This Could Be Our Future

A Manifesto for a More Generous World

By: Yancey Strickler

Narrated by: Yancey Strickler

Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

A vision for building a society that looks beyond money and toward maximizing the values that make life worth living, from the cofounder of Kickstarter

Western society is trapped by three assumptions: 1) that the point of life is to maximize your self-interest and wealth, 2) that we're individuals trapped in an adversarial world, and 3) that this is natural and inevitable. These ideas separate us, keep us powerless, and limit our imagination for the future. It's time we replace them with something new.

This Could Be Our Future is about how we got here, and how we change course. While the pursuit of wealth has produced innovation and prosperity, it also established an implicit belief that the right choice in every decision is whichever option makes the most money. The answer isn't to get rid of money; it's to expand our concept of value. By assigning rational value to other values besides money - things like community, purpose, and sustainability - we can refocus our energies to build a society that's generous, fair, and ready for the future. By recalibrating our definition of value, a world of scarcity can become a world of abundance.

Hopeful but firmly grounded, full of concrete solutions and bursting with creativity, This Could Be Our Future brilliantly dissects the world we live in and shows us a road map to the world we are capable of making.

Includes a PDF of images and information to support the text.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Yancey Strickler (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"In this wise, and sometimes bracing, manifesto, he reveals how hidden assumptions about what matters have coarsened our culture and corroded our values. Then shows how to create organizations and institutions built less on maximizing financial gain and more on family, faith, and sustainability. This book is the conversation starter our world needs." (Daniel H. Pink, New York Times best-selling author of When, Drive, and A Whole New Mind)

"Yancey Strickler is convinced that our value system is broken. In this lucid book, he lays out a vision for how to fix it that’s both audacious and elevating. It’s a thought-provoking read for anyone who knows there’s more to life than accumulating wealth." (Adam Grant, New York Times best-selling author of Give and Take and Originals, and coauthor of Option B)

"Starting in the 1970s, new ideas were proposed about how business should run - ideas that prioritized short-term over long term, profit before people, selfish decisions over selfless ones. Those ideas blossomed in the 1980s and 90s and today they consume too many of the standard business practices. Yancey Strickler is one of the voices that is helping to reverse those ideas in favor of a people before profit model that benefits ALL stakeholders. Preach on Yancey!!" (Simon Sinek, optimist and New York Times best-selling author of Start with Why and Leaders Eat Last)

Well written and thought provoking.

Sage thoughts and advise from a wise young man. If all businesses looked to balance profits and philanthropy, what a huge impact this would make on the condition of our country!

A must read book to rethink our world

I am reading it again. Great data to support a greater idea. Let's imagine a future with a more human paradigm than financial maximization. Very difficult, but needed if we want to survive, especially in a world in which Capitalism for-profit AI technologies replacing are making humans irrelevant.

Good stuff.

Well researched and thoughtful. World would probably be a better place if everyone read this.

Value is more than profit

A guide to a more sustainable ethic and satisfactory civilization, though the recognition of what we value, beyond just profit

Groundbreaking Bold, & Visionary

Excellent book! Informative and provides hope on how companies might transform into platforms that drive value for all of humanity instead of a handful of individuals.

bubba's take

a fresh new way to consider the root cause of so much turmoil in the world.

Positive and uplifting

An incredible piece of work with some interesting fun facts. Everything I do from this point forward will be different. Thank you Mr. Strickler.

Beyond Kickstarter

This book opened my narrow vision to my current state of living. I want to thank Yancey for writing this and for sharing his ideas on self actualization. I have been looking for something greater in my life to aim for and this gave me some ideas to grow towards.

Everyone should listen to this book

Fantastic book with real world, real life implications. It’s not for progressives or conservatives; it’s for anyone who cares about tomorrow.

Read. This. Book. Now.

Great thoughts, impactful examples, and an empowering call to action

I loved how Yancey put into words and concrete references of how today’s defaults of thinking came to be. He then takes that, shows how and why it can change by introducing a simple philosophy that I’ve already started to apply in my business.

This book was recommended to me and I recommend anyone who feels that the status quo of how we optimize our life for financial output should read/listen to it as well!