WHY HURRY UP AND WAIT?

Last December, during my first month of blogging, I wrote about my motivation for cultivating and sharing good news. Maybe it's something about this time of year, but I feel compelled to revisit the subject. Some people send cards, others bake cookies, I wonder about the state of the world.

Shortly after 9/11, I was so overwhelmed by the toxic sense of fear and doom pervading the country that I wrote an essay, "Winning the War on Pessimism" that was published in the Washington Post. This process of exploring the national state of mind also sparked a gradual, but growing desire on my own part to change the way I looked at the world, to see it more through a prism of continued spirit and hope than my inherently skeptical and sometimes, even cynical perspective. Without losing sight of reality, I was looking to fulfill the most fundamental of desires, to be happy in the present and to look with confidence towards the future. Something that doesn't involve chocolate or owning stock in Google.

In 2003, I began writing a book, "So What's the Good News?", about what I'd begun to think of as a practical, versus utopian, form of optimism. Not some frivolous, naïve "isn't everything wonderful!" attitude that ignores human nature's Dark Side, more like a determinedly upbeat mindset that also recognizes and values our almost limitless capacity for achievement, compassion, virtue and love. In these extremely uncertain times, the Force needs to be with us.

I spent almost a year and a half doing research for the book and conducting interviews with some of the most resourceful, productive thinkers and leaders in the academic world, arts and entertainment, science and technology, finance, sports, politics, spirituality and the list goes on. Whether a big-name personality or little-known individual, the sole arbiter was that the subject had to have something of substance to say.

Next, I wrote a book proposal, marketing plan and the first seven chapters and when I found myself an agent, I figured I was on the straight and narrow to publication and success. But another year and a half went by and that didn't happen, so I moved on to other projects. Yet that desire to help people see the world in a more positive light and do something to make it a better place never left, it just went on the back burner with a low flame. Meanwhile, Good News kept simmering and much like a complex stew, the flavors got more intense.

The other day, after sifting through the almost guaranteed-to-depress-you doubleheader of the World News and Week in Review sections of the Sunday NY Times, I realized that all those valuable insights and advice on optimism I'd gathered were just going to waste sitting there on my hard drive. So I decided that rather than waiting for a miracle or a publishing deal (whichever came first), I would start posting short excerpts from the finished chapters on my blog, selecting some of the most interesting material from each expert, like a Greatest Hits album. With financial reward and fame out of the picture for now, I'm back to focusing on the core belief that it's critically important to promote news and information that inspire us to produce positive change. It doesn't make sense to save good news for a rainy day, it's stormin' hard out there right now!

To get things rolling, here's a quote from my interview with Douglas Rushkoff, author, TV commentator and international lecturer on media and technology. In this chapter, Tune In, Turn On, But Don't Drop Out, I looked at the effect media, particularly print and broadcast mediums, has our lives, how it shapes our values and the way we think and behave. This seems particularly relevant during 'tis the season as we're being inundated by advertising that intimates that what Happy Holidays really means is Buy More Stuff.

Tune In, Turn On, But Don't Drop Out
(Douglas Rushkoff, from "So What's the Good News?")

You can’t look at the media for positive messages, it’s not what it’s there for. You can get information, but you’re not going to get inspiration. Traditional mass media doesn't exist to promote change, it was designed to promote mass consumption of packaged goods. People need to realize that the things they are really looking to buy are not for sale. Community, connection and meaning are not brand values, they are cultural values.

I was thinking about the whole concept of brand values the other day while shopping at the Apple Store. I don’t think there’s a company that is more technically innovative or marketing savvy than Apple, as evidenced by the fact that the place was packed and the merchandise was moving so fast you’d think they were giving it away. As a long-time Mac user, I love the myriad of new and improved products Steve Jobs rolls out every few months, but as I become more and more dependent on my various digital devices and wonderfully imaginative programs like iWeb, iPhoto and iMovie, I also need to make sure I install the latest versions of iHope, iCare and iAct on my personal operating system in order to have a truly meaningful iLife. But I still want an iPhone, too!

So there's the first track of The Best of Good News, hope it provides some food for thought and I encourage you to pass it along to friends and family. My goal for the next month is to put up one or two of these excerpts per week. Not to worry, I'll also keep weighing in on some lighter topics with my usual take because I do believe that laughter is the best medicine. But as we get closer to the end of 2007, it feels like it's time to cultivate some serious healing.

Finally, if you have a moment, please post a comment, whether it's about good news, the holidays, media, latkes or egg nog recipes, whatever. Even just a sentence or two means we're having a conversation. And as long as we're talking, it's all good.

Now, stayed tuned for more optimism after this important commercial announcement.

Relax, I haven't sold out yet.

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P.S. Speaking of holiday merchandise, we're also comparison shopping for a new world leader these days. That last one was no bargain, at any price.