Surviving America

Six Words for This Morning

2008-05-04T11:37:00.001-07:00

Beeep! Snooze. Beeep! Snooze. Beeep! Snooze.

The Socially Proactive Stamp

2008-05-04T00:34:00.001-07:00

I just read Seth Godin's latest post about "green marketing," and how it stands to be misunderstood or abused. That is, until someone can put a number to it. Once you can see the impact of your choices on a scale from 1 to 100 you'll make better choices, and the companies that offer those choices will prosper.

It's like the "fairtrade" stamp. Before that stamp your average consumer had no way to verify whether workers were being paid enough for their work. Now, at least we know that someone is looking into it, even if we don't know all the criteria that the fairtrade stamp represents.

Same with the "organic" stamp. I don't know exactly what it takes to grow organic apples, nor do I know all the ways in which they are better for me and for the world than regular apples. But I know that someone knows, and that they stamped it.

As the practice of social business takes off, in all its various forms, there is going to be a lot of confusion. The mixed motives of profit and compassion make for murky mission statements. I've seen it myself in building Acholi Beads, my first socially proactive business. The models of non-profit and for-profit are so firmly entrenched in consumer mentalities that they will gladly buy from a company that makes no claims as to how it treats its workers, but will thumb their noses at one that promises great things for the poor. Because there is no stamp to prove it.

As with "green" marketing, there is ample opportunity for companies to neglect or abuse the concept of social business in order to make a buck. So if we are going to make this thing as powerful as it can be, we need to start working towards that stamp. People need that stamp, just like I need the organic stamp.

My friends Aaron, Daniel, Derek, Ben, Kevin and Clayton are all experimenting with socially proactive business models, and I know there are many more out there looking to do the same. Together we're going to learn how to do this right.

Try Harder...

2008-05-03T21:22:00.000-07:00

My buddy Daniel came by our Acholi Beads locale at a local music festival today. The guy drips web savvy - you can actually follow the trail. Today the trail led back to his new blog "Try Harder to Suck Less." He kindly posted a video of a quick interview we did.

Check it out here.

Six Words for May 1, 2008

2008-05-02T09:26:00.001-07:00

Walked where San Diego meets Africa.

Six Words for April 23, 2008

2008-04-24T00:17:00.000-07:00

Standing here, leaning into the future.

Six Words for April 22, 2008

2008-04-22T21:49:00.000-07:00

Transition: A life in the re-making

Six Words for April 19, 2008

2008-04-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

Sudanese kids, Ugandan beads, and me.

Six Words for April 17, 2008

2008-04-17T22:35:00.000-07:00

Creative Action. Creative Action. Creative Action.

Life, captured in a short sentence

2008-04-17T16:23:00.000-07:00

Like the new six word adventure? It was inspired by Smith Magazine. They held a contest for memoirs. Writers could use only six words. They could not use five. And they certainly could not use seven. So they had to be creative. Check out the video linked here. Life stories in only six words. Turns out, they say a lot.

Like Microsoft Word for the Human Machine

2008-04-16T23:08:00.000-07:00

Community: the killer app of humanity.

[Update: I've changed my mind. I think love is the killer app of humanity. Community is what love looks like broadly lived.]

On television, creativity, and adventure

2008-04-16T22:28:00.000-07:00

I was watching the debate between Obama and Clinton tonight and saw ads for upcoming television episodes: "This Thursday on Grey's Anatomy..." followed by references to past and upcoming fictional drama.

So many people are invested in these shows. They wait for the writers to dictate their emotions, to dream up their adventures and script their happy endings. When such passion awaits your passivity at the end of the day, it's much easier to live the life of the American consumer.

But what if we turned off the TV? What if we had to create our own stories? What if the only drama and comedy and adventure that we felt were for real, created and pursued by us, in the real world around us? What if sitting on the couch was the least interesting part of our day?

