This post is just some notes I took while listening to the podcast linked in a previous post. Some of the ideas or information on this post may just be fragments or phrases and they're not in any particular order. It doesn't pretend to be a structurally coherent story or narrative. If anything needs clarification, please ask.
The authors outlined a framework for understanding 'capital' in an expanded form. They talk about 8 forms of capital where the forms themselves can also be thought of as domains or areas of life as we live it in the world today.
Along with the talk about some of the 8 forms, they mention a couple of examples of exchanging capital between forms in order to build up areas where we might be weak. Example: having a bunch of money but few friends. What condition might one find themselves in if their money disappeared and they have few friends?
Here are the 8 forms of capital. Some forms have no explanation because the authors didn't talk about those during the podcast:
1) Emotional (most important one?) The authors have a particular way they like to intro this area: They say that, according to research, the first 8 years after the USSR collapsed, studies were done on causes of death.
Results: 54% of deaths were alcohol related. That's 50% more than countries like the U.S. with 4%. Suggested reason why: people lacked emotional capital. The dissolution of USSR dissolving into lots of satellite states caused huge loss of jobs. Loss of their threat narrative, loss of jobs - many fell into numbing themselves from loss of self-worth, feeling hollowed out emotionally, living a purposeless life.
The authors also mention the other side of this circumstance: In a time of such a crisis on so broad a level, we will probably see the side of life as just described, but there will be extraordinary opportunities opening up at the same time as a collapse happens and people can start preparing now.
2) Social (ex: exchange some service like babysitter for kids to get an axe splitter to use for an afternoon) This one is along the lines of trading and bartering between people in their local communities as a way of getting necessary things done.
3) Financial (money and other tradeables in the financial system) Pretty self-explanatory, I think
4) Living capital (the living systems upon which you depend...how strong, resilient are they, how much can you count on them to be there for you?)(the most important living system is your own body-increase your health, increase your capacity to do things... by hand. Educate yourself on good health and implement healthy practices-exercise, nutrition, stress management, good sleep) Consider Nature...healthy soil=healthy plants...it's about survival...and beauty...and all being functional.
Soulless, tacky, and ugly environment affects us psychologically...communicates messages like: it's ok to be lawless...Two major Narrative options people can and do have:
A)-humans are destructive, ex:rainforests, strip mining, etc or,
B)-Permaculture lesson: humans can be "accelerants of abundance", ex: we can build up topsoil faster than nature. We can use our cleverness to benefit ourselves, others and all forms of life.
5) Material (physical things we acquire)...can acquire material capital through social capital
6) Cultural (this is really more about one's local culture or the micro-culture) Example: move - if you don't like the culture of Oakland, for example, you might as well move)
7) Time - investing your time and energy into something.
The items or forms that don't require money may require other forms of capital, like time.
The authors say this is all about personal dedication and understanding that this (their framework) is not offered for just building wealth or surviving a future catastrophe; it is a good and important thing to do - not just because you're worried about the future...it'll have dividends it will pay in the future...but that's not why we would do it...just that it's a good way to live our lives today.
You'll need sets of skills and skills will be associated with developing each of these areas.
8) Knowledge (the marriage of what you know and what you know how to do)
When moving into an uncertain future, a premium will be placed on doers...skills...people who have knowledge, people who know how to do things, know how to get things done. People should play to their strengths, focus on their passions, natural aptitudes.
These are considered the elements of a resilient life or a fulfilled, happy life
Invest your time and energy in deepening the capital you have in each of these areas of your life and ask yourself "how do I want to fund that? Do I want to fund that with financial capital, with my time, emotional or social support I can give somebody..."
Benefit: tends to defuse the argument, "well, I don't really have the money...so I can't do any of this..."
We begin to realize we are empowered to strengthen each of these areas of our lives in many different ways.
There are unhappy people who may be wealthy in one or a few areas but be in poverty in other areas. Goal: to have sufficient capital in all the areas so that at the end of the day we can be happier in our lives. Not just because we're worried about the future...it'll have dividends it will pay in the future...but that's not why we would do it...just that it's a good way to live our lives today.
Steps
Taking stock of each area; ex:Financial - take stock of your finances-know your balance sheet-spread some financial capital over the other forms of capital where it makes sense (if you have some finances you can do that with); Having a plan; Use the map to map yourself into those 8 forms of capital.
A lot of people know what's coming - they are fearful and maybe rightfully so, but the problem is that their actions aren't aligned with that. Like living on top of the San Andreas fault and having no plans and having no (emergency plans) - no preparation at all for an earthquake, no rallying point for family, no communication plan for downed cell towers...in fact, they're living like they try not to think about where they're living and they have fear about this whether or not they are consciously aware of it.
Fearful:means you're probably not taking any action. When people get moving, start taking things under control, amazing things happen for people when that have to rely on themselves (skills, ability, etc).
We can't know the exact future, but we can know where we are exposed...where we have insurance (deep pantry) for this or that baked into our lives.
The authors tell some of their personal stories. They are both college grads with families and were working in the corporate world. Several years ago they decided to retire from corporate life, thinking that the good life was not going to last. They mapped out these various domains of life, figured out ways to build "wealth" into each one and converted all this thought into a framework for communicating it with others.
The authors state that becoming independent to the point of being able to rely on your own knowledge and skills takes time. One needs to research, gather information, make multiple trips to the store to get supplies or whatever. Time is also needed to experiment - to use trial and error while growing things - allowing for mistakes because you will make many of them. Time to do all this now while you can.
For example, one of the authors said that while he was working with his own gardening efforts, he made a lot of mistakes. People need to allow time for mistakes because if a whole growing season doesn't work out for you, you'll have to go to the store, get more seeds and other things to start over with. You won't be able to do that if you wait till a catastrophe has already arrived and you have to grow food and depend on those plants.
The authors provide a link to a website described as an ongoing blog with more info and tips on the framework and about the 8 forms of capital. The info provided on the blog for the 8 areas assumes the reader has read the corresponding chapter in the book. The blog doesn't try to duplicate the book. It seems mainly intended to serve for those who've made their personal plan and want to build in more granularity, read case studies, etc.
_http://www.peakprosperity.com/whatshouldido/
