Tentative Outline for Reversing Poverty in Peru
Do Better Foundation Seminars
Reversing Poverty in Peru
Begin by clicking and watching this brief slideshow introduction.
Name the five kinds of poverty.
Do you agree there is more than one kind of poverty?
Have you thought of poverty only as the poverty of resources?
Why or why not?
What is your experience with each kind of poverty?
Which kind of poverty hits closest to home for you?
Which kind seems the most remote?
Name another kind of poverty that you feel is missing.
What is it?
Perhaps you do not consider yourself poor.
You are poor but do not want to admit it, to yourself or to others.
On what basis are you making that assessment?
Perhaps you want to take this course to help others who are poor.
In one moment everything in your life can change.
I remember walking through a burned-out shell of a house that was once somebody 's beautiful home.
In one terrible, tragic moment my friends were poor.
They lost everything.
Do you consider poverty as a process that is constantly changing?
Are the various kinds of poverty in your life getting better or worse?
Maybe you believe that poverty is a fixed point in your life?
You believe the level of poverty is static and can never change.
Perhaps you believe that poverty is a very fluid and relative thing.
Poverty levels go up and down.
What is considered poor in one country may be considered rich in another.
Is poverty something that can be changed?
is poverty inevitable?
Do you believe once poor, always poor?
Do you even think that poverty can be reversed?
Let us not think of poverty as a state of being, as a fixed state or a label.
I am poor. My parents were poor and their parents before them.
My children are poor and always will be poor.
Poverty levels can change, are changing every day, every moment.
Think of poverty more like the temperature, something that is constantly going up or down. The big question is “Do you believe poverty can be reversed”?
If so how? How can poverty be reversed? What are some of the root causes of poverty, causes that shape a life of poverty and what can we do about it?
Do you believe you can do something to reverse poverty in your own life or in the lives of others?
We are about to embark on a journey, a journey to reverse poverty.
Not just one kind of poverty but all five kinds of poverty presented here.
Are you ready for this journey?
Are you ready to do better?
In this short introductory course on reversing poverty, you are welcome to learn, enjoy and put into practice a sample lesson called "Making Things Last."
Find out for yourself how to begin reversing poverty in your own life and those you care about.
Then, there are five more full courses, each one carefully designed to reverse poverty, all five kinds of poverty.
MAKE THINGS LAST SAMPLE LESSON
We have things and use them and eventually they wear down, run out, break or stop working.
Nothing we have now lasts forever.
What we already have is important.
We spent or someone spent money and time working to buy the things we currently have.
How can we make them last?
Take some time now to do an inventory of all you have.
Picture each item in your mind. Is there more or less items than you imagined?
What state are they in? Are they new, working, broken and need fixing or totally useless?
What items are most important to you?
What can you live without?
Why are you keeping what you are keeping and not using?
Did you buy something only to end up storing it?
Are you paying to store something you do not use anymore?
Make a list of the top five items you have.
How can you make each one last?
Here are ten money saving strategies that will help reverse poverty.
1. SHOP WELL
Please, please do not buy impulsively.
Stores spend millions of dollars to get you to buy something without thought.
Is this thing something you really need or just want?
Compare prices. Compare prices over time and find the best time to buy certain things.
For example, buy things end of season for the following year as sale prices are lowered to reduce inventory.
Buy quality whenever you can, as much quality as possible. Why?
Good quality products last. Why buy something that is cheap but poorly made only to buy the same thing again a short time later?
If you buy something and it is not what you want, return it.
Why settle for something that is not what you want?
Make sure what you buy is what you want before you buy.
If you buy something that you want instead of accepting less, you are much more likely to use and take care of it.
Make things last.
2. GET REFERRALS
When buying something find out who else you know has the same thing and if they are happy with it.
The more expensive the item, the more important to get a referral or two.
Make things last.
3. EXTEND
Let’s not waste what we have.
Use them fully.
Do not throw out things just because you do not like them anymore. Give them away to someone who may need them.
If you need toothpaste first squeeze every last drop. You can get two or more weeks of use.
Use a clothes pin to extend the amount of toothpaste left.
If you want more things or bigger things, use well what you have now.
Extend the life of whatever product you have and will need.
If you need toothpaste squeeze every last drop. Sometimes you get another month's supply.
Shaving gel can last a long, long time, much longer than you would think.
I love Peruvian soup. In Canada I love pea soup.
To make a can of soup last another meal, I make rice and quinoa and add it to the soup.
Get the most from each and every product you use.
Make things last by extending the use of the clothes you wear, the games and toys you play with and so on.
Make things last.
4. BORROW/LOAN
IF you need something, a tool for example, borrow it from a friend or neighbor.
But don’t forget to return it in good shape, cleaned and with a note of thanks.