Oh what a world it would be. And I'd like to build it. I'm not very good yet at creating adventure, at coming up with the situations that we need for fulfillment, that will replace TV. But I know some people who are. Let's make that happen. Let's create our own lives. Let's live adventurously. Let's be the show. And let's invite everyone to join the cast.

Six Words for April 16, 2008

2008-04-16T22:09:00.000-07:00

Ate lunch quietly in the sun.

Six words for April 15, 2008

2008-04-16T00:30:00.000-07:00

Building a rocket? Or another wagon?

It's for everyone

2008-04-15T23:07:00.000-07:00

What percentage of people in America can work for a non-profit? If everyone gives 10% to non-profits, and 90% of that should be used for programs, and only 50% of what's left is used for salaries, then at most, one half of 1% of people can work for a non-profit. And that's being generous.

100% of people can work for socially proactive businesses.

The Hard Work of Community

2008-04-14T22:57:00.000-07:00

We're so good at making money. Or so good at trying, at least. We work more hours per week than any society on earth, ever, so that we can bring home the paycheck. The principle of hard work for hard-earned cash is sunk deeply into our paradigms even before we can pronounce 'paradigms.'

But here we are, checks banked, enough money to buy all that we need and more, and not satisfied. Here we are, distracted and isolated. Here we are, lonely. So terribly lonely.

Loneliness, I've recently discovered, is nothing more (or less) than the desire for community. Some will tell you that it's the need for romance or marriage or sex. But it's not, not this deep, pervasive loneliness, the one that feels like the inexpressible inside of you is shouting silently. That one is the desire for a rich, vibrant, deep community.

This community only exists when a group of people decide that they are going to love each other. That's what the church is. Remember what Jesus said about spotting his followers? You'll know them by their love for one another.

But this kind of community doesn't come easily. Most people seem to think (I know I did) that if they're relatively nice, normal, perhaps even interesting people then community will rush along and embrace them and they will be satisfied. But it doesn't come. It's never as rich as they know it ought to be, as they need it to be.

That is because, just like working year after year to build wealth, it takes sacrifice and commitment to build community. It takes a thousand little tasks - scheduling time to converse, asking questions, washing someone else's dishes, giving rides to the airport. And it takes major paradigm shifts - I'm responsible for your well being, your needs are as important to me as my own. And until we are ready to do the hard work of community we will remain rich and lonely, wondering why our paychecks can't hold a decent conversation.

For those of you who have agreed that the church as we see it on Sunday mornings is not all that it could be, I have no proven answers. What I do have is a direction that I'm headed, and that I'm confident will lead us closer to the lifestyle that Jesus taught. And that is the direction of deeper, more committed community. The direction of more love for one another. I don't presume to know what that looks like in all contexts, or your context, or even my own half the time. But I challenge you to begin doing the hard work of community. I have a hunch it's going to pay off better than any paycheck I've ever gotten. (Though that's not saying much.)

Six words for April 14, 2008

2008-04-14T22:38:00.000-07:00

"... as centuries, loaded, fragrant" and tiring.

- from a favorite Emerson quote.

Six words for April 13, 2008

2008-04-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

[Hemingway was once challenged to tell a whole story using only six words. His offering: "For sale, baby shoes, never used." I'm going to try recapping my days using six words. Just for fun.]

Drove from Phoenix, no air conditioning.

Those who sweat together...

2008-04-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

I'm on may way out to Phoenix for the weekend for my friend J-Sad's bachelor party. Ironically I'm also on a parasite-killer medication that forbids me alcohol. So it'll be a fun weekend of drunk-watching.

Following on the Dear American Christian Church post and discussion, I'm working on a post about "the hard work of community." Community, in my mind, ties together a lot of the truth that I've learned about God, love, and humanity, and is a key to making some necessary changes in how we live faithful lives. I'm looking forward to hearing all of your thoughts!

Subscribe to my feed to the right to keep up to date.

"Don't tell people how to live their lives. Just tell them stories."

2008-04-09T22:58:00.000-07:00

Quote from Dr. Randy Pausch. See his "Last Lecture" here. Worth every moment.

