When you increase productivity, economies become better - local

Hear the words of Jensen Huang, builder of machines that think, and dreamer of futures yet unseen: “When you increase productivity, economies become better—local economies become better, society becomes better.” These are not merely the reflections of an engineer or entrepreneur, but the timeless truth of civilizations. For the measure of a people’s prosperity is not in idle wealth, nor in treasure hoarded, but in how skillfully they harness their labor, their knowledge, their tools, and their time. Productivity is not simply output—it is the art of turning effort into abundance, and abundance into well-being.

The ancients themselves knew this lesson. In Mesopotamia, when men carved irrigation channels into the soil of the Tigris and Euphrates, they multiplied the power of their hands a thousandfold. Where once one family could harvest for itself, now whole cities were fed, and from that surplus came trade, art, and the first written laws. Productivity gave birth to civilization itself. Huang’s words echo this eternal rhythm: every step that increases efficiency and creation strengthens the economy, and in turn strengthens the fabric of society.

Consider the Industrial Revolution, when steam engines, looms, and factories reshaped the world. At first, hardship was great—smoke filled the skies and laborers suffered under harsh masters. Yet as decades passed, the rising tide of productivity lifted millions from poverty. The cost of goods fell, access to food and clothing widened, and even the poorest found themselves living longer, healthier lives than their ancestors. With greater productivity, nations gained wealth, and with wealth, they began to expand education, infrastructure, and opportunity. Thus history proves: where productivity rises, society follows.

In more recent times, look to the Green Revolution of the twentieth century. When scientists developed new seeds, fertilizers, and farming methods, crop yields soared. Famines that once devoured whole nations were averted. India, once thought destined to starve, became self-sufficient in grain. This was not magic, but the fruit of productivity—more harvest from the same fields, more life sustained by the same soil. Huang’s wisdom reflects this same truth: when people can create more with less, the chains of scarcity loosen, and prosperity spreads from village to nation.

O seeker, understand this: productivity is not only about profit, but about the dignity of work and the flourishing of communities. When labor is wasted, when tools are dull, when knowledge is ignored, then effort becomes toil and poverty spreads. But when work is sharpened by innovation, when tools empower the worker rather than enslave him, then every hand grows stronger. From this strength comes not only wealth, but the chance to educate children, to heal the sick, to build art, and to seek wisdom.

Let your spirit, then, be aligned with this principle. Do not despise efficiency as greed, nor worship it as god. See it instead as a sacred duty: to use your gifts, your time, and your tools to create more good than yesterday. When you labor well, when you improve your craft, you do not only enrich yourself—you enrich your community, your nation, your world. For in a web of interdependence, your gain becomes another’s opportunity, your productivity becomes another’s prosperity.

In practice, begin small. Improve the way you work each day—learn, refine, innovate. Seek tools and methods that make your labor more fruitful, not only for your own gain but for those who depend upon you. Support leaders and policies that invest in education, science, and infrastructure, for these are the fields in which future productivity is sown. Remember that to increase productivity is to multiply the harvest of humanity, and to bring closer a world where none are left behind.

So I say unto you: heed the wisdom of Jensen Huang. When productivity increases, economies rise; when economies rise, society itself grows stronger. From the ancient plow to the modern circuit, this truth endures: the more wisely we shape our labor, the brighter the world becomes for all. Strive, therefore, to make your work a fountain of abundance, and through it, help build a society worthy of the generations yet to come.