beautiful garden full of food? What if every third household started a soap business and served just the people within a particular radius? Keeping it local only serves the local, greater good.

What if 50 million people decided to stop buying food from a freezer in a grocery store? We could either make a large company irrelevant or force them to change their ways. And then if that same demand was diverted to the local level?

What if we didn’t pay income tax and all those trillions of dollars were used to create and serve the natural demands of the people and not the demands of the government?

What if the people potential that lies dormant or never had a chance to blossom, was suddenly……released?