Why must everyone own everything that is sold?
Borrow something you only need from time to time and be willing to loan things to trusted others.
Make things last.
5. KEEP TRACK
I went the other day to buy a new blanket. I like to use a blanket on my couch while watching TV.
Thankfully the store was closed.
A couple days later while cleaning out the shed I found a lightweight sleeping bag, perfect for keeping warm while watching TV.
We accumulate so many things and when needed do not remember that we have them.
We purchase something new and now have twice the items required, spending money for nothing.
Make things last.
6. REPURPOSE
Perhaps you need something. For example, to protect a young plant in your garden from an early frost, use an ice cream pail to cover it.
So many things that you have can be repurposed.
Spend a little time thinking about what you need and what you have.
Then figuring out a way to make things work.
Some examples might be: old clothes made into something new or a piece of furniture that you refinish.
Check out this link for a whole lot of other examples.
What examples can you share that you have repurposed?
Make a short video and share it with others.
Make things last.
7. FIX
Do the math. Buy something or fix something.
Not always but often, it is cheaper to fix something that to buy something new.
Now give an example of each you have used in this past week.
Check out this link to increase your imagination of what and how things can be fixed.
Give an example of something you will fix this coming week.
Make things last.
8. MAINTAIN
To make things last, maintain them.
Maintenance is required. I know it is easier and more exciting to go out and buy something new.
But evaluate things before you do.
How can I maintain what I have?
To keep something running longer and or looking better perhaps a bit of oil or a fresh coat of paint?
Make things last.
9. LIVE SIMPLY
The more things we have, the more we need to keep track of them, make sure they are used well, clean and working properly.
How much better to only own things we can use?
Why do we buy and keep so many things that have outlived their usefulness?
Live simply.
Over investing in things not only costs more but also incur a cost of storing and maintaining them.
The greater issue is a way of life, a world view, called materialism.
Do we live to get?
Buying new things is rewarding emotionally. It’s fun to shop.
The pleasure though dwindles with time and is offset by the stress of going into debt or not have enough money for essentials.
What is it you now own that you don’t really need?
Do you know anyone who could benefit with you giving it away?
Perhaps a garage or yard sale is in order.
What do you now store for some future purpose that no longer applies to your life or family?
Keep only what you use or will use with certainty in the foreseeable future.
Make things last.
10. GO WITHOUT
This is not the most popular option because it feels awful to be deprived.
Doing without something increases the value we place on something.
We are more likely to take care of it, more likely to appreciate it.
Character is shaped by deprivation.
Make things last.
Whether shopping well, not wasting, extending, borrowing or loaning, keeping track, repurposing, fixing, maintaining, living more simply or going without or any combination of these you are being resourceful about your resources.
You are being smart.
Think about what you buy.
Make the best decision you can with the money you have.
Of these ten money saving strategies which have you heard of or thought of before?
Is there one or two that you find easy and are currently using?
Which ones are new to you?
Is there something that really struck you and you found most helpful?
What was the least helpful point?
What exactly are you living for? To have more things?
Is there another strategy you would like to share?
Give us an example, a video or link.
Comments and feedback are most welcome.
Put into practice each of these strategies.
Know and use them and you will begin to reverse poverty.
Now continue your journey.
Enroll in the full course "Reversing the Poverty of Resources".
The outlines and a brief description of each course and sections follow.
Course # 1
Reversing the Poverty of Resources
INTRODUCTION
Our aim in this course is to help you reverse the poverty of resources with work.
Not everyone can or is expected to work.
Even so, someone must work so that others can benefit.
You can reverse the poverty of resources with work. You really can!!
The solution is simple.
Everyone knows that in order to have things we must work for them.
Implementation is more complicated and more difficult.
It is a journey, a process that takes time and effort and a lot of help and encouragement.
But it can be done.
“When I was thirteen, my younger brother and I really wanted a black and white, 12-inch screen TV.
Color TV's were new and very expensive.
Our first job was delivering newspapers. Soon we had a little TV.
Unfortunately, half the TV belonged to my younger brother.
He made sure of that by taping a piece of paper over his half of the screen.”
Work is the necessary and natural answer to the poverty of resources.
We engage with you the world of work and make work a vital and continuous part of life.
We begin with help to work well in your home.
No one needs to hire you for this work. No lack of experience will disqualify you.
Begin to work and work well right in your own home, right now, with your own family.
The world of work and work life begins inside the home and gradually progresses outward.
This natural progression begins at home and continues throughout your entire life.
The work you do in the home and teach children is the starting point of learning to work.
Learn to work poorly in the home and that will carry on throughout life.
Learn to work well and that will also carry on throughout life.
At home you learn ordinary life skills that help prepare you to work well in your workplace.
Furthermore, your workday will start off better if your work at home is done and done well.
