http://generationinstantgratification.com

http://www.newsweek.com/id/43884

Money and Happiness

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2007/11/sad-superrich-feel-supermalaise.php

Sign Of The Times

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29552692/

To Execute or Not - A Question of Cost?

Call Out: For anyone who thinks the cause of this economic crisis is our economy, guess what? It isn't. The reason we are where we now sit, is 100%, the state of our culture. This has been coming in the form of a slow building silent avalanche for quite some time now... but we have closed our eyes very tightly to it. After all, it is much easier to stare at the Standard & Poor's stock market exchange review and blame Wall Street, than it is to look at the 2 Mercedes in our driveway cozily parked in front of our heated swimming pools.

The words Almighty Dollar have far more connotated depth than we may have ever suspected. Look at how we live and the choices we make about the neighborhoods we move into (as upscale as possible), the schools we attend (as prestigious as we can afford), the things we study (MBA), the careers we pick (by earning potential or status), the houses we buy (McMansions- preferably at the beach or on a hill or in the country), cars we purchase (BMW, Lexus, Benz), the places we shop (Nordstroms at sale time) = this would be a candid inventory of our lifestyles. Therefore, as demonstrated by our actions, we genuflect with hushed reverence at the altar of the synonymous deity of power/money that dwells in the church of Forbes. Be honest--look at how we act when we are talking to a busboy versus when we are talking to someone who is one of the wealthiest people in the world. It is night and day. For who among us does not desire to be rich and famous? Now, before you go on and have a seizure at the mere suggestion of such a blasphemous combination of words, allow me to clarify. There is nothing wrong with money and fame, but never ever as an objective or goal. Oh, darn. I just eliminated pretty much our whole society and nearly every role model in it. Sorry about that, but not really.

*Note: I would never be doing such an inane thing as this here project if I didn't wholeheartedly believe you deserved so much better than this ever spiraling madness/inhumanity/collapse known as our present-day world. And I could never speak of one ounce of these concepts if I had not spent a lifetime sacrificing everything, including willingly living with nothing, in order for the world to know that new models do exist. Otherwise I would just be one more person flapping their jaws and selling themselves, commodified as a product, so that they can pick up their checks and get on their private jet to go speak at the next environmental rally. Nope, I refuse to ever pretend-prostitute. (After all, if one is going to prostitute, you might as well have the self-respect to do the real thing and just be honest about it instead.) The reason I have taken this road which has no footsteps to follow in, is because of the purity of what belongs to this world is much too important [understatement] and deserves to be protected as such. I am not averse to money, au contraire. The entire point of this is for people to have solutions that support them living IN the modern world, and fabulously so; however the first priority is to do what must be done for these times. And there is no way around it-- to do anything of significance generally takes a boatload of sacrifice and conviction. That said, it is my greatest joy to answer this call, no matter what it has required from me. All because of your beauty.

Now, here are 2 more concepts this project is introducing por vous:

The American Dream Wakes Up
The realization that the gated community, two story house, SUV, and expensive alarm can’t keep out the world, nor can it guarantee your security. Life in a bubble is an exercise in futility. And an expensive one; the bubble inevitably bursts to reveal two things: everyone must eventually face themselves, and every home is connected to the rest of the world. Our current global condition necessitates both of these awakenings.

Bling Is Just A Cry For Help
The belief that status symbols which desperately attempt to convey the image of power, actually demonstrate a deep need for validation to prove one’s worth and prestige.

Take a look (from the first article listed at the top of this post):

2004 analysis of more than 150 studies on wealth and happiness concluded that "economic indicators have glaring shortcomings" as approximations of well-being across nations, wrote Ed Diener of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and Martin E. P. Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania. "Although economic output has risen steeply over the past decades, there has been no rise in life satisfaction … and there has been a substantial increase in depression and distrust."

We have confused "to be" with "to have". We know how to make money, but we don't really know how to do it in a way that is still humane and doesn't require selling out your own brother. Literally. What if there was a way to generate profit AND not destroy everything/everyone else in the process?

Enter a phrase intended to jolt an open-minded discussion, so please read the definition, (because no, I am definitely not a socialist; am the furthest thing from it, thank you).

