Wisdom from The Action Wisdom In Action

The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity.

This new book's Amazon description: "We tend to view prolonged economic downturns, such as the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Long Depression of the late nineteenth century, in terms of the crisis and pain they cause. But history teaches us that these great crises also represent opportunities to remake our economy and society and to generate whole new eras of economic growth and prosperity. In terms of innovation, invention, and energetic risk taking, these periods of "creative destruction" have been some of the most fertile in history, and the changes they put into motion can set the stage for full-scale recovery.

In The Great Reset, bestselling author and economic development expert Richard Florida provides an engaging and sweeping examination of these previous economic epochs, or "resets." He distills the deep forces that have altered physical and social landscapes and eventually reshaped economies and societies. Looking toward the future, Florida identifies the patterns that will drive the next Great Reset and transform virtually every aspect of our lives—from how and where we live, to how we work, to how we invest in individuals and infrastructure, to how we shape our cities and regions. Florida shows how these forces, when combined, will spur a fresh era of growth and prosperity, define a new geography of progress, and create surprising opportunities for all of us. Among these forces will be

* new patterns of consumption, and new attitudes toward ownership that are less centered on houses and cars
* the transformation of millions of service jobs into middle class careers that engage workers as a source of innovation
* new forms of infrastructure that speed the movement of people, goods, and ideas
* a radically altered and much denser economic landscape organized around "megaregions" that will drive the development of new industries, new jobs, and a whole new way of life

We've weathered tough times before. They are a necessary part of economic cycles, giving us a chance to clearly see what's working and what's not. Societies can be reborn in such crises, emerging fresh, strong, and refocused. Now is our opportunity to anticipate what that brighter future will look like and to take the steps that will get us there faster.

With his trademark blend of wit, irreverence, and rigorous research and analysis, Florida presents an optimistic and counterintuitive vision of our future, calling into question long-held beliefs about the nature of economic progress and forcing us to reassess our very way of life. He argues convincingly that it's time to turn our efforts—as individuals, as governments, and as a society—to putting the necessary pieces in place for a vibrant, prosperous future."

May I be the one to say that Richard Koch's Pareto Principle, or 80/20 Prnciple, would be a good one to insert at this time? Basically, we're all going to be doing more with less (time, people, things, money), and we'd better get on the train, or risk being thrown UNDER it. The future and how we live and work in it are going to seem desolate and scorched compared to the heady days of 2007-2008. Making money and doing business in the future is going to require a limber mind to acrobat around and through new regulation, and to find new sources of revenue...from every possible corner of the earth.

In another book (I don't remember if it was Richard Florida's or Daniel Pink's), we're told to embrace homosexuals as a leading source of innovative thinking, and that areas with large populations of them will become our next "economic progress zones." From what I've seen (which admittedly isn't much), most homosexuals prefer to take the Socialist route when thinking about the future--mainly, they struggle just to get equal rights, and ask "where's MY free lunch?" (probably from being embraced by Democrats). Maybe the innovation and progress comes later...or, maybe they're missing a key ingredient: money.

I have my suspicions about Richard Branson of Virgin Airlines--look at all the things he's done (and doing), yet we see no Mrs. Branson. I don't care--just get us back to space, Branson!

Richard Florida may not always be 100% dead-on, but he does offer plump and juicy food for thought. My advice is to read it and get a taste of what MAY be coming, and how to possibly navigate in it. I'm getting a copy. even though I'm not in business--I need to know how to navigate too!

Radical Housewives. Someone has finally put our lifestyles down on paper and turned them into a book.

Farmer Jane. Tells of how women are taking the lead in sustainable food production, and one woman's story in particular.

I'm getting copies.

Zero Cost Living.

It recommends to get solar panels to eliminate your energy bills. The one poor customer review (and she admits she's "poor") says to save money on this book, get it in Kindle format, then download it to your computer. Someone commented to her review.

I'm surprised she didn't get a Smart phone involved!

