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filmmaker - curator of magic unrealism,
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Wealth and power have been our conventional measures of success. What definition will better sustain us now and how can we move into it?
The other day, my mother mentioned that she hasn't accomplished anything in her life. (She's a forest and machine engineer who hasn't found a suitable job since immigrating from the Soviet Union 20 years ago) It broke my heart to hear this. We live in a world that makes people value themselves more and more singularly by their career highs and financial prowess.
The conventional model of success has proven to be destructive, separating and pitting us against each other in competition.
What would be a better definition of accomplishment for us and how could we collectively shift toward embracing this?
y yolanda
Apr 25 2011: To me, success is like happiness.
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To me, happiness is like meditation.
To me, meditation isn't something that I do.
It is something that happens. When I am mindful of what I am doing, or, I guess, in the now,
I find time doesn't exist. There seems to be enough of what I need; space? moments? Not sure.
There also seems to be less worry and stress but even more awareness. Strange, or maybe it's
more like magical, surprising, clear, and one other very important piece, for me.
I'm not important, because when I become important, I become afraid and I don't want to be.
Then, I become unreal and cover up who I am at that time. But, when I can really let go and let it
happen, it has many times in my life, happened so effortlessly that I knew I was only enjoying and
experiencing the magic, watching it unfold as well, while seemingly in it and a part of it.
And those who happened to see what was going on, told me how impressed they were
with me and what they had seen me do. But, I couldn't get them to see,
accept or believe, that it wasn't me doing it. It was just happening because in some way, I had allowed
the space for it to be, the magic to unfold. I have seen more than once in my life, order just come out
of chaos. Very small forms of it for sure, but real order, spontaneously poofed right before my eyes. Life, is like
the last three letters of the word life. It's iffy It seems like a maze and it is. It's ama-zing.
One of the hardest things for me is to keep my hands open and supple. The natural position of the human
hand, open to let go and ready to receive.
I don't know what success is on any level that humans have used or use today in the world. When I feel joy, I cry and when I do, I know that somewhere, sometime, I must have been successful in some way. I can't take that to the bank. I can't buy anything with it. I can't even give it away. Oh, and I can't seem to keep it either. I can only let it happen, when it does and it does, when I'm not importantApr 19 2011: Hi Anita,
It is sad that we live in a world that is increasingly measuring success by the amount of pay that one takes home and is most obscenely played out in the bloated CEO salaries that are eclipsing previous records on Wall Street and elsewhere. The frightening downward spiral of the American middle and working class has accelerated to the point that the everyday people who make our society work and prosper - teachers, factory workers, fire fighters, etc - are being vilified as the reason that the economy is in trouble when it is the rampant greed of the top 1% who are to blame for the system-wide meltdown we are being told we are on the cusp of every day.
The psychological impact and unconscious message that is being sent is that we are worth nothing more than the bonus we take home and that our CEOs are valued hundreds, even thousands of times more than the average worker. The underclass of unemployed, seniors, whomever, have no value and are 'leeches' on the economy. I shake my head when I listen to this rhetoric spouted daily as 'fact' on cable news networks and by conservative politicians who serve their corporate benefactors.
What has happened to democracy in the west, especially American democracy, is sickening.
I believe that no one, be they Hollywood actor, CEO or star athlete, is worth tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation while teachers are losing their collective bargaining rights and having their modest salaries rolled back. Is this the great decline of the west and a return to something dark and repulsive, in the vein of the Czars? Some days it sure seems that way but we are all frogs in the proverbial pan of water and day in and day out it is hard to see the larger picture when the average person is two paychecks from living on the street -- and many families already are, thanks to the mortgage meltdown.
We need to start valuing our fellow citizens in ways other than what they drive or how many square feet they inhabit.
Apr 20 2011: Good post. I absolutely agree with you.
Ironically, I am currently unemployed and, as an arguably non-productive and useless member of society, I struggle on a daily basis with reconciling the need for a income with the inevitable consequences of buying into the capitalistic circus. Saying "no" to a job makes one appear lazy, but should one really say "yes" to being underpaid and mistreated just to be able to fuel a society based on exorbitantly wasteful and self-indulgent consumption habits? In preparation for a job interview I recently found out that the CEO makes $6M/year (not counting the plethora of other gratuitous perks). Through friends and various online reviews I also found out about a number of ethically questionable practices that, while technically legal, clearly are in place simply to increase profit at the expense of wages, health benefits and job satisfaction. In addition to that, the company recently agreed to a $130k out-of-court settlement for pollution violations. This was just one settlement in a long line of similar settlements (a.k.a. business calculations) where it is "cheaper to pollute than progress" and where the environment is considered to be an expendable variable in the relentless pursuit of corporate profit. It has simply become "the cost of doing business."
Yet, in light of all this, I am the one considered to be leeching on society.
It's not that I don't want to work. I actually like working and work quite hard when employed. But I hate working for the simple end of generating a profit. Nor will I settle for working for a company that creates more problems than it solves. I believe we have to reclaim our value systems, which currently have been completely hijacked by industry and corporate interests. Few are willing to accept that capitalism, the economic system responsible for our immense wealth, simultaneously also is responsible for the majority of our global problems including war, famine, pollution, and corruption.Apr 29 2011: As a student graduating from high school this year and about to pursue a degree in something, this question couldn't have been more relevant. Throughout the application process it seems to me that the definition of success is still focused around ones wealth, power, material possessions and because of this their social status. I have felt influenced to study something that would make me more "successful" by todays standards, but perhaps something that I don't enjoy. For instance, I could go to medical school, become wealthy, gain social status, own fancy cars, have a large house, etc, etc... Or, I could study what I am passionate about, perhaps have less wealth, less social status, maybe own a used car, rent an apartment, yet I would consider myself to be successful.
It seems like this view of success is influencing myself, and other students like myself to choose a career path that may not bring them the most happiness or they may not be completely interested in, but will bring them the most wealth.
To me, this is the complete opposite of what I view success to be. To be successful, I think what really matters is for one to be happy with their decisions and actions in their life. This could be different for everyone. One person could consider themselves to be successful if they complete a 5km run, some may consider themselves to be successful if they quit their job and travel the world. It could be as simple as teaching oneself to cook something new. Success should NOT, be measured in ones material possessions, job hierarchy, wealth, and social status. Sure, they may be "successful", defined by the current culture, but in the end are actually satisfied with what they are doing?
Pardon my poor eloquence; this is my first post here on TED and I'm trying to keep up with the amazing linguistic skills that other posters have.
Robert Jaffe
May 18 2011: You are oh-so-right, Mr. De Paoli. I myself went to college and studied something I loved, history. And then, to placate my father, I went to law school and became a lawyer. I hated it all. Some ten years after law school I had an opportunity to become a family mediator, which I took. For the following 35 years, until I retired, that's how I made a living for myself and my family. I devoted my life to helping other people towards mutual understanding and respect, a thing I loved to do. I earned far less money than I would have as a practising lawyer, but I did something that made me feel good about myself and all those around me. To tell you the truth, I don't know that studying a "practical" subject in college would do you any harm. It will perhaps make it a little easier for you to start out in the world of work. It frequently takes people quite a while to feel themselves out and discover what they "really" want to do. I've known many people who have changed not only jobs, but entire careers and specialities within their first fifteen years out of high school. English majors and accountants turning into doctors or nurses. Architects becoming lawyers. Lawyers becoming novelists. Doctors becoming financial advisers. But it's quite true, things were easier for younger job hunters in my time. These days it may well (I do not know this for sure) be best to study something practical in college, something that might even slightly improve your ability to get that critical first job afterwards. You will always, but always, have the opportunity to change in the future. In fact, if you're really meant for something other than what you're then doing for a living, I think it's quite doubtful that you'll be able to resist the change.
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May 31 2011: Bravo unto you Senor Jaffe. Bravo that you have the courage to follow your own truth and path of what has been right for you.
Ari Hahn
Apr 10 2011: Your premise that wealth and power are flawed measures of success is powerful and an idea that I have championed for years. Although it can be applied to a myriad of ideas that have been conceived, born, and flourished since the industrial revolution, there is one that seems to be particularly relevant to your introduction. Feminism, while in essence is the struggle for equality between the sexes, is doomed to partial failure because of this uncompromising criterion. In its original paradigms feminism sought to give females equal opportunity for wealth and power in stead of changing the measure of success to include lateral relationships and interpersonal influence. Though given the terrible unbalance of power in this male dominated world it was probably the only way to start the process of rebalancing, we might just be at the point in history to re-examine the questions of criteria of success to include characteristics that modern psychology, neuroscience, and other fields have now found to be more gendered than previously thought.Jun 26 2011: 'To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.'
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Ralph Waldo Emerson
Endre Faklya
May 22 2011: I would think of success as the weather of the mind, maybe even the soul. And just like you wake up different every day, the weather is different every day. What is a perfect day for some, maybe lacking some fine funny clouds for the other. Success maybe as simple as enjoying your walk inside you even if it rains or snows. Just find those tiny bits that are different from yesterday and love them or learn from them. Until you can enjoy and learn from all your weathers, you have success in you. Until you have your mindset-boots or flipflops to walk in any weather in you, you have success. It maybe just that you glimpse a balancing raindrop on a railing on a lousy weather day in you. Success is that you took notice, that you could see the beauty of it. I think. Ejoying being you, no matter what.
