Altruism: Unselfish concern for the welfare of others; selflessness.

I recently watched Matthiew Ricard give a speech at TED on Altruism, and how he believes the concept can change the world. For those of you not familiar with the word, or with the concept, Altruism is the "unselfish concern for the welfare of others; selflessness". This is a concept we at Trade Sound Productions live through our business. We want to help others, and touch people's lives. We do not do it because we think it will help us in the end, or that it will make us feel good, or that it is "good for business". We do it, because that is what we do, that is who we are. We believe that if we can bring help, or joy to one, they may spread it to others. Just like when Ricard posed the question "So what is altruism? It is the wish: May others be happy and find the cause of happiness". We do this with our company with each job we take on, and with the bands we represent. We think about their end joy in the project. I enjoyed hearing Ricard speak on how even people who are not altruistic by nature, can train their brains to become more like the selfless. I agree with this, and think that if more companies were focused on the end client or customers happiness, contentment, or joy; instead of their own bottom line, the structure of business itself may just change. This quote by Ricard nails the concept on the head, and I have to have faith that others agree with me, "If you have more consideration for others, you will make sure that you remedy inequality, that you bring some kind of well-being within society, in education, at the workplace. Otherwise, a nation that is the most powerful and the richest but everyone is miserable, what's the point"?