The book itself is frugal living from a man's point of view--in other words, it isn't frugal living as you and I know. It's the techy throw-money-at-a-problem-to-make-it-go-away liberal male version of frugal living. Men like Gary the Dollar Stretcher have it right.

I'm sure there may be some gems among the dirt, but I'm certainly not going to shell out for this one unless I see it in a thrift store or yard sale, and I'm certainly not going to buy a Kindle to "read" it.

It slays me that some people just don't realize that they have too much. A Kindle to read books when you're broke? Sheesh!! What next--an Ipod to listen to music you can get for free from a radio?

Excuse me while I laugh all the way to the bank. :D

All Marketers Are Liars.

Green Cooking: Reducing Your Carbon Footprint in the Kitchen.

Julia Child must be spinning in her grave.

"Green" cooking isn't just about local eating, local food sources, or vegetarianism--it also includes "green" methods, "green" cookware, "green" appliances, "green" ingredients...just enough obstacles to turn you off cooking and baking forever.

I guess green to the author means going to restaurants--SHE'S being green, but the restaurant isn't (undoubtedly). The only REAL green method is to never have been born, or at the very least, be hooked up to an IV bag or feeding tube (no carbon-emitting appliances, cookware, ingredients, or methods, unless you count the manufacture).

It's no wonder Gen Y, Z, AA, and BB (the millenials) hang out in the drive-thru---it's probably the Al Gore thing to do!

MY version of "green" cooking (or standard operating procedure around here) is to NOT cook unless it's absolutely necessary. Needless to say, we eat a lot of raw vegetables in salads. Also, what cooking I do get done is in large batches, so I don't have to do it often, and I schedule my cooking/baking to be done during off-peak hours. Soon, I'm going to be starting a garden, and will cut down my refrigerator use by letting the yard store my foods (we have next to no leftovers around here--I've finally learned to cook/bake for four: me, Hubby, and my breakfast/his lunch the next day).

The New Good Life: Living Better Than Ever in An Age of Less by John Robbins (heir to the Baskin-Robbins fortune, but recently went broke).

There is a foreword by Vickie Robin, co-author of Your Money or Your Life. The book comes out in March.

This book would probably be more useful to the grasshoppers-turned-ants than the black-belt frugalite ants, but hey--you gotta start somewhere!

Larry Winget (of financial education fame) wrote a stellar tome that should be required reading: Your Kids Are Your Own Fault.

A worthy strike back at parental abdication, I'd say.

"Kids today are over-indulged, over-entertained, under-achieving, and under-disciplined, with a sense of entitlement that is crippling society. And the real problem is that parents aren't paying attention to what's going on. If they were they would realize that most kids today barely read and write, except with their thumbs on their cell phones!

Well-behaved, respectful kids are the exception, not the rule, and for the most part, parents are to blame. Responsible parenting is about beginning with the end in mind and parenting with a plan. But most parents have never stopped to consider what kind of adult they want to raise. They have all this fun creating a baby, but they don't have a plan for the end product."

This should be taught in high schools.

From the Curious Capitalist blog at Time Magazine.

"I didn't learn anything new about monetary economics or the Federal Reserve, but I did learn a lot about the thinking of Ron Paul. It turns out to be a curious mix of the sensible and the delusional. To put it differently, Paul has wrapped a mostly cogent critique of central banking in general and the Fed in particular inside a decidedly Utopian view of what a world without central banks would look like. At one point in the first chapter he warns that "ending the Fed is not a magic pill to usher in Utopia." Then, throughout the rest of that chapter and the rest of the book he describes how ending the Fed would usher in a state of affairs that sounds an awful lot like, well, Utopia."

...

"There's lots of wisdom in Paul's Fed critique, and his espousal of the virtues of prudence and saving and hard work. But in this book, at least, he succumbs to the temptation of promising an easy way out. Guess he's more of a typical politician than I'd been led to think."

Cheaper and Better: Homemade Alternatives to Store-Bought Goods

This book is old, but good if you use a lot of store-bought stuff regularly. I used to own this book, but donated it to my library once I figured out I don't need it for myself.

In this economic time, others may welcome the recommendation.