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May 23 2011: Yes, I truly agree that Success or Freedom can be truly defined as "Enjoying being you, no matter what.". but I am confused when beeing you can hurt some people around you. Its difficult being you all the time. You have to consider your family and loved ones too and at times Success is defined for you by these people.Apr 22 2011: When I was 16 years old I measured success and happiness by friends and school. Then I met the girl of my dreams and my measure of happiness and success was our life together and then my job because it directly affected the comfort of our life together. By age 35 it was our sons, our life together and then my job. And then at fifty+ I lost my job. I still had my life (wife, sons, friends) but a big part of my life for 30+ years was gone.
Now, several years later, I still have my wife, our sons, and many good friends (even more than before). It took several bad jobs before I found a good one and now the financial aspects of our lives are back on track.
Sorry for this long winded rambling, but I guess I am just trying to say (in my opinion) that true happiness and success require perspective. And that only comes from living your life in the best way possible. In that way you earn your perspective and can adequately judge your success in life.
So, my suggestion to everyone reading, is that they live each day to the fullest and take at least a few minutes each and everyday to put that day into prespective (family? friends? learning? good deeds? accomplishments?). Take care.
Apr 22 2011: John: One of the worst days of my life was when I had to lay off a man who was just under 50. I knew exactly what he was going to go through and I am sure his experience paralleled yours. I don't think I slept for three nights, even though I had to do what I did -- and he knew it as well as I did.
I bumped into him a few months ago. Like you, he had once again found his way into a good job. He told me that he hated me for laying him off but had always appreciated the way I did it without making him feel worthless. Backhanded praise, maybe, but now I think we both feel better!Apr 23 2011: It sure sound like you are a successful man to me, John. I bet your wife and kids would agree.Feb 17 2011: I love the question, Anita, because it is aspirational at it's core. I read it a couple times yesterday and came up blank. Then, late yesterday I learned that a childhood friend had passed away - what I saw from others crystallized (for me) the answer: Success is measured by the number of lives you touched while on this Earth. As for how we can move into it; we could start by being present in every interaction and letting our hearts lead.Jun 1 2011: There is no us, and there is no big picture. There is the individual (meaning oneself) and the details in the day to day, work on changing those and you will have your wealth and power. Many things of great value are often overlooked in an attempt to look for the "greater good" that we cannot prove we will find or achieve. In this search for big results the details are overlooked and sometimes the greater good just becomes the less obvious evil. Value life. All life.
Jun 2 2011: Excellent post Gabriel.
I actually can't comment on your post, just wholeheartedly agree.
We need to seek ways to crate a Value exchange (Wealth?) that reduces friction for personal trade.
Wealth seems as good as any so far, for getting folks to easily trade with each other, and the more efficient we become (better factory, innovated process, something that someone really value) the more wealth the individual can accumulate. Seems a pretty good system to get individuals to collaborate and innovate, making us all (not that there is an "us") better off.
imtiaz ilahi
May 17 2011: earl nightingale (an early pioneer of personal development) defined success as the progressive realisation of a worthy goal. If we take this as being an acceptable definition of success, then this leads to the question of what constitutes a worthy goal. Well i think this depends on whether a person allows their goals to be defined by society, or has the courage to decide their own. Therefore success will only be defined to be money & power if an individual believes this to be the case. So each individual should define success.May 17 2011: Someone once said that I was the "richest poor person" that they knew. It was the biggest compliment I've ever received in my life. The idea of success is all in one's attitude - about life. Success is a concept. It's definition is what ever idea you buy into. Each individual defines their own success. Success has nothing to do with money and everything to do with how one lives their life. The way to recognize this and change this thought pattern in society is to consciously and constantly start conversations like the one you did by asking your question.
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When I was really young, I thought that by the age I am now my life would be so completely different than it is. By that metric, I am completely unsuccessful and an utter failure. Instead, my life has been full of experiences that I could not have imagined. And in that I have been successful.
Mr Kebabsoup
Apr 30 2011: Hey! I'm really sorry to hear what your mother said to you. It's truly the saddest thing to hear. I think your mother has achieved quite a lot and isn't seeing her achievements. For example yourself! Aren't you one of your mothers achievements? How can she say something like that to you? It's so selfish.
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To me achievement is only measured by the quality of the relationship you share with your loved ones and close ones. All the rest is just a lie.
May 18 2011: Absolutely agree. On all points save one. I wouldn't characterize Ms. Doron's mother's comment as "selfish." It just seems to me to be misguided and overly harsh on herself. I'm sure that if Ms. Doron and her mother talked this over at length (as they may well have done - later), her mother would be able to recognize the worth and value of her contribution to other people's happiness and the general good of society. One can be a clerk in a convenience store and be a good and valuable person and member of society. As the French say: "il n'ya pas de sot metier." Having the "right" job, or having an enormous amount of money will by no means guarantee you happiness or fulfillment. Just in this past year there was a study, blazoned across all the major news outlets, which found that at and above an income of sixty thousand dollars (U.S.) a year, the rate of personal happiness is the same for all.
nik walser
Apr 29 2011: Many of my family members say they're "filthy rich with love." Personal connections are so easily forgotten in this cyber-existence of ours, but at the end of the day (or life), people seem to most value the connections they've made with others.
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Nikita Mehta
Apr 25 2011: Dear Anita,
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Wealth and power are merely short lived, external ways of defining sucess. Our whole attitude about life is money-oriented. And money is one of the most uncreative things one can become interested in. Our whole approach is power-oriented and power is destructive, not creative. At the end of the day, we entered this world with nothing and will leave this world with nothing. In my view, there is only one true sucess and that is conquering yourself. If we cannot simply be and enjoy the moment, we have not lived or accomplished much at all. Society moulds us into thinking a rich, powerful life is a happy one, infact, I have found the ones who have the least are the most content (succesful). Tell your mum she has more sucess than most of forbes rich list.
Rosella Hart
Apr 21 2011: Perhaps we could redefine the common ideas of what wealth and power are. If wealth refers to spiritual wealth, wealth of experience and the connected range and depth of emotion (therefore not just happiness but all emotional experience)... generally the 'richness' in life.... and then look at power more as a martial artist might look at power, in terms of flexibility and flow, self discipline (therefore self knowledge, to not be ruled by one's unchallenged beliefs but to have power over ones attitude) self mastery rather than the mastery of others....then do wealth and power become more useful concepts? I think so.
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Apr 23 2011: Yes I agree - true wealth is good health, integrity and an optimistic spirit that focusses on what you can do for the world, rather than what it can do for you. By living that life you have power because you respect your self and others and this attribute makes you strong and unable to be reached by people with selfish intentions
amy rigg
Apr 19 2011: how cool would it be if everybody woke up tomorrow and realized money means nothing and the major commodity were emotions - love being the most worth-ful. just a thought. peace and love to you from me :)
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Steve Waters
Apr 19 2011: Hi Anita.. This is so sad on many levels: it illustrates the values that society places on position, authority and wealth-creation and it tells us that your mother measures herself against these values, while at the same time disregarding the skills she takes for granted and devalues - parenting skills, the ability to move to a different country, to speak a new language and to enable you to be a well-adjusted and thoughtful person. I believe that the old models of business that you describe are being rightfully challenged by the inter-connectedness brought about by social media where honesty, openness, sharing and helping one another without expectation of self-gain are the new values. Please go to Linkedin if you would like to read more about my views.
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Apr 20 2011: "I believe that the old models of business that you describe are being rightfully challenged by the inter-connectedness brought about by social media where honesty, openness, sharing and helping one another without expectation of self-gain are the new values"
well said!Apr 15 2011: When we look at the measures of success, another conundrum arises beside it. What is success anyway? Is it merely the opposite of failure, a condition of being "done" as opposed to "not done" ? Because of the subjective way in which success is defined, its measurement is equally as subjective. The traditional standards of wealth and power have been so long ingrained in society that a change in paradigm would be difficult. Even so, I believe a change in paradigm is still possible. From wealth and power, I think we should shift to the standards of personal development, character and individual happiness. Still, due to the highly subjective nature of what it means to become "developed" or what it means to have "happiness", we find ourselves asking whether there is even one unified concept with regard to the emotions we associate with the act of succeeding. Despite this subjectivity, the universality of concepts such as kindness, compassion and fellowship may be used to measure the degree of personal development one has achieved, on basis of the plurality of these positive emotions and states, as they exist within the individual. Therefore, pronouncing the verdict that one is "developed" can then open up a discussion on happiness. Once a certain degree of personal development is felt, perhaps happiness can then be quantified. Quantifying happiness and personal development can then allow the individual to measure his or her own success, depending on a subjective self-evaluation.
Furthermore, a collective shift in the measures of success, from wealth and power to personal development, might best be achieved by encouraging the self to be honest in its evaluation. A culture of honest evaluation is, I believe, the beginning of a new paradigm in success, one measured by the self and concretized by other people's opinions. Still, subjectivity is present in all forms of emotional evaluation, so I advise careful contemplation before passing judgment on success.
Adam Burk
Apr 14 2011: Anita, thanks for raising this conversation.
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There are many voices I agree with here. The cultivation of character is a better definition of accomplishment in my opinion. Elsewhere on this thread it has been called adaptability, but it is more than that. In addition to timely reflection and response to the environment, the ways in which we enrich the world must be accounted for. The novel idea of life credits (LCs) is a playful game concept to incentivize such behavior.
