A Celebration of Abundance

William McDonough, author of Cradle to Cradle, spoke at Xavier last night to a packed house, including me. I was enlivened by his message of abundance, hope, and the promise of great design.

Below are some of the key points of his talk, as I heard and recorded it.

We need a Revolution. Revolutions are based on values. We need to change the way we act based on a new set of values, not a new set of metrics. To cause a revolution, you must have 5% of the thinking population aligned with your values. We are almost there.

New design is required. When we have regulations, it is a signal of design failure. Mr. McDonough is an architect, so he focuses on design. We have to ask ourselves, "What is our design for our species?"

Renewable energy is the answer. Sunlight is the only true income that the earth has. We need to celebrate renewable energy and get on it, now.

The earth belongs to the living. Life is abundant. We need to stop thinking in terms of limits of resources and design our world to mirror nature, a truly abundant renewable system. We need change now and we need it fast.

Nature is not a tool. We are part of nature. Nature is a treasure to be celebrated, not a resource to be used.
Natures design is:
• Waste is food
• Use
• Celebrate diversity
• Anticipate evolution

We can do better than recycle, we can upcycle. Upcycling is to take something toxic and make it pure.
Values are our starting point, followed by principles, goals, strategies, tactics and actions.
Monoculture is backward. Poly-culture is forward. Build the soil.
Be an optimist.
Don’t settle for doing less bad. Instead, actively strive to do more good.

I resonated with the values comments, as when we are taking clients thru The Prosperity Experience, we start with values. Everything springs forth from values and it changes the dynamics of everything that follows. If we lived all our lives that way, what a different world it would be.

What can you do? His answer was "Follow your bliss", but do it using the principles outlined. Use nature as your guide, celebrate abundance and expect evolution.

A new discovery is like fire, it has no chance but to spread.