Going to work upset with your house in a mess starts a downward spiral.
You come back home but are too tired to do anything.
As you begin to work more and more, your time at home will become less and less.
One day you will see that your life revolves around work. Maybe it does now.
You have no personal life anymore. Time at home is only for rest and sleep.
You live to work, not work to live.
Our emphasis is to continually move from one's personal life outwards and back again.
As a healthy personal life at home improves work outside the home will improve.
This in turn will enable a better home life and so on.
In this course we offer help with your work, help that will reverse the poverty of resources.
1. Learn to work better at home and outside the home.
2. Learn the value of work.
3. Learn to use work to grow.
4. Learn to work well.
5. Learn to find, get and keep work.
We will go further into the world of work than you have ever been.
Are you ready for this journey?
Are you ready to do better?
SECTION LIST
1.1 My experience with work in and outside my home
1.2 Valuing Work
1.3 Using Work
1.4 Working Well
1.5 Finding Work
SECTION DESCRIPTIONS
In the first section we examine work in and outside the home.
1.1 My experience with work in and outside my home
Work happens all around us every day.
Work is taking place inside and outside the home all around the world every single day, every single hour. Opportunities for work or the need for work to get done are everywhere.
All of us benefit from work being done one way or another.
We suffer, we lose from work not being done or not being done well.
Work started but never finished accomplishes nothing.
"Do your best" my dad used to say. But what if I am not doing my best or I am trying hard to do my best but my best is not good enough?
Given the importance of work to our daily lives whether at home or beyond, our view is to learn to work better and better each and every day.
Every day we have the opportunity to work and learn how to work better and better.
Do better with work.
What then is your experience with work in and outside of your home?
Four lesson titles follow.
LESSON TITLES
1.1.101 Work in my home
1.1.102 Work in my community
1.1.103 Work in my workplace
1.1.104 Work in my world
Section 1.2
In the second section we examine more closely the value of work.
1.2 Valuing Work
Is work a curse, a gift, or somewhere in between or neither?
Is your life at work stressful or satisfying? How do you feel about your work?
Why is work so important to our families, our communities, to us as individuals and to us as a society?
Is your work life progressing? Is your life progressing as a result of your work?
What and how and why is progress progress?
Work can also be extremely destructive and disappointing. Why is that?
How can we avoid a workplace that devalues you?
Is productivity the main goal of your workplace?
How do you and I build a reliable and excellent work ethic?
Three lesson titles follow.
LESSON TITLES
1.2.101 What exactly is progress?
1.2.102 How and why do we value people at work?
1.2.103 How to build a strong work ethic?
Section 1.3
In the third section we examine more closely the utility or usefulness of work.
1.3 Using Work
No one begins a job fully qualified. There's a lot to learn!
Every job presents new and ongoing challenges.
It is never easy. That is why it is called WORK.
Work can be fun but generally there are challenges, problems, conflicts, obstacles and routine drudgery.
Some jobs you will quickly outgrow. Some are boring right from the beginning.
Work outside the home is often seen as the be all and end all.
Production and profit are the most important things.
The bottom line is money.
Is there any other alternative?
In this section we examine and explore development.
Rather than use people to do the task we use tasks to develop as a person.
Opportunities to increase knowledge, skill and character are present in any job.
We use work to grow not just to do a job.
As we grow and develop our work becomes better and better.
Three lesson titles follow.
LESSON TITLES
1.3.101 Knowledge Development
1.3.102 Skill Development
1.3.103 Character Development
In this fourth section we examine how to work well.
Section 1.4
1.4 Working Well
"Good job" is an encouragement we all like to hear.
No one wants to fail at work. How can we do our work well?
Doing our best each day is very important but may not always be good enough.
We may need to learn to do better.
We see work primarily as service, service to and for the customer.
Without customers or clients of some sort there is no reason for work.
It is a necessary condition.
Work is intended to meet some real need of a customer or client.
In a work environment rarely do you work alone or independent of others.
There are bosses and employees, there are teammates and competitors both internally and externally.
Solving problems as you carry out projects requires a lot of effort.
You come to work to work but do you do your best every day?
It takes a lot of dedication and self-management.
Five lesson titles follow.
LESSON TITLES
1.4.101 Servant Leadership
1.4.102 Group/Team Dynamics
1.4.103 Problem Solving/Project Management
1.4.104 Self-Management
1.4.105 Work Safely
In this fifth section we examine how to find work.
Section 1.5
1.5 FINDING WORK
It is not easy finding work especially when you don't know what you want to do or what you are good at.
When you lack money or money is tight and you need a job right away you might accept just any job.
What kind of job are you looking for?
What are you willing to accept and for how long?
How will your job help you grow as a person besides earning you an income?