Seriously, though, for this conversation, the Eastern view on "luck" comes to mind. It has been said there are two kinds of luck: one kind is what happens to you; the second is what you do with your experiences. We can't change the first, but we do have control over the second of luck, which is character. And so success becomes relative. My friends who escaped genocide in Sudan, bearing witness to the absolute worst humanity can be and who are the most generous and kind souls, are exemplars of success to me. Ultimately, our ability to perform conflict resolution in beautiful ways is true human success in my opinion.Apr 14 2011: I stumbled across an interesting quote today, and it reminded me of this conversation, so here you go:
"I don't have a problem with someone using their talents to become successful, I just don't think the highest calling is success. Things like freedom and the expansion of knowledge are beyond success, beyond the personal. Personal success is not wrong, but it is limited in importance, and once you have enough of it it is a shame to keep striving for that, instead of for truth, beauty, or justice." - Richard Stallman
So maybe it's in the pursuit of a vision or an ideal greater than ourselves that we achieve greatness, and possibly, find meaning and satisfaction as well. And maybe that's real "success."
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fan wang
Apr 14 2011: I agree with you very much, yes it's the pursuit that gives us pleasure
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Bernd Fesel
Apr 14 2011: I agree also - and would add: it is our responsibility as parents to teach our children the danger of mono-criteria, especially wealth. because: where do you take the power to built wealth out of less, even out of hopelessness after wars, death of dears or catastrophies of nature?
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More out of less: that is in fact the standard situation. building wealth out of wealth is a boring privilege to 1% of the world population.
I believe the ground for happiness is indeed an inner AND social balance.
sulav duwal
Apr 11 2011: Hi Anita, I really loved the TED talk and books of Alain de Button.In his talk he eloquently presents an alternative definition of success.
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What i feel is that our society is becoming more of neglecting ends and one that sacrilizes the means. We needed progress for spreading eudomonia but now we are laying more emphasis on progress and less on happiness and contentment. In developed world life quality and life expectancy have risen, but level of happiness has not. I read somewhere that contentment of person in materialistic world can be thought of ratio of "things one posesses" to "things one aspires for". The materialistic world has surely increased the things one posesses but the aspiration level of people has also increased expontential so the ratio is now even smaller than in past. We need to come out of this vicious cycle and find some consolation in philosophy.
Apr 21 2011: I agree. Alain de Botton provides a really interesting historical account of happiness, status and the evolution of our Western society in his book Status Anxiety (which also has been made into a documentary film). I encourage everyone to check it out since it, just as in the speech linked above, he delves deeper into the contradictory fundamanent of "the pursuit of happiness" and its governing principles. It opened my mind to the hypocrisy of capitalism and materialism a few years back.Feb 16 2011: There's no static, definite answer to this question. As times change, the demands of the people change as well.
I think, however, that there IS one general principle (measure) for success in human life, both social and individual. Very simple one, but profound in its implications. It is the achievement of well-being and happiness. It's the message of the Buddhist tradition, and of Dalai Lama's philosophy in particular, that happiness is the basic need of human being. There are other people who claimed this, of course, notably Abraham Maslow, although he talked more of self-actualization and peak experience, it's similar.
The question is then, what increase our happiness nowadays? Definitely, not financial success; capitalism proved itself to be against human nature. Gross National Happiness (GNH) index is a good move towards a new definition of progress. I'm happy to see how it draws attention of Western countries, such as Canada, Italy, France, etc.
Apr 7 2011: Have you checked out happyplanetindex.org?Apr 21 2011: I see one huge problem with the endless pursuit of happiness. In order to stay happy, one would be inclined to avoid, ignore, or trivialize matters that are upsetting and disturbing. This may sound like an exception to the rule but I believe it is quite the opposite. This phenomenon - ignoring matters that are uncomfortable - is pervasive, especially in the context of global conflicts and international problems (i.e. famine, human rights violations, etc.). When we see images on TV of the starving childlen in a refugee camp in Sudan we simply switch channels because it makes us uneasy and puts us in a solemn mood or somewhat depressed mind state.
I truly believe that the relentless pursuit of happiness can lead to a dangerous indifference towards great injustices and wrong-doings in the world. I see it everyday. When people are in willful pursuit of happines they seem reluctant to listen to information that will bring them down from this self-indulgent emotional state. There are an enormous amount of human rights abuses, genocide, oppression, murder, rape, raiding, censoring, unlawful incarcerating, and other forms of deprivation of liberty, life, speech, or property that take place everyday. In fact, many of these are conducted, supported, or condoned by the U.S. (ironically self-titled "defender of democracy") in order to secure the natural resources (primarily oil) necessary to maintain our unsustainable modern Western lifestyles.
In many cases I actually find the relentless pursuit of happiness to be socially irresponsible. I realize that a large portion of the population is unaware of the actual state of affairs in the world due to a very sophisticated propaganda machine but even given the option to find out the truth, how many would actually be willing to surrender their idea of "comfortable living" for the idea that it all comes at a terrible price?
Apr 23 2011: In many Buddhist traditions—like that of the Dalai Lama—happiness is a function of compassion, so the pursuit of happiness is positively correlated to our concern for the suffering, rather than the traditional western materialistic version against which you seem to be arguing.
George Kong
Apr 23 2011: Sustainable happiness. As always, this kinda thing is implied, but worth restating. No one (in the context of these discussions) talks about seeking happiness for just the moment. So to solve for big issues in society, how do we achieve as much happiness for society as possible, while making it last for as long as possible?
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And the answer that emerges from that should be a complex, multi-faceted response which solves for many problems and concerns.
The pursuit of happiness that you seem to describe sounds more like a strawman hedonistic society than a society that really desires long term, sustainable happiness.
So how does one achieve long term happiness for a society?
Engage in action and behaviour that encourages compassion, stability, fairness, understanding, respect for the freedoms and rights, as well as access to opportunity.
Nic Marks
Jun 6 2011: Broadly speaking people think of success as either about achievement of external goals (extrinsic) or internal satisfactions (intrinsic). So for example - financial success is an extrinsic goal, but love is intrinsic. Beauty, body image, celebrity, fame - values held very dear by our societies these days are all extrinsic - and this is before we get to winning and money ... Generally intrinsic goals are more a more fruitful way to happiness and fulfillment but obviously extrinsic ones bring us status ... this tension between external status and internal happiness (contentment - fulfilment) is surely externally with us - it must have given us genetic advantages over the millenium ...
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BUT it would seem that our public definitions of success are exceptionally biased towards the extrinsic - to the neglect of the intrinsic ... the way our economies are geared - we are all in service of the profit motive - often at a disregard for our own well-being and that of the customers/clients (and indeed supply chains - who are after all just other people) ... there is nothing 'wrong' with extrinsic goals - it is the over-emphasis - the crowding out - the ignoring- of the intrinsic ones that is the problem (in my opinion of course!) ... and this creates other problems - such as huge inequalities (as we collectively lose sight of the 3 billion people living on less than $2.5 a day and the homeless [very often mentally ill] people living on our streets ... as a society - a global society - we are simply not taking care of our less fortunate brothers and sisters ... and this is before we think about other species and climate change (!)
I think our narrow view of success as being finanical is hugely problematic and is at the root of so many personal and planetary issues ... success should be a balanced scorecard -yes some extrinsic goals but many intrinsic ones ...Jun 4 2011: Thanks Anita for this topic.
New definitions are arriving. In the new world of technology, social-networks and self-initiated media platforms, the notion of success is no more bound to wealth and power. The feeling of being successful is now the feeling of how well-received you are in your network and beyond. I think it is more about the reception, love of people and one's overall popularity in the communities they belong to, on the web and in the physical world. These stuffs neither require money nor power, they require knowledge, intelligence, originality, responsiveness, engagement and humility.
If you count money, I am sure I am one of the poorest men ever attended TED Conferences; so far 5 times, either as a Fellow or a volunteer guest or as a Senior Fellow. I earn more or less 170 USD per month.
And power? I think I have some LOL! It is the byproduct of my design works, literary works, networking, community and voluntary activities, like there's a big bunch of young folks who love to listen to me, and I got some so-called 'powerful' connections locally and internationally (generally those are of no good). You may call these as 'power', I don't know!
And I don't count myself among 'successful', but I got some experiences and success stories those are somewhat beyond the imagination of the folks of similar ages in my community.
None of these are achieved by wealth or power, and none of these literally brought me wealth or power, yet I am well-received, loved by people and I find that love far more valuable than typical success of wealth or power.
So the new equation of success is ideas+actions+humility. And people are learning to accept that, TED itself is a big example. And I hope these new definitions will sustain and soon they are going take over mere money and power as the measuring scale of success.
John Gregory
Jun 1 2011: What is wealth if it is at the expense of others? What is power if it is power over people instead of the power to do things together?May 30 2011: SKILLS You Can Contribute To Society :D
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Johnny Utah
May 25 2011: Ive personally struggled with this. I fell into the same trap that most fall into, thinking that money and business success are indicative of what most think is the pinnacle of life. American society, and now sadly other cultures put this at the top of their list. And it is ingrained into our minds by media, and other "successful" people. I became this stereotypical definition of success, and found out real quick that I was almost a complete failure at everything else in my life. Tough pill to swallow, but broke it up into pieces and used lots of water. Funny but Ive found that there is a simple solution to this question. Balance. Balance in life is success. Why? Because its harder to attain than anything else and you never really totally have it. Its easy to become rich, just work harder than the next guy, but be wealthy, socially responsible, a good husband, lover, parent, athlete, happy,sad, etc. all at the same time... That's hard, and a continually challenging thing that makes you a better person by the minute. Only the lazy define success as one tangible thing, such as wealth, or business acumen. They use this definition as an excuse to hide behind the usually large gaping holes in the rest of their life, and never really attain true happiness. Balance is key. Balance is life.
