The Passion Economy

The New Rules for Thriving in the Twenty-First Century

By: Adam Davidson

Narrated by: Adam Davidson

Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

The brilliant creator of NPR's Planet Money podcast and award-winning New Yorker staff writer explains our current economy: laying out its internal logic and revealing the transformative hope it offers for millions of people to thrive as they never have before.

Contrary to what you may have heard, the middle class is not dying and robots are not stealing our jobs. In fact, writes Adam Davidson — one of our leading public voices on economic issues — the 21st-century economic paradigm offers new ways of making money, fresh paths toward professional fulfillment, and unprecedented opportunities for curious, ambitious individuals to combine the things they love with their careers. Drawing on the stories of average people doing exactly this — an accountant overturning his industry, a sweatshop owner's daughter fighting for better working conditions, an Amish craftsman meeting the technological needs of Amish farmers — as well as the latest academic research, Davidson shows us how the 20th-century economy of scale has given way in this century to an economy of passion.

He makes clear, too, that though the adjustment has brought measures of dislocation, confusion, and even panic, these are most often the result of a lack of understanding. The Passion Economy delineates the ground rules of the new economy, and armed with these, we begin to see how we can succeed in it according to its own terms — intimacy, insight, attention, automation, and, of course, passion. An indispensable road map and a refreshingly optimistic take on our economic future.

©2020 Adam Davidson (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Davidson's case studies are excellent, but the heart of the book is a set of rules worthy of committing to memory... Fine inspiration for entrepreneurs that should be required reading in any business school curriculum.” (Kirkus, starred review)

“[Davidson’s] anecdotes are captivating with shrewd lessons on management, marketing, and strategy... Readers with a start-up yen will find useful and inspiring insights here.” (Publishers Weekly)

“The Passion Economy is exactly what everyone needs today: examples of how to thrive in an economy that can seem overwhelming, and crystal-clear explanations of how to succeed. The book is an enormously fun, exciting adventure story that takes us from the wineries of Napa to the laboratories of Google to far-off chocolate makers. This is the book about how to live (and work) a more passionate life.” (Charles Duhigg, best-selling author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better)

inspirational and thought provoking

I got a lot out of the stories and concepts in this book. I strive to live a life of passion in my work. I'm hooked on ocho bars now, too.

Truly a life-changing book!

This book has allowed me to be back cited about my own journey instead of being anxious
Thank you to all who are a part of this book

Insightful and entertaining

The perfect combination of useful information packaged in an entertaining package. I’m working on a side project that may or may not become a business some time in the future. Davidson gave me a lot of excellent material to think about and questions to ask myself. The stories and anecdotes are insightful and entertaining. Highly recommend. His reading of the book is great and takes me back to the early Planet Money days.

A must-read for any new entrepreneur!

Required reading for anyone who needs to learn how to maximize one's niche or as they say, "niche harder". Fantastic case studies of now thriving small businesses.

Very amazing stories

Adam creates a great investigation of data and behavior in new business.
It really drives the listener into a deep understanding of new economies.
The only thing that I don't like is that amazon charge me for a membership when I was listening to the book in a free demo.

love economics. gave me the language to speak with

great book on a topic that I new existed but had never heard about. I am a passion entrepreneur and this gave me the language to convince new clients.

Very Useful, but could still be better

I’ve run a couple of startups. And I’m now considering a run at a more traditional manufacturing business. Davidson rightly identifies that this book is NOT for tech startups, but instead for all the rest. And that’s great. He goes through lots of examples of businesses, and shows how they’ve all thrived by embracing what he calls the passion economy. It’s engaging and informative.

But this book lacks a few things. First, it’s best suited for existing companies that are experiencing reduced revenue due to competition with China or other low-cost manufacturers. If you’re one of those, pick this book up. But it’s not as well suited for mew companies seeking to find a path to successfully sell real A W

Great book and case studies!

Fun read! Great introduction to the new economy, hard adjustments coming… author has a great voice.

Fluffy biopic, without concrete takeaways

I was hoping for more insights into how to pursue work in the passion economy, but this book explains the what, not the how (aside from the not so subtle message in nearly all stories that point to the importance of going to business school).