Young people are often asked, "what will you do when you grow up"? not realizing that rarely happens. Many kinds of work will be sought and found. Our search for work does not always turn out the way we thought it would.
Many young people when looking for work hear from a potential employer "We need someone with experience."
But how can you gain experience without getting an opportunity to work?
Once you find a job you are interested in, how will you get it?
Once you get a job, how will you keep it?
When will you know it is time to move on?
These are some of the questions and issues we will address in finding work.
Five lesson titles follow.
LESSON TITLES
1.5.101 How to Find, Get and Keep Work
1.5.102 Examples of Work
1.5.103 Contacting and Follow up
1.5.104 Applying and Interviewing for a job
1.5.105 Work Alternatives
Course # 2
Reversing the Poverty of Love
INTRODUCTION
Our aim in this course is to help you reverse the poverty of love with family.
The importance of family in all our lives over the course of our entire lives cannot be overstated.
Everyone begins life in a family. We are conceived in love in theory anyways.
Everyone swoons over a newborn. Joy is abundant.
Over time life gets in the way. Money problems arise. Stress, ill health, injuries, conflict are part of every family's experience.
There are times of celebration, birthdays, reunions, simple loving acts of intentional kindness.
How can one describe the joy of seeing your children grow up and have children of their own?
Families have a profound impact both positively and negatively throughout life in every area of life.
How do families exhibit closeness and happiness over the long haul?
What is love anyways? Is it only a romantic feeling? A sexual attraction?
What if love given is not received or returned?
What are some of the barriers that need to be overcome?
In this course we offer help with your family, help that will reverse the poverty of love.
1. Learn to encourage lifelong development
2. Learn to navigate the many life transitions
3. Learn to meet the daily necessities of life
4. Learn to allow and grow intimacy in your life
Are you ready for this journey?
We will go farther into the world of family than you have ever been.
Are you ready to do better?
SECTION LIST
2.1 Life Long Development
2.2 Life Transitions
2.3 Daily Necessities
2.4 Intimacy
SECTION DESCRIPTIONS
Section 2.1
In the first section we examine more closely lifelong development.
2.1 Life Long Development
From conception to end of life a series of profound changes take place.
The human being is unmatched in complexity, intricacy and diversity.
Did you know that in our veins there are hundreds of valves that prevent blood to flow backwards? Arteries because of the stronger pressure need no valves.
That is only one amazing example.
Each one of us is totally unique and special.
Our bodies need care and attention. Staying healthy and fit is a lifelong endeavor.
Love is a decision we make. Not all love given is received or returned.
Why is that? What can we learn from different attachment styles?
Though unique and continuing to be unique, we develop over the course of our lifetime in universally recognizable ways.
We can learn how babies, infants, toddlers all the way to older adults grow.
This developmental understanding of human life, if understood well and anticipated, can aid in nurturing and maintaining love.
Our love over a lifetime is a gift to our family and to the next generation.
LESSON TITLES
2.1.101 Health and Fitness
2.1.102 Four Giants of Development
2.1.103 Attachment Theory
2.1.104 Leaving a Legacy
In the second section we examine life transitions.
2.2 Life Transitions
Nothing in our lives stays the same.
Changes may seem slow in coming as we long for something to change but over time life is a series of transitions.
Nothing stays the same.
We recognize it as we see and talk with old friends or watch our bodies age.
Class reunions are a painful reminder.
We move from place to place.
We start and change jobs.
Our schooling goes from kindergarten to elementary to high school and beyond.
We marry.
We have children.
Sometimes we divorce or deal with spousal unfaithfulness.
We remarry.
We retire.
Life is full of transitions.
How we prepare for them and how we handle them makes a huge difference in our family life.
Six lesson titles follow.
LESSON TITLES
2.2.101 Leaving Home
2.2102 Starting a New Job
2.2.103 Moving
2.2.104 Adding Children
2.2.105 Boundaries
2.2.106 Divorce and Remarriage
In the third section we examine more closely daily necessities.
2.3 Daily Necessities
Let's get really practical.
Let's combine good theory with good practice.
Love is great but we also need a place to live and food to eat.
To live well and be able to love well, we need money.
We all need to eat every day, good healthy food.
How are we spending the money we have on food?
How much food is being wasted or optimally used?
We need sufficient sleep.
What a difference there is in a day with a good night's sleep.
We all have the exact same amount of time.
Time is the greatest single resource we all have.
How are we spending it?
Finally, we need to recharge and care sufficiently for ourselves.
Nothing does that better than time to play.
Five lesson titles follow.
LESSON TITLES
2.3.101 All about money
2.3.102 All about food
2.3.103 All about sleep
2.3.104 All about time
2.3.105 All about play
In the fourth section we examine intimacy.
2.4 Intimacy
We are social beings. We long for intimacy, for connection.
