leondumoulin.nl: The New Good Life: Living Better Than Ever in an Age of Less ( Audible Audio Edition): John Robbins, Paul Boehmer, Tantor Audio: Books.
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- The New Good Life: Living Better Than Ever in an Age of Less by John Robbins
A preoccupation with money and possessions is not only unhealthy, it can also drain the true joy from life. In recent years, millions have watched their American Dreams go up in smoke. The international financial collapse, inflation, massive layoffs, and burgeoning consumer debt have left people in dire financial straits--including John Robbins, a crusader for planet-friendly food and lifestyle choices, who lost his entire savings in an investment scam.
But Robbins soon realized that there was an upside to our collective financial downturn: Curtailed consumerism could lead us to reassess our lives and values. The New Good Life provides a philosophical and prescriptive path from conspicuous consumption to conscious consumption. Where the old view of success was measured by cash, stocks, and various luxuries, the new view will be guided by financial restraint and a new awareness of what truly matters.
His lessons about making peace with money are wise indeed. Many of the findings in this book have been reported elsewhere, but by bringing them together in an integrated way, Robbins paints a positive and possible picture of how to live. This is a book about today, neither a romanticized idyll of an easier past nor a prediction of a technologically-driven salvation in the future. It asks you to think hard about whether to have children, and how to guide them in an advertisement-crazed culture.
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Balancing alarming facts with inspiring ideas and examples of people who have made wise life choices, Robbins made this a deeply readable book. Buy extra copies and give them to people you love, especially young people starting out in life. Of course I love the fact that John Robbins lives Santa Cruz and has a remarkably unique personal history to draw from, but the real value of this book for me came from the blend of Thoreau-style thought with copious research-inspired conclusions and advice.
The author examines our culture and the values it's based upon, exposing a good many cracks in the lining along the way. It's no surprise that the American version of success is often measured not by health and happiness but by financial wealth. Unfortunately it's usually at the expense of little things like personal contentment, family time, spirituality, the health of the planet and those living on it.
The New Good Life: Living Better Than Ever in an Age of Less
As Robbins concludes, a preoccupation with money and possessions is not only unhealthy, it can drain the true joy from life. I don't know about you but I'm opting for plan B. Robbins spells out his prescription for what he calls the New Good Life in great detail. But rather than waxing didactic, his instructive suggestions are based on a combination of personal experience and research.
The reader is invited to adopt those that make sense - I personally found some great ideas that really connected with, while others I just skimmed through. I took this last paragraph from Robbins' description: Here is everything you need to develop high-joy, low-cost solutions to life's challenges. Practical and inspiring, this book equips you with the skills needed not only to survive but to thrive in these challenging times.
Read the full review at eco-herbalista dot com. I wasn't expecting to be as impacted by the wisdom Robbins provides as I was. He gave me food for thought on how I'm living my life in several areas, causing me to adjust to new practical thinking. I bought another copy for my son-in-law and may purchase more copies for others. A compendium on practical wisdom that provides insight into how to rethink our way of life that may be less than wise, healthy and financially practical.
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Too many times we have linked the abundance of money in our lives to wealth. Unfortunately true wealth cannot be measured by something as frail and elusive as money. As when the confidence that supports money's vale is shattered it becomes what it always has been -- another piece of paper. John Robbins book directs our attention towards values and our relevance in the age of less -- less resources, less jobs, less money, less A book to read in conjunction with the "Peak Everything" series. Wealth will be measured in the near future by our contribution to community and family, our ability to work with our hands, or heal, or Our value will be in how much leisure we have and how healthy we are, how we get along with very little and how we contribute to the lives of others.
That is in essence the New Good Life. I've read every one of John Robbins' books and he never fails to inspire me. The New Good Life is no exception. Robbins helps us understand what is truly important in life and how to live in accordance with our deepest values. He teaches many lessons to those open to learning, about how to live fully, with simplicity and frugality, and with respect for both personal and planetary health in our country's "new economy". One person found this helpful 2 people found this helpful.
I love all of John Robbins books including this one! This one is very different from his other books but a very timely one for where we are as a society. Contains lots of wonderfully practical tips on living the new good life! I'm on board and have been working towards what he talks about. It's a must read for everyone, no matter the age or where you are in life! I am a big John Robbins fan. I find his story very inspiring. He really writes well.
Very easy to understand. This one does not disappoint. I was very happy I purchased this book. Though I could accept why someone would want to turn their back on a large fortune and embrace voluntary simplicity, I just couldn't get over the fact that he could have used all that money and really made a difference in other folks lives with it. Then build a school in an impoverished nation - give to charities - create your own foundation and give it all away to those in need. Instead he just turned his back on the money Though I could accept why someone would want to turn their back on a large fortune and embrace voluntary simplicity, I just couldn't get over the fact that he could have used all that money and really made a difference in other folks lives with it.
