What Matters Now?

The world has changed. Unemployment is up. Real estate is down. Poverty is up. Spending is down. The deficit is up (for many households and governments). Charitable giving is down. The number of people using food pantry's is up..etc..etc..

The world has changed. Some say for the worse others say for the better. When hard times strike we no longer know what to do because we have raised a generation that has never had to work hard for anything. A generation where everyone gets a trophy and loosing teams get to play consolation games instead of having their seasons end early. Maybe these challenging times will help our children learn the values of hard work and dedication that got lost somewhere along the way.

We need a different way of thinking. Not to figure out how to return to excesses of the past two decades but to chart a new more healthy and rationale course forward for ourselves, our families, our companies and our countries.

Seth Godin has organized a group of over 60 big thinkers, from all different walks of life, to give their insights and ideas about What Matters Now. Their thoughts have been compiled in a just released FREE ebook. Read it, download it, share it, keep the conversation going. No single person has all the answers but together we can create a better future.
What Matters Now

We remember...

Tonight we remember these children who touched our lives. Each year the list grows but the memories never fade.

Connor
Kyle
Evan
Zach
Sam
Aubrey
Ryan
Tommy
Tyler
Grace
Danny
Wesley
Joel
Maxine
Mattie
Nathan
Victoria
Sara
Christian
Danny
Landon
Kevin
Charis
Justin
Brody
Noah
Gavin
Andrew
Evan
Heather
Elijah
Coleman
Armstrong

The Fun Theory

If you want people to work harder for something change it from work to fun.

How David beats Goliath...

A fine essay by Malcolm Gladwell

It shouldn’t be so hard...

The following quote from one of the parents Connor's House supports illustrates the sad reality that is the American medical system. The fragmented and territorial nature of our health care system places an unnecessary and often almost unmanageable burden of care coordination on the parents of children with complex health care needs and life-shortening conditions.

"Trying to coordinate an appt with two doctors in the city, one in the burbs (where we are) and us...I think it is the equivalent to trying to bring peace to the Middle East!! It shouldn't be so hard..."

Stress

Stress is like rain for the world's crops. Too little and there is drought. Too much and there is disaster. Right now I feel like it has been raining for about two weeks straight. It's not a disaster yet but I could sure use a sunny day sometime soon.

Maximize your investment

If you have earned a lot of money I suppose that gives you the right to spend it however you want to. But can I make a suggestion to very wealthy people who either have, or are considering, running for political office. It likely sounds naive but I will give anyone who runs for public office the benefit of the doubt that they really do want to make a difference in peoples lives. If that is the case, I would encourage them to really think about whether spending millions upon millions of dollars, of their own money, on an election campaign is the best way to make a difference in people's lives. Even if you are elected the difference you make must exceed the amount you spent to get elected, otherwise you didn't maximize your investment in people's lives. Is Micheal Bloomberg really going to make $100 million dollars of difference in people's lives over the next four years as Mayor of New York (could he have accomplished just as much with an investment of only $50 million)? We could have built Connor's House and operated it FOREVER on less than the cost of the New York Mayors race (If you would like to make a contribution Mr. Bloomberg please click here). John Corzine, Mit Romney, Steve Forbes...what benefit will ever be realized by the millions you spent on your losing campaigns? Carly Fiorina, as you begin your quest for a Senate seat I urge you to think about this question as you consider how much of your vast resources to invest in your political campaign. Win or loose, consider if your investment will maximize the benefit received by others.