One of the ways I use my professional platform to help others is by constantly learning and sharing what I find. For those walking alongside me in this journey - take a look, and don’t hesitate to share your influences - I love learning and collaborating in this fashion.
As we enter a new decade, Peak Prosperity has been one of my most informative sources of the modern economy and the world today. Working at the intersection of the economy, energy, and the environment, Chris Martenson and Adam Taggert use their work to target resiliency in a fashion that I strive to incorporate into my daily work.
When listing formative work in my career as a community builder and strategist, the work of Daniel Quinn was a notable turning point that sparked further investigation.
Quinn’s work captures spirituality, the cultural bias, mythology, and world-view driving modern civilization and the destruction of the natural world. He sought to recognize and criticize some of civilization's most unchallenged "myths" or "memes" which he considered to include the following: that the Earth was made especially for humans, so humans are destined to conquer and rule it; that humans are innately and inevitably flawed; that humans are separate from and superior to nature (which Quinn called "the most dangerous idea in existence"); and that all humans must be made to live according to some one right way.
While I do not necessarily identify with any of the specific labels of what he strove to create, Quinn has played a critical de-constructionist role in my spiritual journey, challenging my Mennonite upbringing in the larger Christian religion, and instilling a desire for further research.
One of my daily pursuits in building personal resiliency is seeking out ways to construct (and re-construct) my spiritual and religious framework and seek how development and community building intersect within a responsible, humble approach to human existence.
If you’re interested in a primer on 21st century economic metrics and the paradox of infinite growth as an end goal in a modern economy, NPR did an interesting podcast on February 12, 2020 you can listen to here.
Others
I appreciate the concepts of Asset-based Community Development, Placemaking, (creative and otherwise), and aspects of the sustainable development community. In my personal study of economics, I have put energy into understanding human metrics of the economy and visions for a new economy that are found in places like the Schumacher Center for New Economics.
Rural issues always hit close to home, and I am following and developing my framework based on a host of practitioners in the space - Dakota Resources being one good example.
Aside from those, I am constantly in-search of new disciplines and perspectives to inform my work and there are too many books to name here.