Winning. Not by Conquest. By Request.

Acquisition

conquestThe desire for gain is one of the two basic motivations we humans have. The fear of loss is the other one. This desire for gain is not just for material things. It can be the adulation of others, having deep friendships or perhaps simply having the ability to enjoy the wonders of Nature. I do not know of anyone who would mind having more of those. There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to have more. However, if we want to have more just to spend on our Wants, Whims and Fancies, then it becomes Greed. I don’t care what Gordon Gekko or the Wolf of Wall Street say. Greed is never good. It is never good because it will never be satisfied even by world conquest. On the other hand, desiring to have more so that we can raise value all round is wonderful.

Growing vs Grabbing

What do I mean by that? When we work hard to acquire something, it has greater value in our sight. If we can just acquire something easily, without any effort on our part, we tend not to value that things as much. That is what I mean by “grabbing.” I include in this category things like “leveraging.” All persons who have ever explained “leveraging” to me have basically been exploiting others for their own gains. Growing, however, implies that all parties involved actively raise value through their combined or joint efforts. Growth means that all participants gain equivalent rewards for their portion of value they have brought to the table.There is no “extraction.” There is no “cheap labour.” There is no “first mover advantage.” A growth enterprise truly seeks gain for all involved by careful planning and deliberate action.

Request

requestWhen we have a growth enterprise, others see what we are doing and come to us with a request to join us. This should be encouraged up to a point. The design of eggs prohibits their growth beyond 50 centimetres across. In similar fashion, enterprises have an upper limit. Communities have an upper limit because of available resources. Those resources can be local, built infrastructure or come from the other side of the planet. There will still be constraints. The important thing, though, is that others have asked to join in. We did not go there and take it from them by force, blatant or otherwise. That is the main idea of this short post. What is your wealth based on? Viable union, conquest or rape? Share your thoughts with us! 

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