Beat the Crowd

November 11, 2017

Just to state the obvious: you don't have to agree with everything I write here to support Of Two Minds, nor do I expect you to--differences of opinion on problems and solutions are natural, healthy and productive.

As everyone who spends any time in the blogosphere knows, the end of the year is the time the begging-for-support bowls come out. This year I decided to set the bowl out early – and in doing so, wanted to let you know why I do so fearlessly. It’s because we are a team of equals - two halves that make a whole. Here is my thinking on why there is substantial value in supporting OTM:

1. Over the years, I’ve discovered that Of Two Minds readers are smarter than I am, so it's a fantastically interesting and exciting learning experience to collate and share your insights with all the other readers.

2. The Of Two Minds community is an intellectual home, and a unique one: it is comprised of independent thinkers, people from around the world with tremendously practical experience across the entire range of human endeavor and knowledge.

3. Of Two Minds wouldn't be possible if the audience wasn't more than willing to meet me halfway, and sometimes more than halfway, correcting my errors and widening my perspective in a polite and respectful dialog.

4. You find a range of content here you don't find elsewhere: not just explorations of structural trends (the doom and gloom bits) but integrated solutions that go to the source of our problems (for example, A Radically Beneficial World, Get a Job, Build a Real Career, Resistance, Revolution, Liberation and The Nearly Free University).

5. I am not an expert or pundit; I'm just a regular person who's curious about the systemic dynamics of the ever-changing world we inhabit, and who tries to add insight that readers will find useful, helpful and valuable as we move through fast-changing times together.

6. For these reasons, I'm asking for support of the Of Two Minds blog with a cash contribution, or a Patreon pledge of $1 a month. If you can swing $5 a month or $50 annually, you'll get the weekly Musings Reports, which will help you become filty rich (in interesting ideas).

Become a $1/month patron of my work via patreon.com

How to Contribute, Subscribe/Unsubscribe to Of Two Minds via PayPal, Dwolla or bitcoin. (If you contribute via Dwolla or bitcoin, please email me as neither Dwolla nor Bitpay provide your email.)

If financial support isn't an option, please distribute whatever content you find valuable from the blog here to your circle of contacts, and ask your local library to add one of my books to their collection. These contributions are just like a cash contribution to an independent writer like me.

Just to state the obvious: you don't have to agree with everything I write here to support Of Two Minds, nor do I expect you to--differences of opinion on problems and solutions are natural, healthy and productive. The last thing any of us needs is yet another echo-chamber that locks out dissent. (I know it's annoying that I don't fit into the usual ideological boxes, but it is a mainstay of OTM that those boxes are the problem, not the solution.)

What I'm asking you to support is the search for integrated solutions on both the household and systemic levels, and the site's exploration of a wide range of important topics. I've written over 3,500 free-to-the-world essays since the blog's inception in May 2005, and there are dozens of new topics which I feel you need to have perspective on that I'm itching to explore and address.

I am honored by your readership, your interest and your friendship, and would be greatly honored by your support of the site.

P.S. Whenever I receive a pitch for a contribution or support, there is an obligatory sad and heartrending photo included, so here it is:

If you found value in this content, please join me in seeking solutions by becoming a $1/month patron of my work via patreon.com.

Check out both of my new books, Inequality and the Collapse of Privilege ($3.95 Kindle, $8.95 print) and Why Our Status Quo Failed and Is Beyond Reform ($3.95 Kindle, $8.95 print, $5.95 audiobook) For more, please visit the OTM essentials website.

NOTE: Contributions/subscriptions are acknowledged in the order received. Your name and email remain confidential and will not be given to any other individual, company or agency.

Discover why I’m looking to retire in a SE Asia luxury resort for $1,200/month.