It feels very appropriate that I write this on Thanksgiving day. Despite the current economic state of things those of us living in the developed world have a lot to be thankful for. We do not worry about starvation, we can generally afford to buy ourselves items considered to be quite luxurious to the rest of the world.

I have enjoyed going through the many great entries that people have submitted. However, I have noticed one point generally missing from the entries that needs to be covered.

There are many entries that detail the great successes people have had using elance. Getting to travel to exotic parts of the world. Being able to work comfortably from your home. These are some of the great opportunities that elance gives us that we should be thankful for. However, we must not forget to address the ability that elance gives to those living in the developing and third world to lift themselves out of poverty. The internet now reaches even the most remote places on earth. The most dilapidated Mumbai slum will have within reasonable distance an internet cafe. Individuals with the drive and motivation can enter the global marketplace and compete with Ivy league graduates on the other side of the world. This is the true miracle of the internet and of platforms like elance. We all get a chance. Elance does not discriminate based on where you were born or where you went to school. If one has skills to offer and enough money to spend a few hours in an internet cafe (often less than a dollar), that individual has the chance to make their life and the lives of their family much, much better.

Elance is putting power into the hands of individuals and giving us the opportunity to help one another reach our desired dreams. Be it a jet setter lifestyle or the opportunity to send your younger sibling to school.

Let’s take a moment to be thankful for living in an age where achieving your dreams is easier than ever and let us be even more thankful for being given the opportunity to make the same ideal we apply to ourselves a reality for others less fortunate than us.