Why?

7000...

This is approximately the number of steps the average American takes in a day.  This is also the average number of words the average American male says in a day, the number of emails received in two months, and the number of white blood cells in a cubic millimeter of your blood.  These facts are perhaps not surprising, but what might be surprising is that this is also the approximate number of advertisements an average American is exposed to in a given day.  It’s more than just billboards and newspapers.  Social networks and market places spend millions a year buying your personal data and browsing history.  This information is turned over to top secret corporate software that creates a custom experience, just for you with one goal in mind; maximize your exposure to advertisements so you will buy things that would have otherwise never crossed your mind. 

And what's the result of this bombardment of maketing?  We spend.

Americans, have one of the highest average salary of any country in the world.  Additionally, Americans have one of the lowest costs of living when viewed against similar high-income modern countries, so naturally it would make sense that Americans have the highest savings rate by comparison, right?  Well… actually, no.  Unfortunately, Americans save far less than these comparable countries.  So what happened to all that extra income if we didn’t save it? We spend it… and then some, on tech pack upgrades on our new cars, lawn care services, weight loss programs, extravagant vacations, restaurants, and sports equipment for our three-year-olds.   In 2017, the average American household carried a credit card balance of almost seventeen thousand dollars.  Couple this debt with record high student loans, home mortgages, auto loans, and the luxuries afforded by the American Dream and we see that this dream has now imprisoned us in a life of a spiraling standard of living.  

It’s not just poor financial behaviors that the consumer culture has driven us to.  All this financial surplus and access to easy credit has done unnatural things to us.  I’ve spent the last several years observing peoples’ habits and began growing an interest in why some people seem to be hugely successful, happy, reliable, and secure while others are always broke, miserable, and can’t seem to catch a break.  As I studied this phenomenon, I began to realize that a person’s general ability to succeed and be happy in life has little to do with the cards they have been dealt, and has almost everything to do with their ability to separate themselves from our cultural norms.  People who struggle with finding success in life are nearly always deeply entangled in the behaviors that also make us consumers.  

But, have we ever been offered an alternative? Have we ever been presented with a different way of thinking about what we are as humans?  I’m not talking about abandoning all earthly possessions, living in a hut, and eating only what we can kill.  I’m talking about a value-based approach to life where you won’t have to protest the corporate marketing machine because you’ll simply stopped noticing it.  Where you won’t need to buy books on healthy living, environmental protection, personal finance, or stress management because all these disciplines come with the package.  

So why did I make this blog?  Because I refuse to stand idle and let others fall into the parasitic depression of consumerism.  I propose that we redefine our entire existence as an army of creators. 

Ready to enlist?