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James Walker
May 25 2011: Wealth and Power probably still cut it as the measures of success. But, HOW you achieve your Wealth and your Power is fast changing.
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How Wealth is created and accumulated has changed dramatically from feudal times through the industrial revolution and then through the 20th Century. Let's be simplistic, and say that in the past to become Wealthy, you have to play, er..tough. Well, maybe that's not true in the 21st Century. Doing the right thing, having an amazing idea, having a pitch that being good guys is good business might make you rich now. Wealth rewards Innovation and new ideas that make us all better off. Wealth seems like a pretty good way of judging success.
How do you achieve Power (must be a TED talk on this!!)? Well, isn't it about getting people to follow you, to do what you want them to, to exert influence? Power of course can come from the accumulation of Wealth, and if we think the folks making our lives better are now those getting Wealthy, than it's great that these folks are now the Powerful. Hey, I'm optimistic. I think the good guys are going to be the Powerful guys!
Johnny Utah
May 25 2011: "Wealth and Power probably still cut it as the measures of success." Maybe for you...
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James Walker
Jun 1 2011: Johnny hi there
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What about if I phrased it as Wealth and Power probably still cut it as the Rewards for your successful contribution to the economy?
Innovation, creativity etc are what have driven progress in Western economies since the industrial revolution. Does Mark Zuckerberg deserve to be as rich as he is because he created something as amazing as Facebook? Or Bills Gates, Microsoft?
You might think that system of behaviour and rewards is less relevant post-industrial-revolition now in 2011, but I would be intrigued to know your point of view on a. what actions do we want to encourage to make us ALL wealthier, healthier and happier, b. what Rewards system can work (if not money) to promote these behaviours?
Jun 1 2011: Our gauge of wealth has to change from money to planetary health. The trouble is that we are big trainable monkeys and our trainers have convinced us that it is all about wealth. I would argue that innovation and creativity have driven progress. In the current monetary based system all this does is create more destructive practices.
I suggest looking into alternate monetary systems like a demmurage currency. It is a currency that devalues over time and is only valid for a short period (like 5 years). It would not allow hoarding or accumulation by individuals and would become a working currency. Look for a book called "On Human Wealth, Beyond Scarcity and Greed".
Thomas Jones
Jun 5 2011: Quote: "What about if I phrased it as Wealth and Power probably still cut it as the Rewards for your successful contribution to the economy?"
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Not always. The list of people who made significant contributions to the economy and died penniless and powerless is pretty long (Goodyear et al).
And others exert great power through influence not through commerce. They may have power but not wealth (Gandhi and friends.)
Aligning "success" with anything external is problematic: we do hold up exceptional accomplishment in any field as a measure of success. We idolize the great in many fields.
One of my heroes is Alice Owino Oketch from Nairobi, Kenya. She was a baker in a local bakery. This is a truncated version of a few years in her life:
Her husband died, leaving her with four children. One of her sons died. Another went mad (and died.) A third got a bone infection in his leg that she could not afford to have treated. (When I found out, I paid for an operation.) She lived in a small "flat" that was about four meters by four meters. There was no electricity or running water. She got up at three in the morning so she could walk the 45 minutes it took her to get to the closest bus station so she could take the hour-long bus ride into work. Work she was paid about $30 a month to do ... until she was fired so that her employers would not have to pay her the benefits she had become entitled to. (They rehired her the next day for less money.)
There's more but you get the idea.
Do you know what Alice Owino Oketch did in her "spare time?"
She wrote love songs. Songs of gratitude. Songs of appreciation for her life.
Who would you count as a "success" some VC who contributes to wealth generation but is miserable or Alice Owino Oketch who, in the face of circumstance that would crush me (and most of the people I know), expresses joy for the life she has?
Regardless of what else we "do," if we are not feeling what she feels, I doubt we should be called truly successful.Jun 18 2011: Sorry for such a late reply...surf was up in Hanalei! a. what actions do we want to encourage to make us ALL wealthier, healthier and happier? I believe that your question is the problem. Success is and should be highly personal. There is not (and shouldnt be) a definition for all, just your own personal definition. There are some that define it in similar ways such as monetary wealth, and thats ok....for them. For me personally its balance. b. what Rewards system can work (if not money) to promote these behaviours? Depends on what behaviors you consider good. Again, people are different and value different things. Its what makes humans wonderful. I personally believe in simple values such as balance, integrity, love, etc. And I try to exhibit them everyday. My reward for this is just as simple...happiness. I think if people exhibit behaviors such as hate, deception, etc. They will never be (no matter how much money they make or awards they receive) happy. I feel sad for them.... Great talkin with ya!Jun 1 2011: Mr. Walker,
I don't agree with you that wealth is a good way to judge success. This presumes non-wealthy people or groups don't qualify for success. But to engage what I think you are trying to say: How one achieves wealth might be a robust way to measure success.
In, my mind, this goes beyond great ideas and innovation, and includes emotional intelligence. Such relation-based power is most remarkable when it less about about getting people to do what you want them to do, than it is about engaging with people to reach their highest potentials while working with you.
Think Henry Ford. A "good guy" leader from the brutal Industrial Era. He built his success not by seeking followers, but by engaging them to work with him to build cars (which in turn built his wealth and power). His employees "followed" his lead because he engaged and abetted their abilities in humane ways. For example, he insisted all Ford's employees wages were ample enough that each--from assembly line worker to administrative executive--could afford to buy the cars they built.
Ford possessed a global view and pioneered "welfare capitalism." He raised wages, which improved the welfare and productivity of his employees. To compete, Ford's competitors were forced to raise wages, too. He wasn't frivolous, he was pragmatic. To balance out the costs of his progressive policies, Ford simply didn't offer as many different colors of cars.
I agree there are similar good girls and guys out there these days. And, like you, I'm an optimist. But I think they a silent majority, at best. To convince our cultures they are making our lives better, the wealthy have a lot more work to do.
They might start by following Ford's model for success a bit more while decreasing their fancy-car fleets to a bit fewer. Especially, perhaps, the negative-impact big muscle models. Which don't imply kind, common-cause sincerity.
Jun 1 2011: Andrea, Bravo!Jun 1 2011: Yes! Ford wanted not only the wealthy, but everybody in the city to be able to drive in the weekend to the countryside! And Mr 'Glassfactory' (forgot his name) wanted the average person be able to drink from a glass, rather than an iron cup. And Steve Jobs wants to put a ding in the universe!
And coca cola wants 'a bottle of coke within everybody's arms reach. And is a self-proclaimed development worker to introduce economics in poor regions with their loyalty systems. Don't know if it is good to have a coke everywhere, though I sure feel good and fresh after a bottle ;)
So we need more of this for the common good. If more people have a non-financial mission embedded in their material wealth goals, we might get somewhere.Jun 2 2011: Andrea, er..... Hang on, are you seriously saying that we in 2011 would be better off if Henry Ford had not invented mass production on industrial lines; had not transformed manufacturing in the United Sates?
Thomas Edison is famous for his inventions, but he was a brutal businessman - one of the reasons the movie industry fled from New York to LA was to escape Edison's thugs operating a protection racket over what equipment was used. But hey, he invented the lightbulb.
I don't approve of many of the modus operandi of Ford or Edison, or for that matter Jobs or Gates... but that is Irrelevance. They transformed our lives, and they were rewarded for that.
Separate question, were/are they nice people, did they break the law, will they go heaven etc etc? But that is irrelevant to why we have "Wealth" as part of a Rewards Systems to say thank you to what these folks have done for us.
On the other hand... tell me if you would prefer to live in a World where Edison, Ford, Gates etc had never existed, and we still had horse and carts, gas lamps and abacuses?
Jun 2 2011: On the other hand, I am happy to live in a world where Alexander Flemming discovered penicillin - one of the truly world-changing discoveries of the 20th Century, and he generated nothing like the wealth of Ford - does this mean that he was less successful?Jun 2 2011: James,
I think you misread my comment. First, some background: I co-founded a satellite tracking and wireless communications company in 1993. We used the then-nascent internet to deliver data to customers. It's when I began appreciate the "Henry Ford" way.
Ford was a pragmatic leader, whose lead is worth following. My larger point was that good leaders of today could learn from Ford's leadership model, by engaging the well-being of their stakeholders. Indeed, as I said, many do.
The challenge is when their success depletes the success of others. I think it is naive to term "thug" behaviors used in the pursuit of wealth irrelevant to society's measurement of success.
The leaders' intent behind these is of most salience.
For example, as Paul notes: Ford wanted all citizens to share the "common" wealth of the countryside. Without vehicles, bottom of the pay scale workers wouldn't be able to commute to work if they lived in the countryside, nor could they visit the countryside for productivity-boosting rest and rejuvenation if they lived in the city.
Fast forward to today. Ford might see his full vision of happy commutes to work and countryside haven't succeeded. Line employees struggle to pay for fuel to commute. The countryside is ever farther to commute to, in part due to vehicle-abbetted suburban sprawl. Vehicles produce pollution, which has negative impacts on employees' health, which in turn costs employers more in healthcare costs, lost productivity, etc.
Lost financial wealth, thus likely.
Could Ford have fully anticipated these unintended consequence? Likely not. Could good guy/girl leaders today anticipate their efforts might have such unintended consequences? Likely much more than Ford could. Because (your point!) of innovations.
My point is about good girl/guy leaders intentionality engaging the best of, for and with stakeholders -- clearly modeling the power of this method. And avoiding "intent-depleting" behaviors.
AndreaJun 2 2011: Mike, haha! excellent point!
