Here’s the message: The world is getting better every day, deal with it!
Despite the doom and gloom that pervades the idiot box on a daily basis, our collective abundance is improving.
The reason that so many of you think were headed toward a zombie apocalypse has much more to do with your access to information than any basis in reality.
In last week’s post on Exponential Organizations I finished with a quote from Ray Kurzweil that went like this: “People think the world is getting worse… What’s actually happening is our information about what’s wrong in the world is getting better.”
Contemplate that quote for a few seconds… OK, good. Now, imagine your life for just one day without the influence of your social media network, television and the Internet. Picture yourself on a beach or a mountain top, enjoying the beauty around you.
How do you feel? Lighter? Relieved? Fidgety? Scared?
We’re being conditioned by our devices to ALWAYS be tuned into what’s happening on not only a local, but now a global level.
Historically speaking, that kind of access to information has never been available. As a result, we need to consciously filter and monitor our intake, just as we would with chocolate or alcohol. All things in moderation, right?
If we don’t do this we become overwhelmed. The media is designed to be infotainment, it’s largely not applicable to yours or my daily life.
It’s tragic when people lose their lives, natural disasters happen, famine and disease break out and wars rage. But, these things have been happening for millennia and we’re all still here, and we’re much, much better off than we ever have been.
Enough pep talk, here’s some facts:
- World average life expectancy at birth in 1900 was 31 years, in 1950 – 48 years and in 2010 – 67.2 years. As of 2013, life expectancy was 70 years;
- Infant mortality in 1900 was 19.5%, in 1980 – 7.64%, and in 2012 it was 3.69%. In fact, in 1900, global average for infant mortality was likely higher, as much as 25% to 30%, because many countries did not have proper infant mortality records;
- In 1990, 1.9 billion people were living in extreme poverty (43.1% of total population), by 2010 this figure decreased to 1.2 billion (20.6% of total population). That’s 700 million people taken out of extreme poverty in 20 years!;
- According to the Economist, between 1920 and 1960, an average of 529 people per 100,000 died of famine each decade. During the 2000s, an average of 3 people per 100,000 died from famine worldwide;
- According to the WHO, From 1970 to 2006, the percentage of the world’s population with access to safe drinking water increased from 45% to 85%;
- Productivity in the USA between 1965 and 2010 more than doubled from 45.3 to 110.8 as measured by the Tornqvist aggregation, which shows how effectively economic inputs are converted into output;
- According to UNESCO, the global literacy rate for all people aged 15 and above is 86.3%. Males have a literacy rate of 90.0% and the rate for all females is 82.7%. In the mid-19th century only 10% of the world’s adult population could read or write. Between 1970 and 2005 the world illiteracy rate halved.
- Since the Internet was launched 25 years ago, access increased to 10 million people in 1993, then to 40 million in 1995, to 670 million in 2002, and to 2.7 billion in 2013 (38% of world’s population).
Those are the FACTS, and it’s just the tip of the iceberg!
Do yourself a favor and avoid negativity for just 24 hours. Stop watching CNN and FOX. Stop reading Drudge and ZeroHedge. Turn off Facebook and Twitter and see what happens. You may be surprised by the way you feel!
Every day people are creating things that will change our world for the better. Some you’ve heard of…Peter Diamandis, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Others you don’t yet know, but will…Jack Andraka, Boyan Slat and Vitalik Buterin.
I wake up every day inspired and humbled by the changes I see occurring. I’m excited to be alive and I’m optimistic about the future.
This is why I founded obrisinvest.com four years ago. I wanted to be part of a global network that empowered entrepreneurs and founders to realize their dreams and change the world. If you feel the same way, let me know.
– Mark
“Only if you realize change is more important than money, money will come.” – Boyan Slat