How do you, as an intelligent and compassionate woman, respond to this situation?  What’s your feeling about it? Do you feel powerless, apathetic, or angry?  There are significant imbalances on our planet that you can begin to address by expressing your 'voice of leadership'.

So how do you express your ‘voice of leadership’ when you’re so busy just working and living to get involved? Does your routine involve getting dressed, driving through traffic in order to get to a job that you need to pay for the clothes, car and house that you leave empty all day in order to be able to afford to live there?

I was inspired this summer by three books that I read by a visionary leader, someone who is daring to express his voice of leadership in coming up with solutions to address the insane situation in the world.  Dr. David Korten holds an MBA and PhD from Stanford University and was a Harvard Business School professor for 5 years. He also worked for 21 years in various countries in  Africa, Latin America, and Asia on a quest to end global poverty. He is fully expressing his 'voice of leadership' through his speaking and writing. In his books, ‘When Corporations Rule the World’, ‘The Post-Corporate World’, and “Agenda for a New Economy”, Korten includes some shocking statistics to highlight the issues which we won’t see in the mainstream media:  Here are just a few:

The average CEO salary in the US is often 1000 times the average production worker’s pay(it’s 20-50 times that in New Zealand).

over 29% of US workers live on poverty level wages.

30,000 children a day die as a result of poverty

90 million children worldwide are not even primary school educated.

100 million children are living on the street.

300,000 children were used as soldiers in the 90’s and 6 million children injured in armed  conflict.

1 billion people on our planet live on less than $1 per day

There are over 80,000 synthetic chemicals used today which mimic hormones and are causing countless cases of disease and death.

It’s time for us to come together as a society to reclaim our power to make positive changes towards eliminating these problems.  It’s time for us to create a NEW definition of wealth beyond money.

Green America is an organisation which is helping to redefine ‘wealth’. This organisation is devoted to using economic power, i.e. the strength of consumers, businesses, investors, and the marketplace, to create a socially equitable and environmentally sustainable world. The Executive Director of GreenAmerica, Alisa Gravitz, defines the essential elements of good living common to all people around the world as the follows:
 
A nurturing family, friends, and a peaceful and secure community that allows us to develop our capacity for loving, caring relationships.

The opportunity to learn and express our awareness of ourselves and the world around us both artistically and intellectually.

Good physical health and the opportunity to engage in athletics, dance, and other forms of movement that make our bodies ‘tingle’ with life energy.

A sense of belonging to community and life yet with the freedom to make personal choices and also to sometimes to travel and explore without the obligations of place.

A clean and healthy environment vibrant with the diversity of life.

An assurance that our children will have an opportunity for the same.

A secure means of livelihood that provides for our basic material needs while earning us a place of respect in our community.

Do you agree with this list?  Is there anything you would change?

As you step into 2011, you have an opportunity to reflect on what true wealth really means to you.

How will you go through 2011 differently with your own definition of wealth in mind?
How will you express your own 'voice of leadership'?

You may want to check into a new movement in New Zealand which is offering some interesting solutions and looking at a bigger picture. It is [url=http://www.theawarenessparty.com]'The Awareness Party'[/url] and it aims to raise awareness of these issues and to empower people in NZ to take action and express their 'voice of leadership' to bring about positive changes here first.

I’d love to hear your reflections on what true wealth means to you - please drop me an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

To listen to Sally's NEW radio show or join her blog on 'The Voice of Leadership', go to http://thewinonline.com/shows/voice-leadership
and click on audio and blog

Sally Mabelle c. 2011 - if you want to publish or print this article, please contact Sally for permission and  include the following acknowledgement and link to my website:
by Sally Mabelle, The Voice of Leadership Specialist:inspiring clear, confident, and connected communication. 
www.sallymabelle.com

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