Socialist-Capitalism
An economic model that integrates the truth contained in both extremes: a free trade market with global awareness and social conscience, effectively transforming the force for greed into a force for good; emphasizes the spirit of Adam Smith free market competition synergized with 21^st century global inter-dependency. In a one sentence description: Anything real is a circle.

From The Wealth Of Nations:

"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages."

-Adam Smith

Obviously, the world has watched the hideous failure of socialism, communism, Marxism, colonialism, imperialism, and yes, objectivism. The solution for these times are not to be found in models that endorse either a gluttonous non-regulated free for all, any more than it can be found in a warped idea of a collective utopia where government takes care of everyone. History shows the disastrous results of all of these extreme and unbalanced models, however there are valuable truths that can be extracted from each one.

The 21st century requires new structures that are intelligent, human, just, compassionate, accountable, and wise. Individuals are absolutely responsible for themselves. No one has the right to force their beliefs on another, just as no one has the right to expect handouts. And governments have an essential duty to uphold a reliable public infrastructure. Period. Money and government are neither divine nor evil; they each have their proper function in a healthy society. The fact that government and our overall value of money and wealth have morphed into something else entirely is due only to one factor of causation: the state of human beings. That has to be the focus. Capitalism is not the issue, we are. Capitalism only amplifies the behavior and intentions of those operating within it. And now the cause de jour of the Prius People is to demonize big business or corporate America? How reductive. Capitalism and The U.S. Constitution, The Bill Of Rights, The Declaration of Independence, all offer one of the greatest combined possibilities for a nation. Yet, it must finally be understood that the reality of this country will always be determined by the state of its citizens. We are what make up corporate America and all American business. The economy will awaken as we do. And this is the definition for what I call Trickle Up Economics.

The need to awaken individuals is paramount because fundamentally, no matter what structure is devised, as long as the majority of human beings are deeply disconnected-- we will endlessly remain in our current predicament. We are now confronting the cumulative result of an entire society rife with unbridled self-interest, entitlement, the obsession with making more money, luxury, self-righteous activism, success-myopia, living beyond our means, competing against our neighbors, ruthless opportunism, greed and corruption... all multiplied times each other. We have a bad case of Donald Trump-itis: the blatant worship of the dollar sign, the excessive grandeur, the gilded lifestyle, the extravagant cars/yachts and vacations, and the picking of wives as if fantasy employees-- pretty and empty and silent. Wow, how impressive! What success! Yet, we do indeed bow down to this madness; and what is worse is that we are all chasing it with our foot to the gas pedal. That is what this project seeks to address: how to break the cycle that always leads straight into the wall, at full speed.

To summarize:

In the absence of meaning, there is inescapable disaster.

or

To quote Erich Fromm:

If I am what I have and if I lose what I have, who then am I?

Talk About It: These times are a giant poster for Generation Instant Gratification; living la vida IG is what brought us here. Discuss how you feel we can move forward in a gigantic form of Life Rehab, because that is what it is going to take for things to change economically.

A whore is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

- Oscar Wilde

Money, and the constant grasping for it, takes the unintended spot of top priority in the lives of most people, eclipsing most everything else. Although they will never admit it aloud, it is abundantly obvious in why people do all the things that they do and the way they arrange their lives; in choices both large and small throughout the duration of their lifetime. Case in point: how many families have been gutted by the "I" word, Inheritance, and all the consequent carnage? You know the scenario: when someone lay dying, and outside are 'loved ones' asking for an asset breakdown. It is truly the same in our families as it is in our business world: problems always arise when money-grubbing avaricious intentions are behind everything, but are neatly covered up and carefully concealed. However, as we are seeing now in the corporate world... the truth always comes out. I have seen many families in serious dramas that are the exact parallel to AIG. No accident there because the micro IS the macro. Moving out of these times requires a culture wide shift.

The good news is, the worst part is over. (Well, yes, things are going to continue to hit the fan during this time as many old, antiquated models expire; but you won't need to hit the fan with them.) That fact you are even reading this means you have survived a great deal already. Now, equipped with the force of illumination = to create new and smarter infrastructures = unstoppable beneficial growth, for our society and ourselves, in all sectors.

This project is a call for Intelligent Capitalism. What are your thoughts on this?