Smart guy, American philosopher, essayist, poet & lecturer, Ralph Waldo Emerson had something important to say about principles: …
principles
14. Walk the land
The fourteenth and last principle I mention here, is one that I have applied in Samoa from the start. For some reason I really love and understand the idea of Walking the Land as much as any other …
13. Do The Right Thing
A phrase I used a lot in Fusi Safata in 2009 was "Do the right thing, work hard and have faith!". It embodied the essence of the Christian walk in a way that the villagers could hear, understand and …
12. We should empower others
The principle of empowering others comes straight from the Bible. It's our twelfth in a series. This is the idea that we should be mentoring, teaching, and helping others to achieve their aims and …
11. Work Smarter, Not Harder
Legs eleven. Our eleventh principle is to work smarter, not harder. We want to engage brain before our brawn. It's sometimes hard to do, but the rewards are much greater. …
10. A biblical value-base
It's Sunday in Samoa, so God gets a good look-in today. The SWAP Foundation is founded upon the biblical value system. Christianity is not required of our partners or team members but respecting the …
9. Everyone loves a winner
Don't you just love a winner? Be honest now, we all do! Getting behind a top performer is motivating and invigorating. Even leaders love engaging with and learning from other leaders. This …
8. Financial Equivalence
A question now . . . who is worth more? An unemployed rural Samoan who works for a day on his plantation and feeds his family (maybe only just) OR someone like my lawyer who works for a day and feeds …
7. Cross Cultural Partnership
The seventh principle we use over here is a concept that sounds easy but is a real challenge - we require a cross-cultural partnership. So what's the catch? Well, it's just darned hard to do! …
6. Giver’s Gain
The Good Book says that "It is more blessed to give than to receive". This biblical principle is the sixth in a series explaining the values that we are using in our work in Samoa. …
5. Take Nothing Home
The fifth principle will have alternative thinkers, greenies and liberals delighted. Just like the rules when visiting a natural tourist destination we require that our investors to "Take nothing …
4. Use only the Best
The fourth principle we apply in Samoa is that we only want to work with the best. This runs counter to the typical cultural response to getting things done here, where near enough is close enough and …
3. Use what you have
The third underlying principle that we've been working with in Samoa is to start with what we do have, then move outwards, to that which we don't have but that we want. It's based on a biblical …
2. Vision > relationships > money
In this Sermon from Samoa I share another principle that we have been applying to the SWAP Foundation's work. Coming from a Christian perspective, I challenge the Western mindset that giving primarily …
1. What’s yours is mine
In the first of a series of posts focusing on the principles that we are using to weave our magic here, I share how I see biblical principles blended creatively with the traditional Samoan way of …