Articles

American Ingenuity in the Innovation Age

John E. Wade II, author of Heaven on Earth

by John E. Wade II, Editor of How to Achieve Heaven on Earth: 101 insightful essays from the world's greatest thinkers, leaders and writers.

We are currently in the innovation age, as demonstrated by the fact that humankind's knowledge is doubling every ten years, and probably more so in technology. America can thrive in an age like this. Why? Let me give you ten good reasons.

America is a nation of immigrants who came here for a better life for the most part. Therefore they have the genes to initiate changes in business, education, computers, the Internet and practically all the fields of human endeavor that require reason.

America has a wonderful system of secondary education which can hatch ideas of all sorts from biochemistry to ecological science to anthropology. You name it and somewhere in the country there is a secondary school or schools that can make you proud.

Social entrepreneurs are a new area catching on as demonstrated by Nicholas Kristof's wonderful article, "The Age of Ambition." Kristof writes about how the young people who are engaging in start-up enterprises like Teach America are revolutionizing whole industries, not just teaching people to fish. He calls this phenomenon "the 21st-century answer to the student protestors of the 1960s." He writes about colleges who are now offering classes in social entrepreneurship. It is my ambition that Soldiers of Love, which will receive half my royalties from How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth, will become a leading charity within the age of ambition.

While I hesitate to point to our government as a leader in innovation, our democracy does have a resilience and ability to change without violating our basic formula of capitalism tempered with democracy.

We are in tough economic times but we have the ability to innovate, worker by worker, company by company, and ultimately even within local, state and federal government. Thus, I believe we will prosper in this age of new ideas. If times were really good, we would not have to change careers or search for new jobs or endeavors. In my own case, I am much happier and fulfilled as a self-employed author, investor and philanthropist than the later part of my career as a certified public accountant with the government. During my 29-year career as a CPA in public accounting, private accounting and government accounting I lost my job a number of times and had to come up fighting for another job, at times within bad economic surroundings. Now I am in a life fulfilling career that only became my calling a few years ago. I am now 64. Life is a pursuit that requires continual growth, especially in the Innovation Age.

Wisdom is something that can be gained through reacting to negative life experiences in a positive manner. There are two essays in the book related to
wisdom, "The Centrality of Wisdom" and "We Urgently Need an Academic Revolution." These explain the nature of wisdom and how it can and should be taught. Wisdom is the combination of knowledge, values, problem solving, imagination and resilience that can make a real difference in how one approaches adversity in times such as this.

While it might not come to mind right away, we are all made up of mind, body and spirit and it is important to change and innovate in all these areas over time as situations evolve slowly or overnight such as a job loss. Healthy diet and exercise are to a great degree within our own control. In almost everything we do, self discipline is a given for the optimum result. That's a tough call when you loose your job, your spouse, anything or anybody that's important to you. But we must cope regardless of the challenge. Story after story in this book tells of successes such as "With Sobriety Anything is Possible" by Todd Crandell who went from a thirteen year struggle with drugs and alcohol to founding a nonprofit foundation to cure or prevent addiction through a lifestyle of fitness and health.

We can even innovate in sex. Stella Resnick writes about how " . . . lack of sex in marriage is a reliable measure of whether or not the relationship will last." She says the lack of desire among both men and women in sex is the most important sexual problem in America. This is where couples can innovate on their own and improve their lives whether they are employed or not. It may be more difficult, or it may provide a diversion from the other difficult circumstances faced.

We can innovate with expanding our horizons in racial attitudes, both emotional and intellectual bias. Just look at Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech abstract dated August 16, 1967 ("Where Do We Go From Here?")and you will be amazed how far America has traveled along the road to racial harmony. We have elected an African American president. But we must continue to innovate, and I'm speaking about racial attitudes in all directions from all sources.

We can innovate in our own personal fiscal habits. This means such things as knowing what you own and financial literacy in general. I prepare a brief net worth statement practically every day. Perhaps that's obsessive, but my father, who was a superb investor, followed his stock, AFLAC, and a few other much smaller holdings on a daily basis. I find this distressing at times and sometimes I outsmart myself. But investing is a growing, lifelong pursuit which I would encourage in so many people who are not in poverty and have sufficient monetary assets (generally 4 to 6 months of expenses) and have maximized there tax deferred (401(k) or IRA) plans. I must explain that I am an independent investor, not a trader.

Follow your dreams, but don't quit your day job until you can really plan a prudent way to navigate your way to fulfillment of your next niche, a niche that will probably evolve in fits and starts over time.

