A decade ago, I read Juliet Schor’s Plenitude and was inspired by her message of a post-recession world ruled by new values and new forms of wealth.
Schor is an economist, and the premise of her book is that the planet can only take so much extraction from humans before we all go down with it.
She suggests a new model of living that emphasizes small communities with local networks of closely connected people who produce food, other items for daily living, and services for each other.
She argues that cash will take on decreased importance in this way of living, and that people will live in a more old-fashioned way – by working for money less, and using their increased free time to produce that which they need for daily life.
Schor could not have foreseen the pandemic, but she was visionary in her approach to rebuilding lives of meaning and value in a system that has collapsed under the strain of too much greed and extraction.
Inspired by this model, I decided to add trade to my donation-based private coaching business. Just last week, a client helped me to update my web site and design a world-class client workbook in exchange for my helping him with his resume and interview preparation for a new job.
Another colleague in the FYSO accelerator is a graphic designer. Next month, I’ll be helping to write and edit copy for her web site in exchange for her helping me with SEO optimization: another win-win that allows us both to grow our businesses by trading talents and skills rather than cash.
If you have a skill that might interest others: if you write, or take photographs, or are a superb home organizer, tailor, or cook, consider trading your skills with friends, neighbors, and colleagues to enrich your life in new ways.
You will build professional chops doing work that you love, you’ll benefit from the talents of others, and who knows? Maybe one day, you’ll even turn that skill into a profitable new business.
