by Nathan Coumbe

Collective action, taxes, & plastic

How do we discourage the plastics companies—and all of the companies that use their products—from creating and using MORE plastic? Without the burden of cost ending up on the consumer?

Seth Godin mentions that the only real change will come through collective action on the part of us as citizens or via the government through taxation. (Check out his great podcast episode on the topic here.)

It worked for cigarettes; I assume it would work for plastic reduction as well.

But I feel that, in the short run, it would hurt all of us as consumers… because we really don’t have a choice. And you’d better believe that the people with money invested in plastic will make sure WE feel it before they do…

Individual Action

A couple of years ago, my wife and I went on a no-plastic, “reduce our waste” crusade.

We stopped buying drinks in plastic bottles…

We only used reusable grocery bags at the store…

We severely cut back on food and packaged goods…

We went to a more whole-foods diet (good for our health AND for the environment)…

We started using compostable garbage bags that we could compost ourselves.

My wife even persuaded a local restaurant to start selling glass bottles for to-go sauces that people could bring in and refill for a reduced price.

This is only a smattering of what we did to reduce waste…

The problem that we ran into was no matter what we did, we couldn’t get most of our food without massive amounts of plastic.

Our stores didn’t sell eggs in cardboard cartons. Nor did any of the local farmers we knew.

Every single piece of meat that we bought was wrapped in a pound of plastic. They wouldn’t allow us to bring in containers of our own… Or even follow our request for it to be wrapped in paper instead.

We couldn’t even go vegetarian—getting our protein through beans, yogurt, and other non-meat sources—without having it packaged in plastic bags or plastic cartons. All our stores had also gotten rid of the giant dispensers for grains and such… So we couldn’t bring our own bags for that either.

The Nail in the Coffin

The futility of it all became clear when I saw what a major corporation (which will remain nameless) was doing with plastic.

They were shipping tiny pieces of hardware—each of which was about the size of a pencil tip…

Each wrapped in plastic… Each sealed in its own plastic, Ziplock bag…

Mailed in its own bubble-wrap-lined mailing envelope.

And they were shipping hundreds of these to hundreds of locations around the world… On a regular basis.

I knew then and there that our individual action wouldn’t make even the tiniest of dents in the waste problem we faced.

Individual Action vs. Systemic Problems

We’ve continued our personal waste-free crusade, simply because it makes US feel better about our actions. But the discouragement is real.

I don’t really have any answers today. Because taking individual action to solve systemic problems doesn’t make much of a difference…

So I pose the question again: how do we dissuade these companies from using plastic without the burden of the cost—and all the work—ending up on consumers?

We aren’t creating the waste—those are the massive corporations who save money by using it. And who are doing it without thinking of the second- and third-order consequences of their actions.

There aren’t many alternatives for individual consumers… And the plastic is being created ANYWAY. So it feels like we don’t have a choice.

And when we have no choice, there’s nothing that we can do, and it doesn’t look like there will be better choices for quite a while.

by Nathan Coumbe

Would you do it for $10 million?

What would you do if you had $10 million dollars?

Would you really want to be the CEO of a major corporation?

Or a doctor? Lawyer? Or any of the other things we’re supposed to want to be when we grow up?

Because of our obsession with making and having more, we chase job opportunities and career paths that seem to “guarantee” a lot of money (even though there is no such guarantee). And often, that’s the sole purpose for pursuing such roles.

Not because we want to make hard decisions (that’s what the CEO does)…

Or because we want to spend countless hours expending the intense, exhausting, emotional labor required to help people survive and thrive (the doctor)…

We pursue them because of the ones and zeroes (supposedly) attached to the titles.

Now—making a living, on the other hand, is absolutely necessary. If you’re living on the verge of homelessness (or actually homeless), you might not have the luxury of saying no to “big money” opportunities.

But that’s not the conversation we’re having here.

When the wolves have backed away from the door—when your kids are fed and the light bill is paid—it’s a good idea to consider why you’re chasing whatever “big money” career you’re thinking of doing.

A great question to ask yourself when considering career paths, educational opportunities, certifications, or whatever else, is this:

“Would I still want to do this if I had $10 million dollars in the bank?”

Are you doing it because you want the money? Or are you doing it because you actually want to put in the time and effort to become a master at the craft?

