Altruism by way of self-improvement, or what optimizing your workflow has to do with saving children with mosquito nets in Africa
This year, The Domino Project set out to change the future of publishing, and now it's out to change the future of philanthropy. The project's latest release, by author Michael Bungay Stanier of Box of Crayons fame, is out to tackle one of our civilization's grimmest epidemics: malaria. (And if the gravity of the issue still hasn't stopped you dead in your tracks -- like, for instance, the fact that a child dies of malaria every 45 seconds -- watch Bill Gates' 2009 TED talk.)
End Malaria: Bold Innovation, Limitless Generosity, and the Opportunity to Save a Life, released on End Malaria Day today, is a fantastic anthology that will save lives -- by helping you be better, smarter, more efficient at your job. The book features essays, tips, and insights on great work by 62 leading writers and thinkers -- including Brain Pickings favorites Sir Ken Robinson, Brené Brown,Kevin Kelly, Scott Belsky, Barry Schwartz, Daniel Pink, Derek Sivers and more -- with $20 out of every $25 book sale (that's 80 percent, for the mathematically challenged) going to Malaria No More to buy mosquito nets for Africa, still the most effective malaria prevention method. (For comparison purposes, most product-based charitable contributions are in the 5-10 percent range.)