Money and Food - Is it True we Don't Have Enough?

I only get two physical magazine subscriptions these days. One of them is National Geographic and the other one is Yes Magazine. Their tag line used to be something like "the magazine of positive futures". And I loved that - I was inspired to pick it up at the US Social forum back in 2007. They've changed the tag line, but not their style. They have a national and global look at what's going right in activism and movements and how you can connect and get involved locally with making a difference. Making a difference and watching others make a difference is inspiring.

I am into food security activism (which is not about using guns to secure food but rather to make sure that people have enough to eat) and this month they have a great article on Belo Horizonte, Brazil. They have implemented a food for all policy making sure their people are fed which includes many methods: from using public space for farming and that food being sold below market cost, to People's Restaurants where whole good foods are sold cheaply to feeding children in nursery schools 3 meals a day. It's brilliant.

They reduced their hunger and child mortality rates dramatically in just a couple of years (which is one measure of nutrition). And they do it all for about a penny a day per person. Holy cow!

I love this work. Frances More Lappe, who wrote the article also founded Food First and wrote "Diet for a Small Planet."

If you know or want to know nothing else about food security activism, I encourage everyone to read the 12 Myths About Hunger. It explains the difference between the hunger issue and the policy issues. I believe that all humans deserve to eat food every day as a right of being alive and this piece of writing was one of my great inspirations for that belief. Hunger is a matter of policy not food quantity and that made it clear to me that scarcity really is all about how we think about it. Go read! And tell me what you think!

Business Practices and Emotional Clarity

This weekend I went to Cafe Gratitude's Sacred Commerce workshop.

It was both informative and a lot of fun.

They use components of NVC (non-violent communication) to help people really hear and be heard - critical to make sure your work with clients and employees is clear, effective and efficient.

This workshop is taught by Matthew and Terces Engelhart, the founders of Cafe Gratitude. They have clearly studied a lot of personal growth work from NVC to meditation and gratitude practices. The workshop itself is about how to clear out what's keeping you from being present so that you can be at work and not be carrying emotional baggage into that or any space. In fact they take it beyond being present into being grateful. It's a great idea and it really works.

Cafe Gratitude spend about $230,000 a year on this process. They employ more than 200 people and every morning they do this process with each employee from District Managers on down to dishwashers. Each person sits with someone and goes through the process of getting present and shifting into gratitude. Every day.

And they are profitable. That's the key here. This is a business who consistently turns a profit with sustainable business practices. They wrote a book about this process and other aspects of how they run their business called "Sacred Commerce" which you can also find on their website.

Not only that, but they have started a practice of making their work more widely available by using a model of pay it forward. You go to the workshop and get value from it and decide what it's worth and then pay for the next person to be able to get that same seat next month. I paid for my seat so that you can go. Enjoy!

To me Cafe Gratitude is a clear and exciting example of how business can work in alignment with their values and do amazing things in the world.

Accounting terms - debit and credit

There were two specific terms that were challenging for me because them mean different things are different times - or so it seemed.

You see a debit is an accounting entry which results in either an increase in assets or a decrease in liabilities or net worth. Opposite of credit.

Where as a credit is the opposite.

But when you look it up the definite says nothing about accounting entries. It talks about consumer credit and lines of credit. So when the banks loan you money, they see an increase in assets (especially because they've been lending on a 1:40 ratio). A credit is an increase in liabilities - for you. So while you receive cash, you're worth less money because of it.

Interesting no?

An affirmation to work with around credit and debt: My debts represent my and other's belief in my future earning potential.

Using QuickBooks Online - IE plug in for Firefox

There are still a few sites that run on Internet Explorer only and QuickBooks Online is one of them. I don't recommend it, by the way. It's slow, clunky and often has connectivity issues. But if you're going to use it, you might want to use it in Firefox rather than in IE itself.

If so, you'll need this plug in for Firefox. It is for Windows only, as far as I can tell. Sad all around. It means that I still can't use QBs Online on my preferred and well-loved Mac. But at least I'm not bound to Microsoft.