If you wouldn’t do it if you already had $10 million in the bank, you might want to reconsider whether it’s worth doing at all.

by Nathan Coumbe

Getting paid for what’s easy

It doesn’t happen. At least, not in the ways or amounts we want it to.

People don’t want to have to think for a living. They want to make money for easy work…

And thinking, making decisions, being creative—none of that is easy.

But those are precisely the things that people get paid the most for. They’re the only things that’ll help us survive in the modern economy.

The easy work is disappearing… We must embrace the hard work—the work that isn’t easy to measure.

by Nathan Coumbe

Avoiding tension

Perhaps that’s what’s got you stuck… For humans are born for tension.

It’s only by overcoming strife and difficulty that we figure out who we are.

“What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal…”

—Victor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, p. 105

The tension in our lives gives us something to pull or push against. And thereby a way to become who we’re capable of being.

Perhaps that is who we are meant to be.

by Nathan Coumbe

What’s it for?

A great question I learned from Seth Godin is asking: what’s it for?

The book you’re buying—what’s it for?

That certification you’re trying to earn—what’s it for?

Is it the credibility that goes with having read this or obtained that? If so, that’s just a signaling strategy—though possibly a necessary one.

What about going to medical school and getting an MD—what’s that for?

Is it to get the credibility and authority that goes with the letters after your name? Is it to keep the generational legacy going…even though you’d rather be teaching?

Or is it to actually learn how to help people lead healthier lives?

Back to buying a book—what’s it for? What am I hoping to get out of it? An answer to what I’m supposed to do with my life? Knowledge that I can use to help myself or other people?

Or that certification I’m thinking about. Am I doing it because it actually helps me get where I want to go? Or am I doing it because it’ll look good on a resume?

Begin with the end in mind. That’s where this question leads you.

Begin with the end in mind.

If you don’t know what you want or where you’re going, how will you know what that “thing” is for?

by Nathan Coumbe

You are already successful

There is one particular Buddhist philosophy I’m particularly fond of:

Define success as what you already have right now.

So what do you already have that makes life worthwhile?

A loving spouse or partner?

Healthy relationships?

A car that runs?

A roof over your head?

A job that keeps you fed?

It’s even possible for those that have little or nothing. Because as the Stoics would say, you still have your mind—the one thing that cannot be harmed…

That thing that lets you make choices… Or take action.

Some of us—living in war zones or on the street—have lost everything. Even a sense of hope or safety. That cannot, and should not, be minimized.

But where there’s a mind, there’s a spark of potential.

by Nathan Coumbe

If you’re surviving, you’re succeeding

Every day that you’re still “playing the game“ is a day you’re moving closer to achieving your goals. 

If you’re still in the game (whatever that game is to you), you’re succeeding. 

You might not be moving forward quickly. In fact, you might be standing still. 

Sometimes, literally surviving—keeping your head above the water—is all you’re capable of doing. And that’s enough. 

Because until you quit, there’s still the possibility of winning. 

Staying in the game the first, and most important, part of playing the game. 

But once you’re out, there’s no longer any possibility of winning. 

by Nathan Coumbe

Anything you do will be criticized

Creators will be judged no matter what they do. 

Writers…

Musicians…

Entrepreneurs…

Anyone who creates anything for a living faces judgement. And usually criticism. 

But you’ll also get judged for doing nothing. 

“If you could have, why didn’t you?” is the other question we all face. 

You’ll get judged for doing nothing. You’ll get judged for doing something. 

So you might as well do SOMETHING.

by Nathan Coumbe

The shortcut to mastery

There isn’t one…

“There are no shortcuts to the creative process…the very impatience that drives you to desire shortcuts makes you unsuited for mastery.”

—Robert Greene, The Daily Laws p. 84

Do the work. Trust the process. It will be tough to master anything.

But it’s so worth it.

by Nathan Coumbe

Have mercy on the critics

Julia Cameron writes that every critic she’s ever met was, in reality, a blocked artist who couldn’t bring him- or herself to create art of their own…

So they tear down other people’s work because that’s what’s easier.

I remind you of that to say this: absolutely, let’s hear it for all the amazing and brave creators…

But also have mercy on the critics and encourage them to create something of their own.

(Also, make sure you go through The Artist’s Way at least once in your life… It’s truly life-changing for creators of all sorts).