Well, that’s because stuff like love and caring and compassion have been severely underrated in today’s world. I don’t know when it happened. One theory is that feelings and emotions, along with the arts, religion and humanities, were swept under the carpet with the Scientific Revolution. Another theory is that, because stuff like feelings, emotions, arts, etc. are more feminine, our male-dominated culture doesn’t take them too seriously. Of course, there have also been alot of scammers and grifters over the years who pray on people with the emotional sell that have given this stuff a bad name.

Either way (and it is probably a little of all of the above + a bunch of other stuff), invoking love as something to spread has become a bit of an eye-roll initiator. But that’s okay, we understand the apprehension.

Really, we just want to inject compassion and caring back into culture. We think it is the core of connections and connections is at the heart of community. Without community, we’ve grown a bit of a dark pit of despair in our lives. We can’t trust our neighbors. We spend more time worrying about our future than enjoying today. We feel lonely too often. We are talked at, not with. There seems to be a big, grey, negative cloud hanging around us as we move throughout life.

But, when we are around friends and loved ones - people we can trust and who we care about - we can relax. Smile. Laugh heartily. Troubles seem a million miles away. Or, at least we have someone to share them with. We feel like we matter. We are given confidence to face the world.

According to research by both Dan Gilbert and Daniel Goleman, there are many positive effects to being loved:

• We live longer.
• While we live longer, our immune systems are stronger, so we are healthier.
• We are more beautiful. Healthy people with strong immunities look younger, longer.
• We do better in our careers. When we are loved, we feel more confident, which leads to others seeing it, which leads to better opportunities.
• We make more money. Okay, so I’m extrapolating, but I’d bet that there are studies out there that would show that people with positive relationships make more money in their lifetimes.
• We pass it along to others who also benefit.

There are instantly positive effects to spreading love, too. When you do something nice for another person, they are not the only ones who benefit. In fact, according to Social Intelligence, both the giver and the receiver get a boost that raises immunity. Doing nice stuff for others can be an entirely selfish act.

So, then, how do you spread love, then? Well, there are millions of ways to do it, but here are just a few we want to promote:

• When you see an opportunity, pay a stranger a compliment. It’s tiny, but effective.
• Reward someone for their own good deeds. If someone you know spends alot of time giving to others, tell them that you recognize their generosity. Even better, take them for dinner or buy them a card.
• On the flipside, if someone is nasty and selfish, point out that these aren’t great attitudes. Approach them with compassion, though. Nastiness and selfishness are often products of not getting enough love. You may have to show this person the way.
• Tell the people who you care about that you love them. It sounds basic, but many people forget.
• Practice empathy. Everyone has a different point of view. Even if that P.O.V. is something you think is totally backwards and idiotic, put yourselves in their shoes to try and understand where s/he is coming from. You’ll also do better in debates.
• Book off time for your family and friends. Work is important, but people time is important, too. We’re bad at this. We love our work so much that we forget to step back at times.
• If you know alot of people, find ways to help them connect. Share your network. Share your connections.
• When someone is talking to you, pay them your full attention. If you can’t, schedule a time when you can.
• Find out as much about someone you just met as you can and always be watching out for opportunities to help them out. Tim Sanders talks alot about this in Love is the Killer App. People WILL remember when you’ve remembered them.
• Be interested in what people do. What they are passionate about. What matters to them. Not what you can gain from them.

As you spread love, you will raise whuffie (a.k.a. Social Capital). And whuffie is the capital of the future.