Well, sort of... actually, I'm sorry to say that Alexander Fleming was in fact rather unsuccessful, and he deserved to be. Sure, he stumbled upon Penicillin, but it was never produced, manufactured at scale, or ever commercialised under his purlieu. For that, we have to thank the 2nd Wold War and good friends in Big Pharma (Merck, Pfizer, Squibb) in the United States.
The issue of Patents in ethical-pharma is a really interesting topic. Ie: are patents good as an incentive to innovation. I think, on balance, we have to say patents are good, and the commercialisation of medicines leads to more investment in R&D and amazing drugs. Fleming might not have made Wealth from Penicillin, but the folks that deserve (those who made it possible to mass produce it at scale, and made it accessible to us all) certainty did. There was a big fight in the 1940s over patent rights for Penicillin, but without commercialisation and scale production, the "discovery of Penicillin, would have been totally irrelevant. So, kinda fair really that Fleming was indeed "unsuccessful"....
Jun 2 2011: I suppose we make the same point, but perhaps from different perspectives. I would describe him as successful for making the creative step of the discovery (however inadvertent it may have been). You would describe him as unsuccessful as he did not personally commercialise it - so others built their success on his discovery.
He was however very highly honoured for his discovery, including a Nobel Prize and a Knighthood - are these not other measures of success?
Maybe we'll just have to agree to differ ;-)Jun 2 2011: Mike hi
Don't mean to sound viscous, but my point is he was not successful (by any meaning of our word), and was in fact a failure. We don't have Penicillin because of Fleming (he never actually made the stuff) but thanks to Merck etc. He actually failed to develop a production process. Thus, is was a "failure", and didn't deserve Wealth and Power as his rewards for "success".
But Yeah, a shared Nobel Prize is certainly one more than I have won!! :)Jun 3 2011: Hey Andrea, I like you!! I've found someone on TED who isn't just ranting!
Now I see: You're talking more about "externalities" - railroads damage the countryside etc.
Externalities are a fascinating part of economics, but I think they're more about Rights really. Simply, your freedom "to" versus someone else's freedom "from". Do I have the freedom to drive my noisy and polluting Sportscar through the countryside upsetting the residents, for example. The problem is, that externalities are very nuanced and very hard to adjudicate "freedom to" versus "freedom from". You'd need to have some kind of Externalities Adjudicator, passing judgement. Or, you'd have to have a completely planned economy, where Ford would ask permission to invent the motorcar and then it would go some committee who would figure out that in 100 years cars might be bad for the countryside? I don't care for that kind of "planned economy", and nor do the folks who tired it for a few years in Russia!!!
Secondly, I think you're making a value statement that is very arbitrary that we make value damage to the county-side more than the freedom that the motorcar gives us. I think I disagree with you actually! Henry Ford made cheap cars so now we all commute to work from spacess villas in the suburbs rather than take the bus from our pokey apartments next to the factory. This is great, no? These evaluations of externalities are always very subjective.
Final thought on the countryside: I live in the UK, and our countryside is entire fake and manmade. Forests have being cleared, swamps drained. There is nothing left that is original countryside, so building motorways for cars and suburbs for people is just another extension of what's being happening for centuries. Do we wish that Elizabeth 1 had saved the Oak Forests by building fewer warships? Er no, because then I'd be speaking Spanish! So, tough to figure out the long term consequences of anything we do.
Jun 3 2011: James,
Agreed, it's tough forecasting long-term consequences. Still: imagine businesses that didn't do regression analysis or projections? Few (including funders) would perceive hope for their success.
Ford didn't need an externalities adjudicator. His emotional intelligence and understandings of his interdependence with others was his 'internal adjudicator." This was his "secret sauce" for success -- higher-order humane thinking: what separates the "doers to" from the "engaging with" others model of success. It has to do with empathy--seeing others interests as equally valuable as one's self-interests. Which in turn, requires insight -- the ability to reflect on and question ones own values and behaviors.
For example: Ford published anti-Semite writings. When Jews shed light on them, Ford apologized. Though the apology was triggered by a defamation lawsuit, the apology was not legally required. Nor were his later efforts to halt international distribution of the publication. Again, there was no government policy or rule that required Ford halt the publishing. In fact, due to copy-write complications, Ford had to fight policy to give Jewish people "freedom from" the effects of his earlier behaviors.
Which, I would argue, gets at an answer to the conundrum you elucidate. No need for externally enforced values or "permission," (nor even, economic threat) to engage one's big-picture emotional intelligence. And consequences could be quite rich, for self and others.
World Bank's Vijayendra Rao explains how this lays out in current contexts. Rao addresses the diverse externalities, variables and relativity of cultural nuances you speak of, from an economist's view.
An aside: related to your gratitude to Elizabeth i for protecting you from speaking Spanish. I suppose it is, as you point out, all relative: Rao, who speaks English, is from India which was colonized by the British (supported by economic interests of East Indian Company.)
AndreaJun 4 2011: Funnily enough Andrea, I am an econometrician, and regression analysis is my thing!
And that's why I think it is a pretty useless forecasting tool - ok for looking back for looking back.
As I like to say, "using regression to run your business is a bit like driving your car always looking in the rear view mirror. Ok to do that on a straight highway, but less successful on a twisty Swiss mountain pass!"
I do think this gets to the heart of the matter - it is very hard to see the future consequences of our actions, and so we can't plan for them. We do what we want to do, that's God's gift to man. Yep figuring out consequences is funny!!!
- Elizabeth 1 chopped down all the trees, but hey, saved me from speaking Spanish and eating paella. But, we probably would have played better soccer ;)
- We colonised India, and it was a pretty good run. But OMG, now they all speak English, and I'm moving all our IT from Macclesfield to Bangalore and we're created a monster that's going to be an economic powerhouse. (Isn't Rao a Keralan name, so would have been colonised by the Portuguese actually not the Brits? Odd thing, most folks don't know, is that in WW2, Keralla was a Portuguese colony and was freely used by the Germans, a mere matter of metres from the allies).
Jun 5 2011: James,
Your TED profile notes that you fund orphans and self-sustaining farming projects in Third-Wprld countries. Where traversing twisty roads requires forging paths through undeveloped terrain, literally and figuratively. Not for the risk averse. But, good global guys and girls are brave.
So, some Qs:
1. Why do you invest in these efforts?
2. Do you forecast a ROI?
2. And, how do you measure success?
Regards Germany: Do you ever wish Churchill would have gone just a hair easier on them during WW2, given their history against Brits in soccer since? :-).
As for me, I'm glad the U.S. has made peace with England. It helped my soccer-playing, be that (humble by global standards) as it was.
One of your Macclesfield neighbors, Manchester United's Alan Merrick brought the sport to my state during the mid-70s as founder and player for the Minnesota Kicks. And volunteered his time to coach me (as he has many).
Of course, we Americans still can't hold a candle to you Brits, our football-forebearers. But it is most definitely not for lack of sports-focused funding. And we kick India's butt in one big, but dubious category: obesity. In fact, we are world-leaders in childhood obesity.
Which brings me back to our Q regards how to measure success. If economic wealth is how we motivate and measure success, how is it that the more money we spend on health, the less physically fit wealthy nations are?
Yes, it would be silly (and dang dull!) to correlate fast and fun car rides on quiet country roads to childhood obesity. But stop-light impeded commutes to fast-food outlets on the way to soccer practice have been among the many twisty-turned variables experts accurately predicted during the US suburban sprawl 70s and 80s.
Notably, economic implications were downplayed due to denial abetted, in part, by profit-driven interests lobbying against them. So here's a Q, to engage your econometrician expertise: were their well-funded efforts a success?
AndreaJun 5 2011: It wasn't really "Henry Ford" who introduced the $5 work day although he ultimately had to approve of it. It was "Ford Motor Company."
I believe it was James J. Couzens who came up with the idea. Ford resisted the idea quite vigourously.
I'll see if I can confirm whether it was Couzens or someone else and let you know for sure.
Henry Ford nearly ruined the company. He would have if he hadn't died when he did.
Being the founder, Ford is often given quite a bit of credit for other people's ideas.
Edit: That didn't take long: It was Couzens and you can reference it in several of the works by Peter Drucker.
Jun 5 2011: Thomas, hi there,
Just thinking about your comments at the top about Alice.
Sure. In my personal life as I have travelled, and tried to do 'my bit' I have encountered many amazing people, who have truly awful lives, but have found the time and energy to help others and make a difference to people around them.
I've known men and women save lives, rescue the godforsaken, and ask for nothing.
But.... these folk (who I love, and have inspired me) have touched the lives of a few dozen people. They have not has the scale impact of Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates. As we create a rewards system for the World we want, Wealth works pretty well at encouraging Innovation and Creativity: the things that have driven the West forward so that Real GDP doubles every generation. Alice is amazing, but if she'd invented Facebook, her village probably would have been better off. I think we need to ask/answer two questions:
- What are the behaviours we want to encourage to build the World we want (new technologies, efficiency, innovation, freedom etc etc) to see
- What is the "Rewards System" that rewards folks for doing these thing?Jun 6 2011: Thomas,
Many thanks for the information on James J. Couzen. It fills in a larger picture of how Ford was influenced and benefited from others quite different from himself. And how public perceptions of success often miss the larger picture.
AndreaJun 5 2011: I like you Andrea, you're funny and you write beautifully :)
I prefer to keep my personal life away from TED - so don't really want to get drawn on my work, or the social causes, orphanages etc. But, I'll just confess that pretty much everything I do in life I do for deeply instinctive reasons, and my Conscious being (ie: thoughtful) is very different from my Instinctive being (ie: I love that girl; i am hungry; oh my god those kids are dying..).