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"No man is an island", wrote the poet John Donne.
We understand that God created male and femaleness.
There are profound differences.
These interact in ways that fill movies and songs.
As we grow we form relationships where love is given and received or not given and not received.
Intimacy or the lack of intimacy have profound effects.
Families are safe havens for emotional intimacy which every person in the world needs,
Not only do we need emotional intimacy, we need physical intimacy.
Hugs, kisses and love making are essential parts of human existence and families.
Four lesson titles follow.
LESSON TITLES
2.4.101 Male and Female Distinctiveness
2.4.102 Dating and Romance
2.4.103 More than Home Security
2.4.104 Sexual Intimacy
Course # 3
Reversing the Poverty of Social Interaction
INTRODUCTION
Without friends, good neighbors and helpful allies, life would be a lot more difficult.
In short, we need others.
How much richer we are as our families extend beyond our original family.
Friends are there when we need help, when our families are not there to help.
Just how would you play a team sport without other players?
Just how far could you go on your own without the support of others?
How would the world operate without cooperation with others?
We all depend on interaction with others in varying degrees.
No one is truly self-sufficient.
We really do need others.
What do we know about interacting with others?
How can we have better relations inside and outside the home, at work and at play?
Communication is a complex ever changing fluid process.
Learn to navigate it here.
In this course we offer help with your communicating, help that will reverse the poverty of social interaction.
1. Learn to control your power of attention
2. Learn to use the power of caring and understanding
3. Learn to exercise the power of listening
4. Learn to properly wield the power of influence
Are you ready for this journey?
We will go farther into the world of communication than you have ever been.
Are you ready to do better?
SECTION LIST
3.1 The Power of Attention
3.2 Empathy: The Power of Caring and Understanding
3.3 The Power of Listening
3.4 The Power of Asking Good Questions
3.5 The Power of Influence
SECTION DESCRIPTIONS
Section 3.1
In the first section we examine the power of attention.
3.1 The Power of Attention
When we give our attention to something or someone we are immediately opening up a doorway into our personal lives.
At times there are so many knocks on the door we begin to not even open the door.
At other times no one is knocking.
We set screens or filters to only let in what matters to us and ignore the rest.
Upon hearing our first name, our attention is on the speaker or writer.
Our personal life and our personal relationships are precious.
It has taken years and years to develop.
We protect our privacy, our right to choose what and to whom we will pay attention to.
Not much happens in life without first giving your attention to something.
If no one is paying attention, not much else is happening.
All communication begins with attention.
Learn all you can about the power of attention.
Five lesson titles follow.
LESSON TITLES
3.1.101 Situational Variables
3.1.102 Before you open your mouth to speak: non-verbal communication
3.1.103 The power to discern accurately: first impressions
3.1.104 The power to discern accurately: person perception
3.1.105 The power to discern accurately: attribution processes
Section 3.2
In the second section we examine empathy.
3.2 Empathy: The Power of Caring and Understanding
People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
Paul in the New Testament said "Without love I would be nothing even if I had all knowledge".
We all know when someone cares about us. It feels good.
When you have a need or are in trouble or have a problem and someone expresses concern it helps.
It makes things feel a bit better.
Going through things alone feels awful.
We all know how terrible it is when we are misunderstood or ignored or spoken harshly to especially by those closest to us.
Over time, with life experiences come hurts, disappointments, separations and isolation.
To feel alone in a large gathering goes against our human longing for connection.
Relationships are built on mutual empathy.
Taking the time to really care, to really understand is a profound act of love.
There is tremendous power in genuine empathy.
Four lesson titles follow.
LESSON TITLES
3.2.101 Empathy Expressions and Examples
3.2.102 Empathy's Advantages and Disadvantages
3.2.103 How children learn or do not learn empathy
3.2.104 Emotional Intelligence
Section 3.3
In the third section we examine the power of listening.
3.3 The Power of Listening
Communication is an active and interactive process.
Speaking or talking is just one part of the dialogue.
Listening is the receiving of the thoughts, feelings and intentions of another.
Listening is also listening to oneself.
Speaking and listening comprise a cycle.
The cycle is both external and internal.
This cycle is ever recycling. It happens fast, is easily interrupted and easily broken.
Listening is the art of cultivating good communication, increased empathy and better relationships.
We spend time learning how to listen and listen well to others and to ourselves.
When someone is experiencing relationship problems, someone is NOT listening.
More than likely it is a combination of both parties.
Four lesson titles follow.
LESSON TITLES
3.3.101 Transactional Listening
3.3.102 Transformational Listening
3.3.103 Internal and External Dialogue
3.3.104 Practicing Conversational Listening
Section 3.4
In the fourth section we examine the power of asking good questions.