Dear American Christian Church,

2008-04-07T16:34:00.000-07:00

- Putting a fish on the back of your SUV does not justify your excess.

- Caring for the poor, the sick, the widows and orphans, will always be more important than your new building project.

- Stop making watered-down versions of the things that the secular market is really good at. Trust in who you were meant to be and do what only you can do. If you don't know what that is, then stop everything and figure it out.

- You can be edgy, but your edge is a totally different edge than theirs.

- No number of NOTW stickers will make Christianity cool.

- I should know that you're a Christian by your love, not by your (choose one:) bumpersticker, t-shirt, CD collection, favorite books list, etc.

- Jesus didn't come so that one day all his disciples could live in really quiet, comfortable suburbs. Jesus didn't even have a house.

- Jesus didn't teach us how to be good CEOs. That's what business schools are for. Jesus taught us how to be good people.

- Spiritual growth comes from doing things, not from reading them.

- Jesus never said to his disciples: "Cultivate in yourselves a mindset such that if God were ever to call you to do something, you would be willing to do it." No, he said, "Follow me." Now.

- "Because Jesus is the only way," is not an appropriate answer when asked why you think that every other religion is wrong. Think about it.

- This whole Sunday morning thing has to stop.

- Or at least get an extreme restructuring.

- The word "communion" comes from the same root as "community" because it was meant to be a social affair, not a "be quiet, look at the floor, and eat this wafer" affair.

Apolis/IC Event this weekend

2008-04-03T15:01:00.000-07:00

My friends at Apolis Activism (totally on board the Socially Proactive Business train) are having an event this Saturday at Bloomingdale's in South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa. They've been huge supporters of IC and are helping us sell some bracelets at Bloomingdale's. Come by and support them as they support us! http://www.apolisactivism.com/

If you want to caravan from San Diego, drop me a line, or if you'll be there and want to meet up, let me know.

Oh, and bring a hundred bucks or so. You won't be disappointed.

Learn from failure

2008-04-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

If you really do learn more from failure than anything else, go get a quick graduate degree at the FAIL blog. Hilarious.

PODcasts

2008-04-01T23:45:00.000-07:00

Podcasts have almost taken over television, radio, and even movies as my entertainment of choice. Why? They are almost completely controllable, which means focussable. I choose what sorts of things I want to download, and I take them with me wherever I go for consumption at my convenience. And there is a ton of good stuff. The best of NPR and PRI for instance, and a host of resources that you don't find on TV because it wouldn't sell ads. And it's all free.

Some of my recent favorites:

Karen Armstrong's Wish speech at TED:
http://tinyurl.com/2965oh

To the Best of Our Knowledge on Pop Music:
http://tinyurl.com/ysuygj

And everything by This American Life:
http://tinyurl.com/y39ccr

Kinda like Jesus did it

2008-03-28T13:57:00.000-07:00

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/03/28/social-worker-befrie.html

Unsolicited Thoughts on the Purpose of Life

2008-03-26T21:28:00.002-07:00

I was thinking about life again the other day, you know, like you do. This time it was while watching "A River Runs Through It" in an apartment in Uganda. If you haven't seen this decade-old movie and still don't want it spoiled, go buy it off the discount rack and come back after watching it. For the rest of you, there are two brothers; one dies essentially of his own excess. The other lives - outlives his brother, outlives his father, outlives his wife. He lives until he is alone.

Watching the movie end with a sad, lonely old man fishing by himself I wondered whether it was better to be the brother who died or the one who lived. If life in culmination is to bear the pain of loved ones dying, to be that pain to some, to grow old and lonely and wait for the next breath not to come, then why should we live?

If there is an answer that can win this point, it occurred to me that it must be: Love. That if there is something transcendent in this world, something that lets us reach outside of this desert and play our hand in the cool current of the eternal, it is love. I can’t say why this is true, or even how I know it, except to say that I think we all know it, and always have.