At the personal level, let alone for corporations or Governments, it's hard to figure out the unintended consequences or long term effect of our actions and I certainly don't...
- If I pay for my kids to go to college rather than they take loans, does that dent their self reliance and ambition?
- If we stop the orphans being left to die in Malawi, does that mean the villagers are locked into a circle of dependency?
I just think long term outcomes are hard to predict, and short term if the kids are dying in Malawi or shooting each other over drugs in Manchester, then hey I'll help now, and figure out the long term consequences later.
So to come back to your point, creating a system that valued "externalities" or long term plan that takes account of possible outcomes is hard. I just think it's easier to leave to fair trade, and the markets will clear. Either pay the farmer for the crops we destroy from sparks from the roadroads, or we'll fit fireboxes, whichever is cheaper.
Jason Kather
May 23 2011: Success is happiness. Happiness is success. Whether physical, emotional, spiritual, or intellectual, I feel that we all need to set achievable goals in life. As we grow in each of the four "states", so should our goals in that respective state. How we determine our own growth and achievement of goals at any moment may be radically different than the way a minority of people, or the majority of people of people view that same topic. Time may change perceptions of the individual, the minority, or the majority. Wealth is physical, power is emotional, but there are many other determining factors for achieving goals in those states as well.
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Chemical imbalances play a huge part in the equation. I not a fan of regulating these imbalances through prescription drugs, but in some instances, I feel this is a viable solution. Both mental and physcal health determines how we see the world and ourselves. This can be a roadblock on the journey to happiness.
I also believe in the Multiple Intelligence Theory. I feel that the satisfaction we take from life is directly determined by how much we grow our main intelligences. Motzart could not have found happiness in life without not only finding music, but finding it to a level much higher than i could ever hope to realistically achieve. I feel we all must find our passions in life which are determined mostly by the specific set of levels of each intelligence which is unique to us.
The majority can never see our personal level of happiness. They have no idea of our specific make-up. Usually they can not understand, tolerate, accept, embrace the differences in us. We must discover ourselves, teach ourselves, nourish ourselves, and keep setting achievable goals for ourselves. This may mean that a lot of people will show up at our funeral or maybe just a few, but in the end, the ones who show up will respect us for the right reasons.
Jason Lewis
May 23 2011: at least shes still alive to try to fill this empty void by finding a hobby or doing something she always wanted to do.
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Darryl Hall
May 20 2011: Hi Anita. Thank you for your thoughtful post. I agree that the current model for success has been very destructive--to social relationships as well as to the natural world. I do not think that truly new definitions of success can exist in the context of capitalism, which should be thought of as an entire social as well as economic order. Capitalism's overarching concern is for the pursuit of profit, regardless of the many social problems created by this goal. The system orients people towards individualistic rather than collective goals. Talking heads in the media and other social institutions tell us that poverty exists because of people's personal inadequacies and that they are consequently undeserving; indeed, in an amazing twist of reality, they are even cited as the source of economic problems. Conversely, those who are wealthy are held to be successful because of nothing more than their ostensible talents and skill. Rather than requiring a democratic distribution of wealth that could help secure the well being of the entire planet, such claims are quickly regarded as "unpatriotic" or--in the U.S.--"un-American" (whatever that means).
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Capitalism simultaneously creates great wealth and great poverty, but not everyone has an equal opportunity to acquire wealth--and all of the important things that it provides--adequate housing and food, quality healthcare, excellent education, and so on. Wealth has increasing become concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, and those in need have grown significantly in late capitalism.
In short, we need a completely new social and economic system that places as its principal concern the democratic needs of the people.
Saeed Sabeti
May 17 2011: I believe one could feel they have accomplished something in their life when they have taken a step, even the smallest one, toward what they are passionate for. Desire and passion are two vital elements of success, or at least of feeling successful. Therefore, I strongly believe that every one of us should journey back to our childhood passions, relive them and bring them back to our life again if we are willing to embrace who we really are. That sounds like a success to me!
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Dean Marc Co
May 17 2011: Maybe, people can be made to be more aware of the effects of their actions and their being around.
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To each his or her own metric.
This very need for measure is the core of the issue, for good or bad.
But then, if you notice some of the topic tags you have, such keywords immediately evoke concepts and principles relating to wealth and power, the accumulation of wealth/power, the consumption of wealth/power, the effective consumption and use of wealth/power, and etc.
But there are clues like 'social,' 'collaborative,' 'social,' 'civilization,' and etc. These clues relate to the fact that some measure cannot simply be measured individually or in isolation. Some measures can only be understood by indirect effects, other people, and society.
Another way she may feel some sense of accomplishment is for her to realize that you as her daughter is also one of her accomplishment. Her efforts in bringing you to better circumstances allowed you to make something of yourself, benefiting others as well. The work is not done but that is the point. It is an unending story because it didn't end with her efforts, nor yours, nor anybody's.
Kim Bunting
May 16 2011: The way to personal contentment is to stop looking for an external measurement of success. Only we can create our own definitions of success. Conventional models are what individuals extract and incorporate into their own belief systems.
- +1
Maybe what your mother was saying is that she hasn't accomplished what she wanted to...


text:
By MIKE ZIX
Thumbs up to those who maintain a civil tone in the comments they post via Facebook on newsherald.com. Thumbs-down to those who resort to false accusations or name-calling in their posts.
Thumbs up to the band Journey for its song about marital commitment called "After All These Years" (go to youtu.be/p-ZBtjscRjs). Thumbs down to those who trash women in their rap songs.
Thumbs up to congressman/obstetrician Ron Paul for pointing out that a baby in the womb is essentially no different two days before its birth than it is two days after its birth. Thumbs down to anyone who contradicts biological fact and says that a fetus that has its own brain waves and heartbeat "is just a part of a woman's body."
Roses to my late mother for being a stay-at-home mom. Thorns to anyone who belittles stay-at-home moms.
Roses to parents who teach their kids to treat others fairly, and who also set a good example for them to follow.
Roses to those who take their elderly parents into their homes.
Roses to St. Jude Children's Hospital, and to all those who make charitable donations to it. Thorns to the Democrats for forcing Obamacare down our throats.
Thorns to the politicians past and present who have promoted the policies that, through the years, have kept so many inner-city folks (and others) in the chains of the welfare state.
Many thumbs up to Walter Williams for the principled perspective he has added to the public discourse for so many years.
Many thumbs down to the current occupant of the White House for what is probably the worst presidency of my lifetime (I've been around since Ike was president).
Many thumbs down to Sen. Lindsay Graham for fear-mongering about terrorism and for labeling the United States a "battlefield."
Thumbs down to Bill Clinton for making the laughable assertion that President Obama is "committed to constructive cooperation."
Thumbs up to those in Congress who voted to audit the Federal Reserve. Thumbs down to the politicians — regardless of party — who dole out corporate welfare.
Roses to those who believe in individual rights and that government should stay within the limits stated in the Constitution. Thorns to those who promote Big Brother/nanny state government. (Government isn't supposed to be our mommy and daddy.)
Roses to Julie Borowski for her excellent "TokenLibertarianGirl" presentations on Youtube. Thorns to Sandra Fluke for her distorted oration at the DNC. (Why didn't Ms. Fluke criticize the aforementioned rappers?)
Thumbs down to anyone who believes that government has a right to force health insurance companies to cover contraceptives or Viagra or 25-year-old kids or sex-change operations. (Insurance companies and their customers should be free to negotiate coverage options without government interference.)
Thumbs up to the earnest anti-war liberals who opposed the Iraq War when George Bush was president. Thumbs down to the liberal "anti-war" hypocrites who suddenly went silent when Barack Obama continued the Middle East wars.
Thumbs up to those who voted for Marco Rubio over Charlie Crist two years ago. Thumbs down to Rubio for subsequently promoting a costly, imperialistic foreign policy.
Thumbs up to Rand Paul for addressing both of the possible interpretations of President Obama's poorly worded "You didn't build that" lecture. Many thumbs down to President Obama for acting like government independently provides our roads and bridges. (News flash: Government is financially dependent upon the private sector. Those of us who are honest know that government merely orchestrates the building of infrastructure. The funding for infrastructure — and for public education, as well — comes from the private sector, via taxes paid by businesses and individuals.)
Roses to everyone in the liberty movement who supported or promoted Ron Paul's presidential campaign. We lost this time, but if our country is to have a genuinely better future, it will be because most of our message finally wins the day — some day. Here's hoping.
And I think everyone should be able to give a thumbs up to this trio of worthy goals: peace, liberty and justice.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Cortland County Courts
Law Library
Louis H. Folmer Supreme Court Library
46 Greenbush St., Suite 301
Cortland, NY 13045
Phone: 607-218-3365
Fax: 646-963-6429
Hours of Operation:
Monday - Wednesday & Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Closed on all Federal & State holidays
Law Librarian
Elizabeth C. Wenz
All visitors must pass through a magnetometer
upon entering the courthouse.
The Supreme Court Library at Cortland was created April 12, 1954 (L.1954, Ch.649) and, after moving to the third floor of the Cortland County Courthouse in May 1983, was renamed the Louis H. Folmer Law Library. The library relocated in May 2007 to its current location on the Main floor of the Courthouse, over looking Courthouse Park.
The library's collection consists of basic New York and Federal statutory and case law as well as general practice treatises. Materials not available in print, microform, or CD-ROM may be requested through interlibrary loan. A coin-operated photocopier is available.