Copyright © 2010 John E. Wade II, editor of How to Achieve Heaven on Earth: 101 insightful essays from the world's greatest thinkers, leaders and writers

Author Bio
John E. Wade II, editor of How to Achieve Heaven on Earth: 101 insightful essays from the world's greatest thinkers, leaders and writers, is an author, investor, philanthropist, and founder of the nonprofit organization Soldiers of Love . An active member of his church and civic organizations in his area, Wade holds an M.A. from the University of Georgia and has worked in a range of fields. His extensive travels, including visits to China, India, Egypt, Israel, Syria, Jordan, and Brazil, inspired him to collect the essays in this work. Wade lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.
For more information, please visit www.HeavenOnEarth.org

10 Ways to Achieve a Heaven on Earth

by John E. Wade II, Editor of How to Achieve Heaven on Earth: 101 insightful essays from the world's greatest thinkers, leaders and writers, including Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Warren Buffett, Donald R. Frampton, Tony Blair, ...

The underlying trends toward a heaven on earth are often obscured by the "noise" of the day, pessimism and cynicism. But I believe that with God's enduring, steadfast love humankind will ultimately reach a heaven on earth. The ten elements that I believe are essential in this quest are as follows:

1) Peace: The major keys to peace lie in our ability to prosper and spread democracies worldwide. Going beyond toleration to respect of all loving faiths is also critical. Advancing to general acceptance and appreciation across racial lines will build peace within and between nations.

2) Security: We must strive to gain security from terrorism and crime. It is critical that we stop radical Islamics. History is replete with fanatics such as Hitler who somehow gain power with genocide and aggression. Recognizing the danger and acting internationally through winning minds and hearts without letting up on international pressure are essential to a victory over terrorism. For example see Paul Marek's powerful essay, "A Look at Radical Islam" and James K. Glassman's persuasive contribution, "How to Win the War of Ideas."

3) Freedom: Freedom is prized by all humans whether they currently possess it or not. Implicit in the democratic ideal is that free individuals will generally act in their own best interests. And the sum of a free society's actions will allow a greater whole than with nations who repress its people.

4) Democracies: Democracies worldwide in the long run would be the best kind of government for reaching and enjoying a heaven on earth, for they empower the individual and ultimately societies to make good choices. History has shown that democratic governments are less likely to make war with one another. Additionally, they discourage tyrants who are corrupted by power. Democracies provide for the orderly transfer of power. However, we must realize that elections don't necessarily produce the best leader in every case.

5) Prosperity: Capitalism tempered with democracy and free, fair trade can lead to worldwide growth and wealth, which can benefit each of us and all of us to the degree that our own talents and resources permit. Preparation and opportunity go hand in hand with self-discipline and hard work. Each of us must strive for financial literacy and make it our business to know what we own. We have a responsibility beyond ourselves in our wealth. We are not meant to love money, but to treat it with respect and be generous toward worthy ends.

6) Spiritual Harmony: We must move beyond religious tolerance to real respect among all the world's loving spiritual beliefs and practices. Even differing beliefs can lead to similar values, which in turn may lead to behavior that is acceptable to God. Loving religions teach us how to live our lives and how to cope with our own mortality. God's enduring, steadfast love will empower us here, just as I firmly believe that love will allow all the other elements.

7) Racial Harmony: While the lack of racial harmony goes back to ancient times, that certainly doesn't mean that we can't overcome this obstacle. Our nation has moved forward largely by peaceful means over recent decades, including the election of an African American president. Many other nations have also advanced in this march toward racial harmony. In our country we owe much of this nonviolent racial progress to Martin Luther King, Jr. See "Where Do We Go From Here?" in that great leader's own words. The Golden Rule is especially important in treating others with respect.

8) Ecological Harmony: We must tend to the world's God-given environment -- emphasizing natural beauty and perpetual conservation. Concurrently, we must achieve a balance between those worthy goals and the necessity of rescuing those in abject poverty as well as maintaining all nations' economic progress.

9) Health: Technology and medical science are vital to advance the health of the world's population. Additionally, our own physical, mental and spiritual habits must embody disciplines that promote good health. Death is inevitable until God acts to prevent it, but wholesome, active behavior can result in longer and longer lives as medical science, our habits and economic means progress.

10) Moral Purpose and Meaning:  Moral purpose and meaning is perhaps the hardest element to achieve. We do not always do the right thing day by day. Our DNA and environments are not perfect. We have weaknesses that can result in horrors such as the Holocaust. But our flaws do not mean that a nurturing environment can't lead to success after success until God finally takes over and pulls us out of the misery of our human condition.