3.4 The Power of Asking Good Questions
Understanding what others are saying begins with attention, empathy, listening carefully and continues with asking good questions.
Some questions can be interpreted as being too direct, too inquisitive, too judgmental, too loaded.
The perceiver is actively listening for positive or negative intent, positive and negative meanings, both explicit and hidden.
Good questions are hard to frame.
With good questions better understanding is achieved, work progresses, relationships are strengthened.
What makes for good questions? How can I learn to be a better asker of questions?
Four lesson title follows.
LESSON TITLES
3.4.101 Probing Questions
3.4.102 Open Ended Questions
3.4.103 Minimal Questions
3.4.104 Questioning Questions
Section 3.5
3.5 The Power of Influence
At almost any given time in every conversation, we are being influenced or in the process of influencing.
More likely it is both, an interactive process. seeking to influence.
Leadership is defined by many people in many different ways.
The simplest and most accurate is leadership is influence.
We seek to lead our family, our employees, our citizenry and ourselves in ways that make a positive difference in the world.
In short, to influence.
How can I be a better influencer?
On what basis do I let others influence me?
What kind of difference in the world am I making?
Am I involved and engaged?
Am I a critic sitting on the sidelines or judging from a faraway mystical throne?
What is integrity and why is it so important?
Expectations are very powerful indicators of influence, sometimes positive and sometimes oh so destructive.
What are expectations and where do they come from? How can we manage them?
How do you react to criticism? Is it possible to criticize others without provoking a negative reaction?
We will examine only a few of the many traps along the way to good communication.
Five lesson titles follow.
LESSON TITLES
3.5.101 Expectations: Friend or Foe?
3.5.102 Keeping Integrity and Authenticity
3.5.103 Giving and Receiving Criticism
3.5.104 Mind Traps
3.5.105 The Power of Trust
The nature of trust and mistrust
At the heart of communication is trust.
Like a wave in a lake or ocean, trust ebbs and flows.
Like blood circulating in our body so is trust in our relationships.
How do you react when someone shows by their words and/or actions that they trust you?
How do you respond when they do not trust you?
How do you communicate trust by your words and/or actions?
Is trust given or earned?
Once trust is broken can it be regained or restored?
Social relationships depend on and develop over time with trust.
Friendships depend on and develop with trust.
Dating and romantic relationships depend on and develop with trust.
Marriage partners depend on and develop with trust.
Business relationships depend on and develop with trust.
What happens if you see your doctor but you do not trust the recommendation or prescription?
Even casual contacts with others depend on and develop with trust.
Trust is fundamental and completely necessary in every area of life and society.
With mistrust the seeds of confusion and catastrophe await.
Trust is the ultimate power.
LESSON TITLE
One lesson title follows.
3.6.101 The Dynamics of Trust and Mistrust
Course # 4
Reversing the Poverty of Mind
INTRODUCTION
As newborns our brains, our minds may be small but they are incredible at learning.
As we grow our minds keep learning and learning.
Our cognitive abilities grow as we are introduced to new things and diverse experiences.
Learning never stops.
How do we learn?
How do we help others learn??
Learning never stops.
We put learning into practice in order to make progress in our lives.
What is progress and why is it important?
What safeguards are there to progress?
The learning process itself can be learned.
How do you apply what you learn?
Our ability to learn and put into practice what we learn will define and shape us throughout life.
The question arises, "why bother?". Perhaps I have learned enough and do not need to learn anything more.
Learning never stops.
What am I learning for? Am I learning something good, something worthwhile?
Learning can be applied to all kinds of purposes.
How can I become an expert at learning?
In this course we offer help with your learning capacities, help that will reverse the poverty of mind.
1. Learn to know the different costs and benefits of progress
2. Learn to be and not be content
3. Learn to be an expert teacher of yourself
4. Learn to use learning for the betterment of yourself and others
Are you ready for this journey?
We will go farther into the world of learning than you have ever been.
Are you ready to do better?
SECTION LIST
4.1 Progress at any cost?
4.2 Contentment: The Choice of Moving Forward
4.3 Application: The Value of Learning
4.4 Worthiness: The Goal of Learning
SECTION DESCRIPTIONS
Section 4.1
In the first section we examine the whole idea of progress.
4.1 Progress at any cost?
Progress is a controversial subject.
What do you consider progress?
How would you define progress?
Most people want to see progress in their lives and families.
We want our children to have a better life than the one we had.
We want to see our communities, our workplace, our city, our country and our world progress.
To some, progress is something to be feared and challenged. It represents change and we do NOT like change.
Change is inevitable. We shape and are shaped by the influences around us.
What do you want to see happen?
Unless of course everything is just fine now and there is no reason to change anything.
Are you ready to learn what is keeping you back and moving yourself forward?
Four lesson titles follow.