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Want to try the easiest hands-free mounting option ever? Pick up a v3 magnet kit, which includes a magnet-ready anti-slip grip and high pull magnet. Once you've placed the magnet in your protective phone case, your mounting options are limitless. Attach your phone with a v3 mountable phone case to any magnetic surface (think toolbox, refrigerator, workout machine, etc.) or put a Lil'Rok Magnet Mount on any non-magnetic surface to create your own convenient location.
This is my favorite accessory for the V3 case. I'm surprised how strong the magnet is for how small it is. I was skeptical that it would be strong enough to hold my S4 securely, but it really does a great job. I have a metal work bench with a top storage piece that is metal. I used to have to place my phone on top when listing to music. Now I just stick it right on the front of it. It also helps so when I receive a call with my filthy hands I don't have to pick up my phone up and get it dirty. I can just hit answer and then speaker and leave the phone hanging on the front of my work bench. I'm really very happy with this!
(Posted on 7/8/13)


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Let's be real here for a second: we are dudes. And dudes like to watch hot ladies get it on. But since we're too classy for adult entertainment, we need to dial it down a notch and get our sex scenes from movies and TV. Here ten movies from the 00s with sex scenes that worked the hardest, if you know what I mean.Click here to read more
Ten sexy videos that will make you go Ga Ga. Find out how Megan Fox wakes up from a nap or how Kate Upton does anything.Click here to read more


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Welcome to BrainDen.com - Brain Teasers Forum
|Welcome to BrainDen.com - Brain Teasers Forum. Like most online communities you must register to post in our community, but don't worry this is a simple free process. To be a part of BrainDen Forums you may create a new account or sign in if you already have an account.
As a member you could start new topics, reply to others, subscribe to topics/forums to get automatic updates, get your own profile and make new friends.
Of course, you can also enjoy our collection of amazing optical illusions and cool math games.
If you like our site, you may support us by simply clicking Google "+1" or Facebook "Like" buttons at the top.
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Thanks and enjoy the Den :-)
Guest Message by DevFuse
Slovenia - rafting & canyoning
July 2007
Other Albums by rookie1ja
Australia - relax
19 images, 2 comments
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Italy - road trip
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Italy - via ferraty
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Portugal - surfing
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France - snowboarding
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Last upload: 08 Feb 2009 - 12:34


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Slow Food San DiegoSupports community awareness about healthy local food
Slow Food Restaurants
The following restaurants have been proven to adhere to Slow Food principles and have supported Slow Food San Diego.
Arterra Restaurant
"Art of the Earth". Specializes in contemporary seasonal cuisine highlighting the seasonal bounty of San Diego's finest farm-fresh produce.
Marriott San Diego Del Mar: (858) 369-6032
A.R. Valentien
Innovative California cuisine. Daily menu change with fresh seasonal items. Executive Chef Jeff Jackson is a Slow Food San Diego Board member. Chef de Cuisine: Tim Kolanko.
The Lodge at Torrey Pines, La Jolla : 858-453-4420
Barona Casino
Executive Chef Dean Thomas has infused Slow Food into the restaurants at Barona using local suppliers and the freshest ingredients. Lakeside, CA: 888-7-Barona
Bread and Cie
Bakery and café. Traditional Euopean artisan bread making techniques with attention to fine points of texture. Freshest ingredients and local restaurant supplier.
San Diego: 619- 683-9322
Café Chloe
Cozy, bistro where the East Village meets Paris chic. Menu features French classics with a California twist. Desserts made in-house. Wine bar/ catering. Executive Chef: Katie Grebow
Downtown San Diego : 619-232-3242
Cafe Merlot
also with Cooking and Wine Classes
GOOD BYE BOOK CLUBS, hello Cooking Clubs! Join us in our restaurant while we stir up a whole new way to socialize. Watch as our talented Culinary Team prepares your meal in an interactive Learning Environment and gives you tips about how to cook special dishes. 3 hour hands on demonstration includes all food/beverage..
Campine Catering
Combining the collective talents of Chefs Andrew Spurgin, Antonio Friscia, and Brian Malarkey. 619- 704-7035.
Cardiff Seaside Market
Gourmet food/catering. Locally grown produce, fresh fish, sushi, artisan meats and cheeses. Fine wines. Dishes prepared daily. Custom menus for events. Executive Chef: Scott Wright
Cardiff : (760) 753-5445
Organic, high end catering company. Menus are designed around the seasons and inspired by fresh herbs, fruits and organic vegetables grown in the fertile coastal soils of north county San Diego .
Executive Chef: Scott Wagner, San Marcos: 866-66-CATER
Landmark downtown restaurant and jazz bar. Contemporary American fine dining with some international and Southwestern cuisine. Live music nightly
San Diego: Gaslamp District (619) 233-4355
Delytes Catering
Menu creation/full service event co-ordination. Food is produced fresh daily using the fresh seasonal ingredients and locally produced products.
Executive Chef/Owner: Lead DiBernardo, Temecula 951 694-food (3663)
Eco Caters
Dedicated to using organic products which are fresh, local, and seasonal and using biodegradable materials when catering events.
Adam Hiner Co-Founder. Los Angeles 310-728-6005. San Diego 858-246-6129
Extraordinary Desserts
Café/Bakery and online store. Exquisite pastries using organic and sustainable products. Wedding cakes & rare teas are specialty.
San Diego: Balboa Park : 619-294-2132 & Little Italy: 619-294-7001
Flying Pig Pub This farm-to-table restaurant offers artisinal cuisine; hand made pasta, carefully paired wines and craft beers. They are dedicated to bringing you quality, ingredient driven food (and they do!). 626 South Tremont St., Oceanside, CA 92054, 760 453-2940
Coastal California cuisine. Fresh seafood from flown in daily. Sustainable fish from Monterrey Bay Acquarium "Seafood Watch List" and the best organic local produce.
Executive Chef: Christian Graves. San Diego: Gaslamp Quarter: (619) 531-8744
The Local Habit Restaurant
Features organic foods made from scratch using seasonally available, local produce, house cured meats and homemade breads. They are committed to offering the best of California craft beers and wines.
3827 5th Avenue, San Diego, CA. 92103, For reservations at (619)795-4770.
Lotsa Pasta
Restaurant, carry out, catering, retail store. Handmade pasta and fresh sauces. Vegetarian and heart healthy items available.
San Diego Pacific Beach 619-858-581-6777
Michele Coulon Dessertier
European style elegant desserts & spectacular, artistic wedding cakes made with the finest fresh ingredients, organic sugar, real butter, Belgian chocolate.
La Jolla: 858-456-5098
Evolving California cuisine. Daily menu dictated by harvest at local artisan farms. Seafood from local mongers and fresh flown from Hawaii, North Pacific and Atlantic regions.
Executive Chef: Jason Knibb. Downtown, La Jolla: (619) 964-5400
Notorious Burgers Joey sources from purveyors such as Famgro Farms in Carlsbad, and Pasoprime, Premier Meats and Mary's Farm for all natural beef and poultry to offer top quality artisinal burgers, sandwiches, salads and sides. 6955 El Camino Real, Suite 107, Carlsbad, CA 92009, 760 431-2929.
Q'ero (formerly Amici)
Latin American/Peruvian. Eclectic home-style menu. All items made to order. Fresh products from California's finest local farmers and food producers. There's a story with every dish.
Chef/Owner Monica Szepesy, Encinitas: (760) 753-9050
Italian influenced hybrid of cuisines with seasonal ingredients, fresh meat and fish from local vendors. Upstairs nightclub with VIP lounge, rooftop cabanas.
Executive Chef: Anthony Friscia, Downtown San Diego: (619) 544-9500
Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens
Eclectic global contemporary menu features fresh organic, locally grown products. 100% naturally raised meat. Regional beer, wine, artisan breads and cheeses. Condiments made in-house.
Executive Chef: Jeff Massey, Escondido (760) 471-4999 ext. 1
Terra New American food with an emphasis on ingredients and preparation styles from North, South and Central America. Chef Jeff is committed to local, sustainable agriculture and the bounty of San Diego and Riverside Counties. 7091 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego, CA 92115, (619) 293-7088.
The Linkery
Ingredient driven menu. All-natural meats, highlighting heritage breeds, fresh, wild-caught local fish and independent local farms in our region, house made fresh charcuterie.
Chef/Owner Jay Porter, North Park, San Diego (619) 255- 8778
The Marine Room
Global cuisine rooted in the French classics. Dining with oceanfront view. Private parties. Fresh menu prepared daily with locally grown produce, artisan meats.
Executive Chef: Bernard Guillas. La Jolla (866) 644-2351
Villa Italia Trattoria
Traditional Italian menu features pastas, gnocchi, salamis made in-house. Pizza created with fresh produce, cheese and meats from local producers.
Chef Owner: Paolo Pedrazzani Downtown Encinitas: (760) 479-9757
Waters Fine Catering
All types of events. Handcrafted menus produced fresh daily. Sustainable, organic products from local vendors. Tree & vine ripened fruits. Artisan cheeses and breads.
San Diego: (619) 276-8803


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Partnerships, Licensing, Investments and M&A Deals and Trends for June 2013 in Pharmaceuticals - Our "Partnerships, Licensing, Investments and M&A Deals and Trends for June 2013 in Pharmaceuticals" report is an essential source of data and trend analysis on partnerships, licensing, mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and financings in the pharmaceuticals industry. The report provides detailed information on partnership and licensing transactions, M&As, equity/debt offerings, private equity, and venture financing registered in the pharmaceuticals industry in June 2013. The report portrays detailed comparative data on the number of deals and their value in the last six months, subdivided by deal types, various therapy areas, and geographies. Additionally, the report provides information on the top financial advisory firms in the pharmaceuticals industry.
