Happiness
I have a new column on Unreasonable.is, which is where this five part series is published:
- Part 1: The JOBS Act will unlock $30 Trillion in long-term investment capital that can legally be invested in startups and small businesses through crowdfunding portals.
- Part 2: Currently, investors have a stranglehold on the fundraising process. Once the JOBS Act is implemented, there will be a leveling of the playing field in which entrepreneurs and citizen-investors control the process.
- Part 3: Investment crowdfunding enables individuals to invest in companies they are passionate about, and in so doing, outperform professional investors.
- Part 4: “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life or do you want to come with me and change the world?”
- Part 5: There is a second revolution coming: investing directly in people. When it collides with crowdfunding, this will create a perfect storm….
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Adjacent Possible, Alternative Institutions, Cooperation, Crowdsourcing, Economics, Happiness, Incentives, Markets, Scarcity / Abundance, Social Capital, Social Entrepreneurship ,
[NOTE: I updated this post with more detailed examples]
Background: part 3, part 2 and part 1.
In the interview with Jon Gunn in Part 3, I mention that I’ve been thinking of what “version 2” of the Personal Investment Contract might look like. Here’s the model:
- Investment Amount - Same as before, intended to give the individual some time to pursue their passion (or figure out what that is) without having to worry about how to support themselves.
- Maximum Return - The cumulative total amount that the investor can receive as return on their investment. If and when this amount is reached, the contract is over.
- Annual Exclusion - The amount of annual income the entrepreneur can make without having to share any of it with the investor.
- Minimum Revenue Share - The minimum percentage of gross income the entrepreneur returns to the investor after deducting the Annual Exclusion.
Following are some examples of various different career paths and uses for a …
Alternative Institutions, Cooperation, Happiness, Incentives, Innovation, Interventions, Investing, Psychology, Scarcity / Abundance, Social Capital, Social Entrepreneurship, Trust ,
For the background to this post, start with part 2 and part 1. The follow up is part 4.
I get a lot of questions from folks who are interested in learning more about Personal Investment Contracts and so I felt it was time to synthesize some of the most common ones and give you some answers.
Who is the first person you invested in?
A film maker named Jon Gunn.
What is your relationship with Jon outside of this investment?
He is my brother-in-law, and a former business partner of mine in an instructional DVD company we co-founded with Phil Gordon. I’ve also invested in a couple of his independent films.
Why did you invest in Jon directly?
I have been a big believer in his talent for a long time. None of the ventures I just mentioned though have made me any return on my investment. Phil had been suggesting for a while that if we simply invested directly in …
Alternative Institutions, Creativity, Happiness, Health, Incentives, Innovation, Interventions, Investing, Psychology, Scarcity / Abundance, Social Capital ,
Based on an informal assessment and polling I’ve done recently, here’s what we fear:
- Identity
- LOSING ONESELF
- Death / Pain / Insignificance
- BEING WRONG
- Self-Exploration / Failure / Change
- INAUTHENTICITY
- Being Found Out / Self-Expression / Lying
- Control
- EMOTIONAL
- Power / Anticipation / Fear-Itself
- OTHERS
- Intimacy / Just Doing It / (Lack of) Freedom
- THE UNCONTROLLABLE
- Disaster / Crisis / Unknown-Unknowns
- Authority
- RIGHTS
- Being Unworthy / Unmet Expectation / Meaninglessness
- MORALITY
- Unfairness / Inequality / Injustice
- RULES
- Doing it Wrong / Shame / Guilt
Each of us has a unique profile of what fear is depending on how we related to various value dimensions (intrinsic, extrinsic and systemic). For me the scariest are: (1) Unknown-Unknowns (2) Power (3) Being Wrong (4) Self-Expression (5) Injustice
How about you?…
Agency, Causality, Cognition, Emotion, Happiness, Health, Interventions, Invisible Etiology, Psychology, Self-Fullfilling Prophecy, Trust ,
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by your inbox, meeting schedule, and list of phone calls to make or return? Have you ever wished you could include a wide audience in your one-on-one communications so that we could all benefit from wisdom of the crowd? If so, you might like my new policy for all business-related communications.
Email
- Non-private: instead use Accelerating Possibilities FB Group. (and I don’t do FB private messages).
- Private: I read every email but only respond if I feel it’s truly a private matter and I’m interested in responding.
Phone & Video Chat
- Non-private: Create a Vokle Event and post the subject of the discussion to the FB group above. If I can make it, I will, but hopefully others will join you regardless.
- Private: Email me your phone number and I will put you on my list of people to call when I have time. I can’t promise if/when I will call you though.
In Person Meetings
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Alternative Institutions, Crowdsourcing, Happiness, Interventions, Social Networks ,
- “It depends…”
- There’s a difference between a good decision and a good outcome
- There’s a difference between being broke and having no money
- There’s a difference between a winning person and a winning player
- It’s all one long game
- The long run is longer than you think
- Inaction can be very risky behavior
- Embrace the beauty of uncertainty
- Objectivity is the only thing that’s impossible
- Whatever your “leak”, that’s what will get you in the end
- Luck and skill are two sides of the same coin
- Material wealth is a manifestation of interior wealth
- There’s time enough for counting… when the dealing’s done
- There’s no difference between value and values
- Your word is mightier than the law
- Win-win beats win-lose any day
- Trust everyone, and don’t count the cards
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Happiness, Poker ,
Remember Jamie Oliver’s TED Prize Wish? Well tonight is the prime time season premiere of his Food Revolution show on ABC. The Huffington Post called Undercover Boss the most subversive show in America, and I can’t disagree. But in terms of importance to the future of America (and by extension every country which imports American TV and culture), Food Revolution I can’t imagine a more important show.
It’s not just the lives of individuals who eat crap (which is most of the country, frankly, even though they have no idea how toxic what they are eating is). It’s the happiness and achievement potential of today’s youth. It’s the emperor with no clothes at the center of the healthcare debate. And it’s a lynchpin for economic recovery and sustainability.
Watch the premiere, and spread the word……
Economics, Education, Epidemiology, Happiness, Health, Interventions, Invisible Etiology, Nutrition, Obesity, TED ,
From Monday’s Washington Post:
The District, New York and Los Angeles are on track for fewer killings this year than in any other year in at least four decades. Boston, San Francisco, Minneapolis and other cities are also seeing notable reductions in homicides.
Full article is here, in which more sensible police approaches are given credit for the decline.…
Culture, Epidemiology, Happiness, Interventions, Invisible Etiology, Self-Fullfilling Prophecy, Society Culture, Epidemiology, Happiness, Interventions, Invisible Etiology, Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, Society,
Short but brilliant TED talk by Joachim de Posada. I love the economic point he makes at the end.
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Cognition, Education, Happiness, Incentives, Psychology, TED Cognition, Education, Happiness, Incentives, Psychology, TED,