LESSON TITLES
4.1.101 Past and current examples of progress
4.1.102 Personal and family stories of progress
4.1.103 Visions for the future
4.1.104 Brain Capacity
4.2 Contentment: The Choice of Moving Forward
Why invest in learning something new?
Will it make a difference in my life, the lives of my family, my community, my country, my world?
There are healthy forms and expressions of contentment and discontentment as well as unhealthy forms and expressions.
Learn to know the difference as the difference is really important.
Que sera sera. Whatever will be will be. The future is not ours to see.
This of course is nonsense.
The future may be unknown or unclear but we decide what is next.
Nothing is inevitable. Change is possible. Past mistakes can be reversed and overcome.
LESSON TITLES
Four lesson titles follow.
4.2.101 Healthy and Unhealthy Contentment
4.2.102 Healthy and Unhealthy Discontentment
4.2.103 Student Presentations Part One
4.2.104 Student Presentations Part Two
4.3 Application: The Value of Learning
From the introduction of new information into our experience new experiences are generated and so on in a never ending cycle.
What is learned never is learned until we put into practice what we have learned.
Until then it remains a dormant theory. like a seed waiting to be planted and cultivated, and nourished by soil, sunshine and rain.
There is a gap, a great divide separating you from information out there to information you actually use and apply.
Use your natural curiosity to research what you need to know.
Reflect on how to integrate your knowledge and apply to your life. Help others do the same thing.
Use your mind to think, not just believe anything you hear or read.
Evaluate the truthfulness, think critically about the accuracy of what you are learning.
Four lesson titles follow.
LESSON TITLES
4.3.101 Overcoming the Great Divide: Theory and Practice
4.3.102 How to Do Research
4.3.103 Expanding Reflection Capabilities
4.3.104 Thinking Critically
4.4 Worthiness: The Goal of Learning
Not everything that can be learned should be learned.
Learning is not an end in itself. It has a purpose.
Whatever is learned is to be used, in other words, applied, applied to some end, some purpose.
Someone has decided it is important for you to learn whatever they are presenting, including this course.
Is it worth learning?
Will this learning lead to something good and valuable enough to spend the time and perhaps money to learn it?
For what purpose or purposes are you learning?
Not all purposes are good. In fact, some are bad.
Do we want you to learn how to rob a bank or make a bomb to blow up people? Certainly not.
There is a lot of need in the world, many, many opportunities to be of some service to do good.
What future are you aiming for? Do you even think about it? What are you doing today to do good?
Is what you are doing today better than yesterday?
Four lesson titles follow.
LESSON TITLES
4.4.101 Being and Doing Good
4.4.102 Learning for Life
4.4.103 Keeping Things Relevant
4.4.104 Long-term Horizons
Course # 5
Reversing the Poverty of Trust
INTRODUCTION
Trust is fundamental to all our lives.
Look below the surface, in almost every situation, in every interaction, you will see the issue of trust.
Trust is built on shared positive experiences.
Do good to others, keep your word and trust will grow.
With mistrust not much good happens, anywhere, at any time.
I trust someone to do something, something good.
They let me down and I end up being disappointed.
I have a hard time trusting that person again.
Someone is counting on me, trusting me to do something.
Something happens and I do not do it for whatever reason.
Trust is broken. Trust is diminished.
The wrong thing gets done. I do something bad, intentionally or not.
Blame begins. Trust is violated.
Like a forest full of plants and trees, trust takes a long time to grow.
A single match, a lie for instance, can destroy trust that has taken years to develop.
How is trust built? How is trust lessened or destroyed?
Can trust be restored? How?
In this course we offer help with your faith, help that will reverse the poverty of trust.
1. Learn to recognize trust or mistrust in daily life
2. Learn to wisely search for truth
3. Learn to depend on the reasonableness of faith
4. Learn to ask and answer reasonable questions about Christian faith
Are you ready for this journey?
We will go farther into the world of faith than you have ever been.
Are you ready to do better?
SECTION LIST
5.1 Trust in Daily Life
5.2 The Search for Truth
5.3 Reasonableness of Faith
5.4 Uniqueness of Christian Faith
SECTION DESCRIPTIONS
Section 5.1
5.1 Trust in Daily Life
Go through one day and think about all the times you are exercising or not exercising trust.
Listen to TV shows and record how many times you hear the word "trust".
Pay attention to the number of times you say "trust" in your conversations or hear others saying "trust".
We sit in a chair never thinking twice about the trust we have in that chair.
Is the wood in that chair strong enough to support my weight?
Did the builder of that chair use strong enough nails or glue?
Did they test the chair? Rarely do we question things that require a lot of trust until that is something goes wrong.
Every time we take a bus, ride in a car or fly in an airplane we are exercising a tremendous amount of trust.
