How to Change The World

Change Yourself

The very first thing that has to be changed before you can truly change the world for the better is: yourself. Most people view the world live from a perspective of "I don't have enough to be happy, so I need more". Many of the richest among us still wake up every day thinking, "What can I do to get more for myself?". What they don't realize is that the key to happiness is not in having more, but in being happy with less.

Once you decide you are happy with what you already have, an entire new world will open up to you. Instead of wanting more you'll want to give more.

Giving more instead of wanting more is a powerful message to yourself and your subconscious, it's a way of saying to yourself: "I am happy now".

All of the world's greatest religions stress the importance of living life with a generous heart:

For a more in depth discussion on this topic see our blog entry: Change Your Mindset, Change the World

Give Away Some of Your Stuff

Giving away things that you don't want or need is one of the easiest way to help. Do you have any children's books from when you were little or when your son or daughter was little? If you don't use them, why not give them to children in need instead of letting them collect dust in your attic. Perhaps you have clothes that you don't wear anymore because you outgrew them, or they're just not your style? Go out to your garage or attic or closet, and find everything you haven't used in the last year - then give it all away.

Giving them to places like The Salvation Army or Goodwill are excellent ways to make a difference. It's the little things that matter, and it's so easy to change the life of someone in the world.

Donate Money

There are hundreds of organizations out there doing their part to save the environment, end world hunger, bring education to those who have none, and change their community for the better. Whether you give money to these organizations, or participate in a "click to donate" site, even donating the equivalent of one fast food restaurant visit per week will make a difference.

Two great websites for donating to charity are Just Give and Charity Navigator.

Volunteer

If you have a weekend or a day during the week you could spare to help a cause, volunteering at your local food bank, shelter, or community center can play a huge part in fighting the problems in the world. If you feel especially giving, you could travel across the world with an organization and volunteer there! If both of those methods are out of reach for you, virtual volunteering on the internet is another great way to change the world from home, taking minimal effort and time, allowing you to spend just a few minutes at your leisure to make a difference!

Change Your Spending Habits

It's been said that capitalism is in essence a voting system. What you spend your money on is what you vote to have more of. Spending your money in Walmart is a vote for more Walmarts. At the same time, spending your money on organic milk is a vote for more organically grown milk. Keep this in mind when you shop. Choosing to spend your money on greener products and using services like Dreamer is a vote for more earth-friendly products and services!

Drive Less & Bike More

It's a hard concept for many Americans to grasp, especially with how dependant we are on our personal transportation to get us wherever, whenever we need. While it's almost impossible to live in most cities and not own a car, this doesn't mean that you have to drive everywhere.

Instead of driving, why not ride a bike when the opportunity allows? For local errands try biking instead of taking your car. Sure it may take a bit longer, but you'll also get your doctor recommended 30 minutes of daily exercise with ease.

If you're fortunate enough to live close to work or to school, why not take a bike instead? With biking, you get exercise, increase your level of health, reduce fuel costs, and parking is always a lot easier!

Drink Less Bottled Water.

Bottled water is not eco-friendly, no matter how green the label is on your plastic water bottle. It takes oil to manufacture the plastic that's used for the bottle - not to mention how many empty bottles end up in a landfill or out in the ocean somewhere. The best alternative to this is to use a heavy plastic or eco-friendly bottle and filling it with tap water.

If you live in the USA, or any other major city and first world country, the tap water has no health risks what so ever and is highly accessible. There are also new studies from Iowa State University which show drinking bottled water can be hazardous to your health! Do yourself and the world a favor, make a change and drink tap water from home or from any faucet available. And if there is something about the tap water you don't like, buy a filter!

Waste Less & Recycle More

Most of our lives revolve around a disposable living. Packaging, batteries, paper towels, and more are all made to be used once, then tossed away as trash. Try consuming less in your daily life, or make it a point to recycle everything you can recycle - this will make a huge impact!

Also, if your workplace doesn't have a recycling program, don't complain about it or use it as an excuse not to recycle... start one!

Inspire Others

Spreading the word about any of these issues and doing anything to help at the same time is a great way to change other peoples' thoughts on the struggles of the world. It's as simple as telling your friends and family the difference you're making or the steps you're taking to help. With each new seed of influence planted in a person's head, the more likely that person is to one day take action themselves.