Instead he just turned his back on the money and as far as I can tell, pretty much did nothing really for his fellow man. And then apparently accumulated quite a bit of wealth again and lost it all due to a really bad investment.
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Amazing how Karma works, doesn't it? Jun 16, JoAnn Jordan rated it it was amazing Shelves: This is an excellent book on living a good life while expending less and being kinder to the world. It is not so much a financial handbook as a guide to taking better care of yourself. It is about learning to live in harmony with your surroundings and others you contact. The writer is a very interesting person and his life experiences are very enlightening. I highly recommend the book. It is a quick read with a great deal of good information. Dec 26, David Snook rated it really liked it.
It changed my life -- I became a vegetarian for a year and then decided to go completely vegan, and I have been vegan to this day. John Robbins showed me that caring for animals and loving people can be aided by my daily choices around what I eat. Living Better Than Ever in an Age of Less" is even more ambitious in scope, as it expands on the idea of sustainable food ch Twenty-five years ago, I saw a video based on another book by John Robbins, called "Diet for a New America".
Living Better Than Ever in an Age of Less" is even more ambitious in scope, as it expands on the idea of sustainable food choices and adds to it the wider aspects of daily consumption, from the homes that we buy to the ways that we keep them clean, all with the same view towards sustainability and an awareness of the extended impact of these choices.
Now that I know, I will be making different choices, for the betterment of my own life and for the lives of others.
Feb 19, Barb rated it really liked it. While this is all "old hat" for me, there were still snippets where I learned information! Running the vent over the stove will "suck up" all the heated air in the house again, in retrospect, YES! Anyway, if you're not already a frugalista and you're looking at how to live lighter on the planet, save some money, and be healthy, this is a great compilation.
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Mar 08, Ging Cee rated it really liked it. This was an extremely quick read. I remember seeing John Robbins on a documentary years ago. His story is inspiring, all the more so because the life he chose for him and his family was groundbreaking. I also learned a lot of new tips and tricks as well.
Overall 3 stars, but 4 stars for all the organic cleaning recipes!!! Feb 19, Dan rated it liked it. This is a good source for reaffirming non-capitalistic beliefs. If you are already on that path I don't that anything in here will take you by surprise. Sections of the book are structured more like tips and tricks which are more just information for skimming over.
Not a bad book and it holds an important message. Mar 21, shirley rated it it was amazing Shelves: I picked this book based on the title, as I was interested in the subject. It wasn't until I read the book that I realized the author was the sole heir to the Baskin Robbins fortune who then walked away and chose to live a frugal simple life.
I started googling John Robbins and found out more about him. This book is a powerful testimony of someone who practiced what he preached. I love the part in the book where there are recipes for simple nutritious food. Overall, I really enjoyed I picked this book based on the title, as I was interested in the subject. Overall, I really enjoyed reading the book, and will re-read it again. Aug 29, Rebecca rated it liked it. Giving up his share of the Baskin Robbins empire and choosing to live a less materialistic life the author walks the walk.
He shares his experiences, and ups and downs of life in an approachable way. There is no preaching or finger wagging which makes it feel more a believable and doable way of life. Nov 20, Elaine rated it it was ok. I couldn't get past his pretentious attitude that he had the answers. Not sure if his credibility in classifying people. Mar 08, Deb rated it it was amazing.
In the "old good life," wealth was directly measured by how much we made, acquired, spent, and consumed: It is your when you see life anew, when your faith is restored, when you find the sacred in the midst of the mundane and the beauty of your spirit in the way you live. It turns out that understanding the relationship you have with money can be a portal to transformation of all areas of your life. After helping you determine which of the six money archetypes fits you best The Saver, The Innocent, The Performer, The Sensualist, The Performer, or The Giver , the book provides information and advice on how to enjoy more and spend less.
The road to financial freedom begins with the four steps of knowing: Staying on this road requires continued consciousness, awareness, and changes in behaviors.
The New Good Life: Living Better Than Ever in an Age of Less by John Robbins
The book is packed with strategies and techniques to help with this journey. For example, John offers new good life strategies for reducing transportation costs--which you'll probably be extra motivated to do after learning that the true costs of either driving our cars or working to pay for them amounts to the equivalent of five work-months a year! Aug 29, Katie Kenig rated it it was amazing Shelves: I wish I could convince everyone I care about to read this wonderful, enlightening book.