We are trusting the company, the people who made the chair, the car, the airplane.
We are trusting the people who made and supplied the parts.
They in turn trusted the people who provided the raw materials.
Beyond all this there is a considerable amount of trust that there would be customers to pay for everything.
Beyond that we trust in companies to hire qualified employees who represent themselves trustworthy.
Even something as simple as sitting in a chair requires trust.
How many times did you hear or use the word "trust"?
Four lesson titles follow.
LESSON TITLES
5.1.101 Emotional Foundations of Trust
5.1.102 To worry or not worry, that is the question
5.1.103 Faith expressed as action and waiting
5.1.104 To engage or not to engage, that is the question
5.2 The Search for Truth
Who or what can we trust?
Is my trust only in myself?
Trust is built over time based on the trustworthiness of the other person and/or information.
Trustworthiness is built on truth.
Knowing the truth is essential.
How can you tell the difference then between what is true and what is false?
What exactly is a lie?
What sources of truth do you rely on the most?
When you hear the news how do you know what is true?
When someone tells you a story about someone else, how do you know it is true?
We rarely examine our assumptions even though we often make assumptions.
How do you truly know someone or something?
How consistent are your beliefs?
How do you know what you know?
What if there is no way of knowing?
What level of certainty is acceptable to you before you believe anything?
How much proof do you need before you trust?
Four lesson titles follow.
LESSON TITLES
5.2.101 Lies, Doubts and Intrigue
5.2.102 Credibility of Sources
5.2.103 Assuming I have Assumptions
5.2.104 Foundations and Consistency of Belief
5.3 Reasonableness of Faith
Some say just believe.
Believe what you are told.
Believe what you see on TV or on the internet, what your parents or teachers say.
Believe what your church says, what your leaders in your country say.
Just believe. Indoctrination.
Is believing only a matter of believing what you are told or taught to believe?
Are there not reasons for your faith?
Is faith not based on something or is it enough to just believe?
What if what you believe just is not true? Or only partly true?
What if what you believe has no basis in facts?
In deciding what to believe about anything how do you decide?
Do you believe something just because you decide to believe it?
Is faith a matter of just believing?
If I sincerely believe something does that make it true?
Is faith a subjective matter?
Is faith an objective matter capable of scrutiny?
Four lesson titles follow.
LESSON TITLES
5.3.101 The Case against Faith
5.3.102 Limits of Reason
5.3.103 The Case for Faith
5.3.104 Obstacles to Faith
5.4 Uniqueness of Christian Faith
Christianity is truly remarkable in so many ways.
There is no religion like it.
Fundamentally it is not a religion at all.
It is a relationship between a human person made in God's image with a Sovereign, Supreme Being.
There are many opinions about God.
Does He even exist?
What kind of God is He?
What is He like?
What are His purposes for the world? For you and I?
Can He be trusted with my life? Your life?
God communicated over many centuries with people as recorded in the Old Testament.
The New Testament continues God's desire to communicate with us.
To even get an idea of who God is, He had to assume human form, to let us know who He is.
We know Him by His name, Jesus Christ.
Jesus came to earth as a human baby, grew up, worked as a carpenter and formed a band of disciples.
He taught us who God is, lived a life as God in person and died and rose again.
The message of God is love and forgiveness of our failings and and sin to reestablish our relationship with Him.
The resurrection of Jesus, ardently but unsuccessfully disproved, verifies the power and reality of God in this world.
We now are offered an opportunity to be restored as a new creation with the certainty of a life without end.
In Christianity we have faith in an all knowing, all powerful, good and trustworthy God.
This God wants to have a relationship with each person He created.
LESSON TITLES
Four lesson titles follow.
5.4.101 What are the Purposes of God?
5.4.102 Can I trust the Bible?
5.4.103 Who is Jesus of Nazareth?
5.4.104 Did the resurrection of Jesus really happen?
5.4 Reasonable Questions about Christian Faith
As Christian faith is considered, some serious questions arise.
Everyone at some time or other wonders why there is so much evil and suffering in the world?
Why do bad things happen to good people and vice-versa?
You lose a loved one at a young age. Where is God?
How can God let such and such happen?
Where is there justice in the world?
If God is all powerful and all knowing why doesn't He do anything?
Why is there so much evil and suffering committed in the name of religion?
We live in a world where God and science are often presented as antagonists.
Is this true? Does religious belief contradict science?
Christianity, if considered as a religion, is just one of many world religions.
What about all the others?
Finally, we consider miracles.
What is a miracle?
Are miracles possible today?
Four lesson titles follow.
LESSON TITLES
5.5.101 Why is there so much evil and suffering in the world?
5.5.102 Can science and religious belief co-exist?
5.5.103 What about other world religions?
5.5.104 Are miracles possible today?