6 Buzz Words that Can Change the World

In the highlands of Rwanda, Emmy Gatsinga produces some of the world’s finest coffee. She employs 35 small farmers who grow coffee organically without chemicals or artificial fertilizers of any kind. When coffee lovers in Europe buy this coffee, they know they are not giving their money to some greedy middlemen — this coffee has a real human face.

When Leo Babauta set out to write his new book, Focus, he did something quite out of the ordinary. He put the book out there for the public to read and comment on, for free — and before it was even ready. And even his earlier books were uncopyrighted, meaning that once you bought the book you could do anything with it. It is clear that for him, it’s all about getting just a fair enough compensation for his work, and then leaving a legacy.

These examples are scenes from a better new world that is slowly coming to life. One that can be defined by these six buzz words:

Enough. Slow. Real. Personal. Fair. Legacy.

The current way of running the world that is powered by a vision of a never-ending growth is only one of many options. And although it has had a big role in improving the quality of life in developed countries, it seems that it has now overgrown the planet’s capacity and is not a sustainable option anymore.

In this post, I will outline what I believe could be one way out.

Now, you probably think that it’s useless to spend time thinking of these things and there is no way the world would actually change, no matter what one or two person thinks. There are just too many of us on the planet: if we change our ways, some other people will take our places as the top consumers. This may be true, but still, I see no choice but to try and come up with changes that we could in fact make happen.

Real. Personal. Fair.

It all starts with caring for real people (yourself, your neighbors and relatives, as well as those people you have never met) and it is based on fair business between equals. It is a world where people have names and products have personalities.

Some people see brands as the enemy. In her classic anti-capitalistic book, No Logo, Naomi Klein, presents a solid case against big brands based on building an image instead of actually living it, such as McDonalds, Nike and the like. But by grouping all logos and brands in this together, I believe she also misses an important opportunity: In a culture where brands are everywhere, and people are getting tired of their fake promises, the next big winner will be brands that are real, personal and fair.

These new brands are representations of the people making the product. They are personal. They are people like Emmy Gatsinga and her farmers, Leo Babauta, or 37signals, a software company that doesn’t hide behind a corporate mask. Or you.

Enough. Slow.

When you know what is enough and cultivate your restraint, you will not have to worry about maximizing your profits, but can instead relax your copyright claims the way Leo Babauta is doing, or work a bit less and be content running a smaller operation instead of keeping up with the growth competition. You get to work slower, and therefore often a lot smarter too.

This is where minimalism comes to play: if we combine the buzzwords real, personal, and fair with the minimalist principle of enough, we amplify the message. When we know what we need and restrain from wanting things just for its status value, we lead the markets towards more sustainable ways!

If enough people make it loud and clear that we don’t want any more disposable stuff, the message will come through: real people creating useful things as art (and only just enough of them) will succeed while companies filled with nameless people pushing out garbage will suffer. And then, more people will opt for creating a legacy instead of pushing papers.

Will this be the future?

I don’t know whether this future will in fact happen or not. I see signs of it as people are getting more interested in food grown nearby, artisan work, and fair trade. At the same time the existing institutions are pushing heavily towards maintaining the status quo and regaining the growth cycle of earlier years.

What I do know is that working towards this world can be a rewarding experience. And living in it is possible already today, even if most of us still are on the outside.

Do business with real people, pay attention to when you have enough, live your life slowly, be fair, leave a legacy. It might make a difference.