You may not see results immediately but keep at it - stay positive, and stay happy, and stick to your beliefs - Over time, people will begin to see the kind of joy you live your life with and they'll want to be like you. Your efforts will have an impact even with people you never thought you could persuade!

Start a Non-Profit

Starting a non-profit isn't easy. In fact it's one of the hardest things you may ever do. At the same time it may be the most rewarding. Starting a non-profit is just like starting any other business, you need a unique and inspiring idea, a business plan, and the will to carry on for months and even years with no reward. Most people begin by choosing a cause that is near and dear to their hearts. The next, and probably the most difficult step is fundraising. After that comes the fun part, spending the money you've raised on the cause that you love.

For more information see: How to start a non-profit

Below is a list of just a few of the people and ideas that are changing the world. Some of these ideas and people you may have heard about, while others are virtually unknown, but each of these men, women, and ideas need to be recognized for their inspiring achievements. If you have an idea or a person you'd like to see recognized, please contact us.

Geoffrey Coates & The New Plastic

Since the 1960s, we have seen very little change in the manufacturing of plastic. Almost all plastics are made from crude oil, and are not biodegradable. Billions of pounds of plastic pollute the natural world - from landfills to the giant trash island floating in the pacific.

Chemist Geoffrey Coates, however, is reinventing plastic by making it environmentally friendly and biodegradable. Using orange peels, the limonene - a citrusy-smelling chemical - can be mixed with carbon dioxide and a catalyst to be turned into a number of plastics. From saran wrap to medical packaging, more uses are being found for this eco-plastic. The problem is the cost to produce this plastic is currently more expensive, but as production scales up, they are finding cheaper and simpler solutions to making it. Soon you may find a change mainstream consumer products around the world such as food containers made out of orange peels.

One Laptop Per Child

All around the world, more than a billion children don't have access to adequate education. The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Foundation aims to provide every child in the developing world with one of its XO Laptops in hopes of eliminating illiteracy and eventually, poverty, through education. The laptop itself is $100 and uses an energy efficient, ecologically friendly design with a user interface made specifically for children. The OLPC Foundation has been helping children all over the world, and is bringing us one giant step closer to changing many of the educational limitations seen around the world.

Katie Alcott & Frank Water

Katie Alcott is the founder of Frank Water. In 2005, Alcott contracted dysentery after drinking unclean water on her visit to India. When she made her way back to the UK, she put together the idea of selling bottled water and using the profits to fund clean water facilities for villages in need. This was 5 years ago. Now, Frank Water has grown exponentially to become a non-profit enterprise which to this day gives 100% of its profits to the cause.

Katie Alcott is a fine example of how a simple idea can change the world. Her dedication to providing clean water for the less fortunate is saving thousands of lives every day.

Solar Power Financing

We all know this idea, but there is more to it than meets the eye. The problem in the past was that solar panels were a much more expensive up-front cost, causing a massive divide between who could and couldn't afford installing them. There is a new way to own the panels for yourself: get the panels up-front for free, and pay for the power as you go.

Companies are adopting this plan as it makes owning solar panels more accessible to homeowners everywhere. The way most of the companies work is by taking the average monthly cost of your electricity over a span of twelve months, and they charge you per-month based on that amount. However, you are free to use as much electricity as you would like from that point on. This offers a way to change the world and even reduce your carbon footprint immensely while not changing your lifestyle or habits.

Wangari Maathai & The Green Belt Movement

A Kenyan resident, Maathai spent decades campaigning for environmental issues in Kenya. She started the Green Belt Movement with a goal to provide her kin with food and firewood. She is also known for promoting democracy in Kenya, and in 2004, won the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts. In June 2009, Maathai was named one of PeaceByPeace.com's first peace heroes.

Wangari Maathai shows us that no matter where you come from, or how much money you have, you can change the world with just an idea and a will to make a difference.

Craig Kielburger & Free the Children

At the age of 12, Kielburger started devoting time and effort into making the problems of child labor in countries like Kenya, Sri Lanka, India, Ecuador, Sierra Leone, and China. He started a children's charity, Free the Children in 1995, and travelled around the world advocating children's rights. In recent years, he has turned his focus from child labor to children's education. In 2008, Free the Children celebrated the construction of its 500th school, a massive achievement.

