Enklings Studio

Share Our Strength - Strength In Numbers

A beautiful video by the Share Our Strength organization, produced by iStrategyLabs and my Twitter friend Zach Goodwin.

I'm really impressed by this organization and hope to get to know them more.

Simply,

Tim

Out Of Poverty by Paul Polak

Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail by Paul Polak

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
"Out of Poverty" by Paul Polak was an eye-opening book for me. The focus is on people around the globe making a dollar a day or less and also farms that were less than 5 acres.

The statistics in the book floored me. 85% of farms in the world, 445 million, are less than 5 acres. In China that percentage grows to 98%. My son-in-law and daughter are organic farmers with 8 acres of land they lease, but are currently using just a couple of acres. Helping out a little there has helped me see the tremendous amount of work they put in to get a few crops to sell.

Mr. Polak's idea to help the poor is simple: Help them make more money. Not by a hand out, but by a hand up. Produce inexpensive products that are designed specifically for small enterprises and farms. Sell them tools that are affordable for their dollar a day income that will triple or quadruple their income quickly. His company "International Development Enterprises" (IDE) has been doing this for twenty-five years. His methods are not in line with the international community trying to solve poverty in the world, but they work. From one acre farms to sidewalk dwellers in the poorest slums, IDE is finding ways to help people work smarter and bring themselves and their families out of extreme poverty.

For anyone who is interested in the eradication of poverty and hunger around the world, this is a must read book to see solutions in a much different light.

Simply,

Tim

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Wix.com

When you get a chance, check out Wix.com.  Here's a simple and easy way for you to put up a very nice website quickly and inexpensively.  I'm using this for a couple of clients as well as myself. 

Simply,

Tim

Twitter and PeeMail

I fully believe that if my dog Copper could work the computer, the first place he’d go would be Twitter.  He’s genetically prepared for it.

Here’s the deal:  Copper is one of those lucky dogs that get 2 or 3 walks a day around the neighborhood.  There are many stops and starts on these walks with him because of what we affectionately refer to as “PeeMail”.  You see, every 30 feet or so, Copper stops to sniff some weeds or a tree or fire hydrant, checks the scent and then responds.  You get the picture; he’s checking the “communication” of the other dogs in the neighborhood and replying with his own special delivery.

So, Twitter is a bit like this.  If you’re on it a lot, there is a lot of checking in the “weeds” for other people’s communication and then you leave your own, letting them know you were there.  Some of the folks out there are peeing on every weed and tree and others are very selective, but everyone is on twitter to see where everyone else has been and to let everyone know they are marking their territory.

I thought of maybe starting up a new service call “Peeter” for people who get this tongue in cheek post, but we all know there’s too much media to keep track of now – and I just can’t drink that much water anymore and get anything done.

Simply,

Tim

Things My Children Taught Their Dad

I was thinking on my walk this beautiful Father’s Day morning that I’ve learned more from my kids than I’ve taught them.  I’ll probably be remembered by you for this one phrase: “You get what you get, and you don’t have a fit.”   I’m not sure that sums up what I’ve taught you in life, but being content and at peace is the one thing I hope you’ve learned from me.  What I have learned from you would take volumes to write, but here’s the short version – at least for today.

Lara, you’ve taught me what it means to be content in every situation.  You were always content with little.  You could spend a day, and still can, wrapped around a good book.  I still picture you in your room, slaving away at whatever project you had that day oblivious to hunger or the newest thing on TV or whatever your friends were doing.  You pour your entire life into the vessel in front of you at the moment.  I can see that rare gift in your life as a mom and a wife and I am so grateful to be able to watch.

Luke, you’ve taught me that life is to be held in an open hand.  Your passion for excitement, your commitment to your friends and your solid foundation of values show me what a wonderful man you have become.  I have seen in you that not gripping life too tightly will open up things that are impossible to do when you clinch.  I watch you work hard and play hard with a focus rarely seen in a man your age and I’m inspired to be a better man myself.  

Tia, you’ve taught me compassion.  You’ve always been the one to care for each of us and everyone you touch in a unique way.  From the mice the cat brings in to a far away child you sponsor, everyone and everything is touched by your gentle spirit and you always seem to know how to repair our brokenness.  You live life with fiery passion and peaceful compassion, a rare mix that I hope I can continue to learn from in watching your life.

Thank you, my kids, for teaching me what no one else could.

Simply,

Dad