What does living the "good life" mean to you? Is it an ever more abundant pile of "things" that fill our ever larger homes that we spend less and less time actually occupying? Is it a bigger pile of cash in your bank account or a fancier car or a boat that you barely get to use because of all the hours you have to work to pay for it? John Robbins, born heir to the Baskin and Robbins ice cream fortune had it al I wish I could convince everyone I care about to read this wonderful, enlightening book.
John Robbins, born heir to the Baskin and Robbins ice cream fortune had it all as a child, right down to the ice-cream-cone shaped swimming pool, but he chose to turn his back on the fortune his family had made to pursue a different kind of good life, one centered around the relationships we make with other people, living harmoniously with the earth, and giving back to the world around us rather than relentless consumerism and pursuit of a transitory wealth that won't carry with us when we leave this earth, no matter how hard we cling to it.
This book examines the trade-offs we make in our lives, from longer work days and dreary commutes to angry, violent children raised by a culture of television and convenience to an earth dying under the burden of too many people using industry to recklessly create too much garbage. How can we find real happiness, real contentment, among the rabble of today's more-more-more treadmill? When statistics show that once you rise above the poverty level, money does not increase your happiness the richest tiny percent of Americans are no happier it seems that the simple-living Amish how do you catch that elusive wish for a good life?
Is it by having a family game night? Using green cleaners in your home? Offsetting your carbon footprint by trying to walk instead of ride, eat vegetables instead of meat? For everyone there is a balance to achieve, and this book is about finding that balance in your own life. Peppered with anecdotes from his childhood and simple adult life as well as recipes for simple foods and green cleaning products, it's funny and useful and heartfelt.
I appreciated the thought that went into this book, and the easy conversational style that makes it read like a chat with a good friend. May 30, Allison rated it really liked it Shelves: Surprisingly interesting and informative and clearly written book. His identification of six different money types the Save, the Innocent, the Performer, the Sensualist, the Vigilant and the Giver was very enneagram shadow side, evolving and evolved for each type , Surprisingly interesting and informative and clearly written book.
His identification of six different money types the Save, the Innocent, the Performer, the Sensualist, the Vigilant and the Giver was very enneagram shadow side, evolving and evolved for each type , which he acknowledges. The rest of the book was how to live well on less, live a more simple, natural and clean life and consume less and more consciously.
He gives lots of suggestions and examples and lists and information and even recipes for vegetarian fare, of course, because it is more effiecient for our planet's resources to eat lower on the food chain. Some of his suggestions were a tad over the top, even for me like the one to wear a wet wrung out t-shirt to save on air conditioning costs but I appreciate his sharing what worked for him. The only idea I had to completely and wholeheartedly dismiss outright was his urging that people think seriously about "the consequences of reproduction", which basically means that parents and the Earth do not have the resources time, emotional and physical energy to support very many more people living here so everyone should do like he did and only have one child.
He says he is opposed to any efforts to mandate the number of children that families can have, but I get the impression that he does not understand at all how anyone could possibly come to any other conclusion than One Child is Plenty. I just can't get into all the reasons he is wrong because I am only allowed characters in this review, but I did keep thinking that it was sad that someone who raised an adult with a "keen eye, huge heart, supurb communication skills and thoughtful connection to the issues of our day" couldn't have raised two such adults. Or three, four or even five such adults.
So, other than that one big blip, it was a great book and one I am planning on keeping for the interesting idea of the different money types, the recipes and the natural cleaning formulas. Dec 01, Mindy rated it it was amazing. This is a great book which I recommend everyone read. I especially wish that it were required reading for high school seniors. In the book on page , the author, John Robbins, refers to this speech by Robert Kennedy and I think it sums up why this book needed to be written and why it is so important.
Our gross national product It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for those who break them. It counts the destruction of our redwoods and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who fight riots in our streets. It counts Whitman's rifle and Speck's knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.
It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it tells us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.
Jun 03, Jessica rated it really liked it.
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In the big picture, I'm already following Robbins' advice, living in a small space, getting around on foot or by public transit, and eating very low on the food chain. But still, I learned a lot from this book! In fact, if we're connected on twitter, you know there are times I practically live-tweeted it. Robbins' vision of the new good life is universal in the sense that it's moving away from consumer culture and environmental destruction to lives of greater connection and meaning, but he leaves enough of the details open that it's easy to tailor to individual personalities and wants.
People who read blogs about minimalism will recognize some facets of this book, those that are grounded in voluntary simplicity, but Robbins certainly doesn't tell his readers to live with only possessions, or to ditch your bookshelves for a Kindle, or to scan their paperwork to reduce your clutter.