Craig is a shining example of someone who has cared enough to dedicate their life to helping those in need, changing the future of the children around the world.

Mel Young & The Homeless World Cup

Founder of the Homeless World Cup, Young started a revolution by inspiring the homeless around the world through a common interest: football. In 2003, the Homeless World Cup had reached international success, and inspiring people everywhere. Mel has touched many lives, and given hope to those who needed it the most.

Around 70 to 80 percent of the players made a change in their lives, being motivated by the experience to find jobs and get into houses. This isn't just a temporary solution, this is a change in peoples' mindset to do better in their lives and make a difference in the world.

Did you know?

It's against the law for corporations to donate too much money.
If you really want to how to change the world, first you have to understand why it is the way it is. Within the rules of modern society it's against the law for a publicly traded corporation to put community service and philanthropy ahead corporate profits. This means that all publicly traded corporations (such as Google, Coca-Cola, DirecTV, Bank of America etc...) must at all times seek to maximize profit and may only give to charity if by giving this will cause increased profits!

So, in answer to the question, why do these massive corporations spend all their time and effort trying to make more and more money, at the expense of so many other more worthy endeavors? Because legally, they have to do so!

Below is perhaps the most famous case of this:
In other words Ford wanted to spend his profits to make the world a better place, not to make more money for himself. What happened? So basically, Ford was sued for attempting to use his money to improve the world - he lost - and was forced to abandon his ideas. Since then, a modern corporation would never even think of putting philanthropy ahead of profits.

Legally, a publicly traded corporation can only give to charity if it makes money for the corporation. This explains why Google had a $10 million "social change" initiative, yet spent $1.65 billion purchasing YouTube and $3.1 billion purchasing DoubleClick.

Top Down Investment

Modern corporations are quite good at improving the world from the top down. For example:

• A company like Coca-Cola might use it's profits to build a better coke dispenser.
• A company like Google might use its profits to create better targed ads.
• A company like DirecTV might use its profits add more tv channels.

But let's be honest with ourselves, does the world really need a better soda dispenser, better targeted ads, and more tv channels? Would any of these improvements really change the world in a meaningful way? Would any of these changes save our environment, reform our educational systems, or end world hunger? Many top down improvements focus on changes where they're needed least.

What is Dreamer?

Dreamer is a internet search engine, but it's much more than that. Since we're not a publicly traded corporation - we're a non-profit - our responsibility is not to maximize profits. Instead we are legally required to spend our profits fulfilling our mission statement, which is: For us, this is a totally different motivation and produces a completely different outcome than the traditional for-profit corporation. Instead of focusing on top-down investment, Dreamer focuses on changing the world from the bottom up.

Bottom Up Investment

Bottom up improvements focus on changes where their needed most:

• Instead of building better coke dispensers we're building better schools. An improved school system, will lead to a more educated population, which means more engineers and less gang members, which means a better world for everyone.
• Instead of creating better targeted ads we're cleaning up the environment. Our corporate system has spent hundreds of years destroying the foundation of very world we live in, our environment. Current environmental efforts are only mildly slowing the damage. A clean environment means a healthy planet for generations to come.
• Instead of adding more tv channels we're investing in world changing technologies. Imagine what the world would be like with a truly advanced mass transportation system. Imagine what the world would be like once a few space elevators are completed.

How You Can Help

You can help us make the world a better place simply by searching and shopping with Dreamer.

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Additionally, if you sign up with us you can help choose where the money goes!

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The problems facing our world are great, and it will take the greatness of millions if not billions of people working together towards a common goal to overcome them.

Changing the world doesn't happen overnight, but it won't happen by putting it off either. The time to act is now, and your role is just as important as the next person's. While you might think the little things you can do are insignificant and have no effect, with enough people these small things add up and make an even bigger change than any single organization or person could ever do! It all starts with you, and your willingness to help create the world that you dream of.

The following books are recommended by the staff at Dreamer to help you change the world:

The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape ... Raj Patel Best Price $7.84 or Buy New $14.00

Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corp ... Thom Hartmann Best Price $8.74 or Buy New $19.95

Web of Debt: The Shocking Truth Abou ... Ellen Hodgson ... Best Price $22.48 or Buy New $25.00

The Great Turning: From Empire to Ea ... David C Korten Best Price $5.49 or Buy New $21.95