Laurien Meuter
Laurien Meuter is the founder of Tiny Miracles, a platform dedicated to finding a solution for global poverty. Formerly a banker, Laurien started Tiny Miracles to help 1 million people break out of their own poverty cycle—and stay out of it.
If you could recommend 3 books to anyone, what would they be?
Poor Economics by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo
This book was written by Nobel Prize winners for Economics—Banerjee and Duflo. They research the real nature of poverty. Their allergy to grand solutions to fight global poverty confirm what so many probably think. They explore what the poor actually think, feel, aspire, do. The poor need more than food, they need programs that empower them to break their poverty cycle.
For me this was a very hopeful book, in the sense that it was a great confirmation that poverty should be tackled at the root cause, and it makes poverty more ‘human’. This also paves the way into developing a targeted solution together with the poor themselves which truly works on a large scale.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Nothing is impossible! I love all Roald Dahl’s book, and especially this one. I can still feel the golden wrapper excitement, the magic. It shows to trust the process, that its worth waiting as the best is yet to come. I like the grand and the tiny of the story: If you dream it you can do it!
This book by Osho really gave me great insights to live a more free and joyful life. It shows there is a big difference between aloneness and loneliness. That you are a free human being, don’t get distracted by the crowd. Create circumstances which make you feel good. It starts with you. If you can work from your own source, life starts to blossom. It is written in a way that you can take the insights into your daily life and experience what Osho shows you.
I still open this book once in a while randomly and read some pages and see if I can find any ‘new’ fresh insights.
What are you reading now?
The Responsible Company by Yvon Chouinard and Vincent Stanley
Whose reading list are you most curious about?
“Abhijit Banerjee.”
— Laurien Meuter