Author:Mike Kinge-mailWeb: www.companiesandmarkets.comPhone: London: +44 (0) 203 086 8600


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About us…
Help support your Meetup
The Mile High Skeptics Society is a science organization. We promote the public understanding of science, as well as using the scientific method to examine the data in support or against extraordinary claims, using evidenced-based methods.
Skeptics maintain that unless there is sufficient evidence to back up a particular claim, it is unlikely to be true.
Examples of false or unproven claims include UFOs, conspiracy theories, ghost hauntings, fad food diets, Bigfoot, alternative medicine, psychic powers, religious convictions, new age philosophies, and just about every kind of popular woo that has poured out of the foul mouth of Dr. Mehmet Oz.
A good resource on what our group is about is here: "Michael Shermer's Baloney Detection Kit": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUB4j0n2UDU
Come join us if you want to promote science.
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General information
Have a look at our latest presentations in below document list. Also find our Annual report, Quarterly report, Sustainability report, Environmental reports, Policies & guidance and our corporate values: quality, safety and care for the environment, CSR and responsibility.
View the Volvo Group presentation 2013 and read about the Volvo Group today and tomorrow.
Quality, Safety & Environmental Care are the values that form the Volvo Group 's common base and are important components of our corporate culture.
The Volvo Group's vision is to become the world leader in sustainable transport solution.
Download and Read the latest Volvo Group Sustainability Report


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Literacy in the Sciences
Many of the skills that are critical for growing strong readers and writers are also core skills in the study of science and math. Predicting, understanding cause and effect, understanding sequence, acquiring a rich vocabulary, building background knowledge, and developing the ability to read and write informational text are some of the skills we're looking at in the Literacy in the Sciences series. These easy-to-read two-page tip sheets are written especially for parents and include activities and books to extend your child's learning.
What you'll find here:
- Literacy in the Sciences tip sheets (in English and Spanish)
- Great books for kids about science and math
- Video interviews with children's authors
- More science resources from Reading Rockets
- Other recommended web resources
- PBS KIDS science programs and activities
Literacy in the Sciences tip sheets
These 18 tip sheets all about literacy in the sciences are written just for parents, and are available in English and Spanish. Each tip sheet includes simple activities you can do with your child to build literacy and beginning science skills. Each tip sheet also includes a set of recommended picture books to extend the learning. These tip sheets are part of our Growing Readers parent newsletter series. Subscribe to Growing Readers and get the latest edition delivered right to your inbox.
- Outdoor Explorations
- Steps of the Scientific Process
- STEM Tools at Home
- Making Predictions
- Taking Measurements
- Recording Observations: Journals and Field Notes
- Recording Observations: Capturing and Sharing Images
- Patterns and Categorizing
- Teaching Sequence
- Cause and Effect
- Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions
- Creating Bar Charts
- Share What You Discover! Publishing Your Work
- How to Read Nonfiction Text
- The Vocabulary of Science
- Research and Information Literacy
- Think Like an Inventor
- Science vs. Science Fiction!
Great books for kids about science and math
There's been a recent boom in publishing beautifully designed and readable science books for young children. And kids love nonfiction. They really enjoy looking at every detail in the photographs, reading the captions, and trying to puzzle out the charts, diagrams, and timelines. We also find many examples of fictional picture books with a math or science theme that can provide the perfect doorway for getting your child interested in the world around him.
Here are some science- and math-themed book lists from our collection:
Video interviews with children's authors
Reading Rockets has an extensive library of video interviews with award-winning children's authors. We've selected the following writers and illustrators whose work focuses on science and math themes:
- Buzz Aldrin, Look to the Stars
- Eric Carle, The Very Hungry Caterpillar
- Vicki Cobb, Science Experiments You Can Eat
- Joanna Cole, The Magic School Bus series
- Sneed Collard, Animal Dads
- Denise Fleming, In the Small, Small Pond
- Gail Gibbons, Penguins!
- Sy Montgomery, The Snake Scientist
- Seymour Simon, Hurricanes
- Greg Tang, Math Potatoes
More science-themed resources from Reading Rockets
- Reading Adventure Packs
- Start with a Book
- How to Increase Higher Order Thinking
- Building World Knowledge: Motivating Children to Read and Enjoy Informational Text
- Beat the Heat with Your Weather Page
- Use Summer Fun to Build Background Knowledge
- The Night Before the Museum
- Grocery Store Literacy K-3
- Grocery Store Literacy for Preschoolers
- One, Two, Buckle My Shoe: Math and Literacy for Preschoolers
- Dramatic Science(280K PDF)
Other recommended web resources
- Activity TV: Science Experiments for Kids
- Age of the Dinosaurs
- Backyard Nature
- Earthquakes for Kids
- Funbrain
- Growing with Science
- Lawrence Hall of Science for Kids
- Molecularium
- Monterey Bay Aquarium
- NASA Kids
- National Geographic Education
- National Geographic Kids
- Nature Sound Map
- Project Noah
- San Diego Zoo
- Science & Children magazine
- Science Fair Project Resource Guide
- Science News for Kids
- Scientist at Work
- Seymour Simon
- Strange Matter
- Wonderopolis
- Wonderville
- The Yuckiest Site on the Internet from Discovery Kids
Book blogs and booklists
PBS KIDS science programs and activities
Curious George (Ages 3-5)
The goal of the series is to inspire children to explore science, engineering, and math in the world around them. George lives to find new things to discover, touch, spill, and chew. Everything is new to George and worth investigating. Throughout George's adventures, he encounters and models basic concepts in science and math literacy.
The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That (Ages 4-5)
In each program, the Cat in the Hat and his friends Sally and Nick go on a science adventure such as shrinking to bee-size to explore a hive and discover how honey is made; flying with birds to discover how and why they migrate; or diving inside flowers to find out more about the animals that depend on them to live.
Dinosaur Train (Ages 4-5)
This animated series embraces and celebrates the fascination that preschoolers have with both dinosaurs and trains, while encouraging basic scientific thinking skills as children learn about life science, natural history and paleontology. Along with the animated stories, there are short live-action segments hosted by a paleontologist.
Sid the Science Kid (Ages 4-5)
This animated show uses comedy to promote exploration, discovery, and science readiness among preschoolers, and taps into children's natural curiosity about science in everyday life. The energetic and inquisitive Sid starts each episode with a new question like "why are my shoes shrinking?" or "why do bananas get mushy?"
WildKratts (Ages 6-8)
Chris and Martin Kratt encounter incredible wild animals, combining science education with fun and adventure, while traveling to animal habitats around the globe. The program can help strengthen basic skills of observation and investigation that children will use increasingly as they continue their study of science.
ZOOM (Ages 5-11)
"By kids, for kids," ZOOM is a daily interactive television series that challenges five- to eleven-year-olds to "turn off the TV and do it!" ZOOM is packed with science experiments, recipes, plays, games, jokes, chats, poems, and volunteer ideas, all sent in by viewers, and offering a wealth of activities for kids to do by themselves, with friends, or with their parents
Cyberchase (Ages 8-12)
Designed for kids ages 8 to 12, the program uses mystery, humor, and action to deliver positive messages about math by teaching concepts in a fun, understandable way. From tackling time in ancient Egyptian tombs to cracking codes in creepy caves, kids learn that math is everywhere and fun to use! A live-action segment shows kids how math can help solve life's crazy problems in the real world.
SciGirls (Ages 8-12)
SciGirls is designed to spark a girl's curiosity in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The show is all about hands-on science inquiry. Viewers learn the scientific process, work collaboratively to investigate meaningful questions, and see how STEM helps people solve problems, achieve goals, and help others.
Dragonfly TV (Ages 9+)
DragonflyTV presents real-life science investigations to engage children, parents, and teachers in accessible, hands-on science activities. Against a pop-music soundtrack, children tell about their investigations, communicating the infectious excitement that comes with making their own discoveries.


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UNCW Celebrates 'Business Appreciation Night' with FREE Tickets to Jan. 2 Men's Basketball Game
Friday, December 21, 2012
Wilmington, N.C. – UNCW has teamed up with the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Wilmington Business Journal to celebrate "Business Appreciation Night" with free tickets to the Jan. 2, 2013, men's basketball game in Trask Coliseum.
"We invite members of our business community to join us on campus. It will be a fun night for families," said Jenni Harris, assistant to the chancellor for community partnerships. "We appreciate the support and encouragement that UNCW receives from our business community, and this is one way we can say thanks."
Harris hopes that groups of employees, their families and friends will make an event out of the game by signing up for free tickets to the 7 p.m. contest against Towson. The seating is typically reserved for UNCW students, but they are on semester break until classes resume Jan. 9.
Individuals may reserve up to four tickets per person. Seating is limited and registration is required.
To obtain 4 free tickets to the game, select this link: Get Your Free Tickets
- Scroll down and type the promotional code "COMMUNITY" into the box at the bottom of the page under Special Offers.
- Click "Show."
- The page will reload.
- Go to the same Special Offers section.
- You will now see a place to "Reserve Tickets" (up to 4 tickets per person). Fill out the required contact information and your tickets will be available for pickup at the Will Call gate located at the Northwest corner of Trask Coliseum on the day of the game, starting at 5:30 p.m. Please use the name of the person who will pick the tickets up for the event.