When you consider the above, think about this excerpt from the New Testament, Matthew 19:26, "with God all things are possible."

The above is an adapted excerpt from the book How to Achieve Heaven on Earth: 101 insightful essays from the world's greatest thinkers, leaders and writers edited by John E. Wade II. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.

Copyright © 2010 John E. Wade II, editor of How to Achieve Heaven on Earth: 101 insightful essays from the world's greatest thinkers, leaders and writers

Author Bio
John E. Wade II, editor of How to Achieve Heaven on Earth: 101 insightful essays from the world's greatest thinkers, leaders and writers, is an author, investor, philanthropist, and founder of the nonprofit organization Soldiers of Love. An active member of his church and civic organizations in his area, Wade holds an M.A. from the University of Georgia and has worked in a range of fields. His extensive travels, including visits to China, India, Egypt, Israel, Syria, Jordan, and Brazil, inspired him to collect the essays in this work. Wade lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Essentials of Effective Disaster Aid

by John E. Wade II

It is my belief that the best way to help those who are affected by any kind of disaster is to send money to already organized groups that have the infrastructure and know how to act quickly and efficiently. However, I understand that members of churches, civic groups and other charitably-minded organizations want to offer aid. In their rush to help, however, they often overlook the true requirements of those in need. The following are considerations that should be examined before time, effort and funds are expended in what might end up being at best wasteful, and at worst actually damaging.

1.Speed of response. Think about it: disaster strikes. News spreads around the world almost instantly. People naturally want to help, so they call their friends, set up meetings to organize relief, collect things -- perhaps blankets, food, health and first-aid supplies, perhaps money -- and look for ways to get these things to the afflicted people. Maybe a week later some of the items begin to trickle in, or maybe they sit on the airport tarmac. Solution: plan in advance. No, we're not suggesting anyone knows where the next disaster will occur or what kind it will be. But the most helpful aid is that which is shipped as soon as the news is out. So churches, civic and other groups can and should organize a "disaster response committee" now, to be ready for the next one.

2.Consider appropriateness. Don't send canned ham to people who don't eat pork. And cultures where women and even men dress modestly will not wear short shorts, tank tops, or tiny bathing suits, and have no need for high-heeled sandals. People in hot climates often wear all-natural clothing, cut loosely but modestly and in white or light colors, not full, tight-waisted polyester-blend skirts. Save those for thrift-shop donations where someone looking for a costume will be delighted to pay a few dollars.

3.Work through the details. How will you advertise your collection efforts? Will you ask donors to drop things off or have a team to pick them up? Where will they be stored? And how will they be transported to the place of need? Who will pay any costs? Does the government of the affected area have regulations concerning imports, even donations? Is there U.S. paperwork to be completed?

4.Is the need for "boots on the ground"? Doctors, nurses, paramedics, psychologists -- the services of these groups are crucial to physical and emotional healing -- can your group help in this area? If so how, and what constraints might there be? And the earthquake in Haiti has demonstrated that even those whose motives appear to be pure -- the transportation of orphans from a damaged facility to one that was refurbished for them -- can easily be misunderstood or questioned. So, before sending people (or going yourself), but sure permission with signatures is secured and will stand up to government inspection.

To sum up: plan ahead, offer only that which is appropriate, take care of details, and be sure any personnel are welcome and legally permitted.

How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth on Mother’s Day

John E. Wade, Editor, April 14, 2010

A perfect gift for Mother’s Day could be the exciting, optimistic and ambitious book, How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth.  It contains essays of hope and promise, something that mothers embody as they introduce new life into our world.

Women today, especially in the United States, are accomplishing more and more in field after field of human endeavor.  They can be the leaders in recognizing the ambitious and awesome possibilities in such a gift.

I believe ten elements will be included in a heaven on earth: peace, security, freedom, democracies, prosperity, spiritual harmony, racial harmony, ecological harmony and health as well as moral purpose and meaning.  Each of these categories in the book is supported by essays as well as one more category, Individual Paths to Heaven on Earth.  Women will be an integral part of this hopeful process with a book that outlines the goals, obstacles, means and faith to attain that ultimate destiny.

Contributors to the book include Presidents Obama and Bush, Vice President Al Gore, Tony Blair and a host of notables and ordinary people who have extraordinary things to say.

Let me give you some specifics from two of the 101 essays from the world’s greatest thinkers, leaders and writers that will show you how mothers will be thrilled to read and devour this book.

