I just watched a really wonderful Ted Talk, by Chip Conley. In this talk he speaks of an alternative way to measure success for a business or community. And through that, focusing on important aspects of life, such as happiness, which are often overlooked.
I am always impressed by people who focus on solutions, rather than the problem, and Chip seems to be one of the solution folks. His business model has been inspired by the country of Bhutan, and their measurements of "Gross National Happiness". I am not familiar with his business, but I really enjoyed hearing his views on GDP vs. GNH (Gross National Happiness). This is a way of measuring the intangibles in life, things like happiness. I found it a very interesting talk, it makes one think a bit, and has sparked an interest to find out more about Bhutan.
Whenever discussing of gender inequality comes up, I tend to think along these same lines. Having been forced to return to university, I hear all too frequently that the world is unfair to women, hence, on average, women have lower incomes than men. This is largely because many women build their career around what works best for their family and lifestyle rather than what comes with the biggest pay cheque. I've been told this is something we have to change in order to have equality, but I can't help thinking, "Who is happier? Who is healthier?"
ReplyDeleteI can't claim to know that answer myself, but I think these questions are at least as relevant as, "Who makes more money?"