Will Technology, Educated Buyers and Brave Sales make us better?

It's a hard world. You can hear it everywhere. What is really going on? Who do we trust, can we a meaningful impact? Are we slaves to the powers that seem so distant and overwhelming? I asked a question, "what would happen if people were smart when they purchase and combined that with people taking a a brave innovative approach to sell what people want? What would the world look like, and how long would it take to change for the better?" A friend's answer, yes you are correct; it's just difficult to change consciousness and habits.

Here is where technology comes in. People want to live healthier lives. Smartwatches come along and count our steps and create contests to motivate us. Now consciousness and habits have changed. I used to drive to the city. Never liked taking the train. Very silly I know, so feel free to laugh. I hate having to stand at the front to buy the ticket from the conductor. Then one day I found an app that made it possible for me to buy my ticket straight from the phone. Now I could sit down, open up an app, buy the ticket and enjoy the ride, no cash, no change, find my place and push a few buttons. Now I love taking the train and it's my primary means to get into the city. Technology is a tool and when applied it can channel our intentions towards value.

Think of a farm, gosh it would be great to grow a lot of food. People work and even slave away in the soil, then we invent tools and becomes easier. Let's get real, we enslave people all the time, sorry, it's a big part of our human history across the globe. Yet, it was technology which helped to set some free. It was the inventions of tractors that made old school slavery obsolete.

We may feel trapped with crazy politicians, threats of cold wars or even worse, real wars. Yet at the same time, when I walk along city streets, I see more bicycle shops popping up. More healthy food shops, all kinds of artisan crafts. I see so many people trying to innovate and not play by the old rules, re-design, re-create, join new school with old school. This is the sign that people are reacting to the pains.

The other day I was walking around the neighborhood and I met a young couple handing out posters of their lost cat. The picture showed a cat that had come back from surgery for it still had lots of bandages. They said she had come home from the vet and escaped out of fear. I thought, this poor cat is afraid of the vet, even though the vet is good and will keep the cat alive. except the cat will put itself in harm's way out of fear of the unknown. You seen cats scratching and clawing. It's not their fault. They can't see beyond the immediate outlook of danger, which is somebody poking them with a hard sharp object. People act the same way.

What happens when we build awareness and think carefully with what we buy while at the same time encourage people to act bravely and sell their new innovations. Can we use technology to channel the energy of intention toward greater value?

Things are going to change in this world, like it or not. Half the population lives way below the means that most people consider survival. I googled this data while writing and don't want to get into debate about what is poverty. If half the population lives on less than three dollars a day, it does not matter if they are growing their own food and making their own clothes. It's not the same playing field as someone growing up in London, Moscow or Beijing. Bottom line, things are going to change and that can be scary for some people. Yet, I believe that it will change for the better. When Africa and Asia can play in the same game, we have more chance for innovation, more diversity. Think of all the great artisan craft business that will emerge from the world.

I remember some people complaining about mobile phones and everyone has them and it's great. I remember people afraid of online payments, we have amazon and others, equally wonderful. Sure innovation sometimes brings dangers of abuse. Except I can't imagine a world where we would give up electricity. And we are certainly not going to give up the freedom to communicate. Over time, we learn, adapt and figure out how to use our inventions better.

Maybe we needed to burn some oil, so we could build cities, which would house universities, which would invent the internet, so now we can communicate infinitely better, enabling us to discover new technologies in energy efficiency.

Embrace technology, be smart about it, test it, tweak it, come up with neat hacks to use it better. Together we can use technology to increase our awareness and learn to take action. To do anything, we have to buy into an idea and then sell it. You are going to have to learn that technology, buy into it, figure out what is best for you. And at the same time, we have to take risks in offering new solutions. Eventually those that are scared will catch on and we will benefit from this hard world. It's not going to be easy. We have to keep on trying. We can't force people. We must lead by example. We must demonstrate through actions. Eventually more and more will learn, and more will be encouraged to act bravely. Looking forward to work together in making our world a better place. Think about what you buy and get out there and sell any great products and ideas you have.

By Benjamin Burg