A heartrending essay is “Many Mothers” by Maida Rogerson, a wonderful person whom I have met who wrote about a Santa Fe charity.  It starts with this: “Imagine.  You’ve just had your first baby. Your husband is in a new job and doesn’t have a lot of time for you.  You’ve moved away from your extended family.  Suddenly, there you are, you and your beautiful baby, home, alone.  Your baby starts to cry, and you’re dead tired and all you want to do is cry yourself, and you have no one to turn to.”

That’s where Many Mothers comes in with “…volunteers of grandmothers, aunts, businesswomen and often other mothers….”  “Knowing that bonding and attachment in infancy are necessary to create healthy adults,” the charity acts by nurturing the mother.  The chores are broad—cleaning and other mundane tasks may be part of the volunteer’s normal duties.  The joy of helping mothers goes in all directions, just as you would expect in a heaven on earth.

In “Women Who Never Give Up,” Sharon L. Davie visits a women’s cooperative in Kenya.  She explains that such groups “…come together with serious purpose…and number in the tens of thousands, with millions of individual women involved.”  This is not a new phenomenon, but has existed throughout Kenya’s history in one form or another.

In their society “…most women cannot inherit or buy land, so they bought their house as a collective.”  Gradually they bought “…a cow─which led to shared milk, calves, then chickens and eggs, and finally a mill to grind their maize and millet.”

When asked if men could have such a cooperative, “The whole group [women in the cooperative] laughed uproariously.  They thought that was a ridiculous idea.  ‘They would drink up all the money!’ they said.”

Asked about violence, “…they told of the woman in the next village who was being brutally beaten by her husband, over and over.  She ran away─not something that women do, they said.  Men can beat women and they must stay.”  Eventually, the group helped the woman and even assisted her in building a house.

Women will no doubt assume greater and greater roles throughout the world as their unique talents go beyond the survival stage such as some in Kenya, on the striving stage which is being demonstrated day by day, to the thriving stage, which will be part of the path toward a heaven on earth.

Happy Mother’s Day.

The Perfect Gift for That Ambitious Graduate

Graduates—whether from high school, college or advanced degree programs—are seldom surprised by the gifts they receive.  Picture frames, fine pens, gift certificates to choose their own music, and books—all are favored by loving family and friends, well received by students, but unlikely to evoke more than a moment’s delight, much less continued appreciation.  For the truly thoughtful person, however, receiving a copy of How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth could really begin to make a difference in the next phase of his or her study and possibly even life’s work.

This work, a collection of 101 essays from contributors throughout the United States and abroad, inspired one reviewer to write, “Everyone who cares about the state of the world should take the time to read this book.”  The quality, scope and ambition of the book are clearly evident in Tony Blair’s words, “Idealism becomes the new realism.”

The world is becoming more and more interdependent so that ethical and purposeful graduates at all levels can and must step up in their quest for knowledge, imagination and wisdom.  Character and resilience are more in demand that ever.  The challenges are great, yet the opportunities are enormous.

A heaven on earth cannot be secured without God’s enduring, steadfast love, yet that is something that we have always had, still have and will always have.  Humankind has made great progress in practically all fields of human endeavor over the last 5000 years, especially in the 200 years since the beginning of the industrial revolution.

I believe we are now in the innovation age, ideally suited for graduates of all levels to test and experiment with their new levels of education and training.  This is especially true in the United States, a nation of immigrants and their descendents who ventured forth, for the most part, in search of better lives.  That is the stuff of entrepreneurs, inventors, risk-takers and ones who have that sense of reaching out to improve immensely many aspects of life.

The book provides a view of a heaven on earth that includes peace, security, freedom, democracies, prosperity, spiritual harmony, racial harmony, ecological harmony and health as well as moral purpose and meaning.  Some of the world’s greatest thinkers, leaders, and writers, from presidents to Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, from leaders of industry to ordinary people, these contributors present the superb writing that weaves a fabric of a serious and hopeful endeavor.

Let the graduates embark on their future with love in their hearts as they discover the pledge, “I will try to love and help create a heaven on earth.”  What more could a graduate do to make his life more fulfilling?  Such a pledge allows a leap forward with to a future based on love and dedication to a better world, one by one, million by million, billion by billion.

Give that special graduate a map that doesn’t limit him or her, but rather presents a rational and systematic way to look at the world.  Then the task becomes his or her own, motivating and informing each one of the goals, obstacles, means and faith to literally change the world in a way that we all long for.

John E. Wade II
Editor
How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth