Building a Business Built for Good

June 17, 2014 by ·

2014-06-10-EntrepreneurPath_FeatImageIt would seem that you should automatically build your business in a way that you can have a profit, but many also want to have a business that does good for the people around them. Now entrepreneurs want more. They want to be able to bring in profits while simultaneously helping others and using their business for a higher purpose to enrich their lives. There are other examples of changing business throughout history. During the Industrial Revolution businesses were expanding as new markets emerged and capitalism was born. Since that point capitalism has evolved, but really only to make more money for those in business. This evolution has occurred without any thought for those that are affected by the business, with the exception of the shareholders.

However, this model of capitalism, which is often taught, does not take into consideration the fact that the businessmen and women may be unsatisfied with the work they do. Is it enough to make piles of money if there is no tangible result of your work or no larger contribution to the world? This shift with those in business wanting to make a positive impact is known as “Second Stage CapitalismTM.” This change and a shift in what capitalism is in this country will surely change entrepreneurship. The new goals of business involves three different perspectives, mainly: yourself, others, and society at large. These perspectives work in stages. Entrepreneurs are primarily focused on themselves and then on the others that they work for and serve and finally society at large. By looking to help others it ultimately empowers businessmen and women because they will want to achieve moreand give more back. This will ultimately morph capitalism into something that is more future-minded, authentic, and heart filled. Really, the more conscious people become the better off the world will be, so bring on the change.

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Conscious Business Needs Conscious Consumers

May 29, 2014 by ·

MC3-Conscious-Business-TenantsThere has been a marked rise in conscious business and now that needs support from conscious consumerism. It is wonderful that many more business are becoming socially responsible but there needs to be some acknowledgment of this from the wider corporate sector so that this can develop into something sustainable in the economy. There are 1,000 businesses around the world that are now classified as B Corporations that really promote sustainable, socially equitable and ethical behavior. They are very promising, but this trend cannot continue without the wider business community’s support. Right now the rest of the business community is stuck with conventional business models, which are not recognizing the huge, looming environment and social problems that await.

The things that these social enterprises or the B Corporations are helping on a micro scale, but cannot really be effective without support throughout the entire business community. Large scale change is the only thing that will address the crises that we are facing as a global community. However, it may not be the fault of those businesses that have not jumped on the B Corporations bandwagon yet. Really, business simply responds to consumer demands, so the real issues is getting consumers to be environmentally and socially conscious and demanding those products and services. It turns out that the Stanford Social Innovation review found that “consumers want to act green, but they expect businesses to lead the way.” So essentially, we have hit a chicken or egg situation. Who is going to act first? Business is waiting for consumer demand and consumers are waiting for business.

There are advantages for business like reducing pollution, waste and energy in order to be green. However, this requires some initial investment and it seems that many are not willing to take that leap. So really, this change overall must come from both the business and the consumer sectors. Someone must educate both consumers and enlighten the business community at the same time. There is mounting evidence that we need to change and a growing global consciousness of our human impact on the earth. Hopefully both consumers and businesses will realize that they need to change their ways before it is too late.

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Google and Apple’s Role in Combating Alzheimer’s

May 20, 2014 by ·

google-apple-logoMedicine has struggled to keep up with the amount of Alzheimer’s disease in this country and around the world. There is still no cure and very little medicine to reduce symptoms. Even more shocking is that Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth largest killer in the United States. Fortunately, tech companies like Apple and Google have been working to create products and services that will keep patients with Alzheimer’s more comfortable and safe.

Google has been working with Google Glass so that it is useful for those affected by Alzheimer’s. The device will use facial recognition software to tell the patient who is in front of them by alerting them to their name and their relationship. Additionally the Glass device can give the patients reminders like when to take their medicine or when they have to go to the doctor. Glass, along with wearable devices can track Alzheimer’s patients and their movements throughout the house and beyond. If a patient wanders away, as is known to happen with over 60% of Alzheimer’s patients, the wearable devices will indicate where they are.

In addition to health concerns and knowing who people are, tech experts have been working on therapeutic games. The pharmaceutical company Pfizer is working with game developer Akili Interactive Labs to create and test a game called Project EVO for Apple’s iPhones and iPads. The point of the game is to keep up memory through therapeutic activities and it also tracks the development of the Alzheimer’s patients disease symptoms and how rapidly they changing. Pfizer is currently working on a clinical trial that will test 100 people both with and without brain plaque, one of the first signs of Alzheimer’s. They are looking to see whether Project EVO can be a biomarker for the disease. All of these companies are working to help those who are affected and offering solutions in the meantime while medical experts continue to search for the cause and cure for the disease.

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Important to Know Your Stressors and Stress Type

April 3, 2014 by ·

Stress_GridStress has different ways of debilitating people. Some are jittery and anxious when they are affected by stress and some because extremely shut off and lethargic. However, there is an ancient science known as Ayurveda that can help you determine your stress type so that you are more aware of your stressors and how you need to handle them. Even if three different people are under the same stressful situation they will respond to it very differently. In the West, the typical general response to stress is to find relaxers that are touted to help everybody, like a hot bath, brisk walk, or a trip to the beach. The difference in eastern medicine, especially in the healing system Ayurveda, is that it looks to reduce stress based on the individual. There are many stress-relief strategies that can be customized to what you need. This Ayurveda lifestyle uses individualized strategies based on dietary, herbal and yogic solutions.

Ayurveda is a healing system, related to Yoga that synthesizes physiology, emotional disposition, and spiritual outlook. It began over 5,000 years ago in India and is documented in ancient Sanskrit texts. Ayurveda considers all different kinds of stressors and responses. It recognizes seasonal stress and planetary changes that affect our bodies as well as physical tendencies and thought patterns. Although there are many ways to explore and study Ayurveda, the bare bones of the healing system is to race your stress back to the source and then find lasting ways to change the patterns that cause that stress.

Stress comes from disorder of the rajas (passion or undirected activity). How we respond to stressors puts us into different Ayurvedic principles like vata (air), pitta (fire), and kapha (earth). No matter what your imbalance of these elements happens to be, having a clear understanding of what is influencing you can help you understand how to deal with your stress and prevent it from happening again.

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