Better World Weekly 116: How to Do Your Best Work

🌎 THE BETTER WORLD WEEKLY #116 💌

Hey y'all,

Happy Monday!

If you’re new here, I’m Cory Ames, the Founder of Grow Ensemble.

You can connect with me on Twitter or LinkedIn.

In this newsletter, The Better World Weekly, I share my thoughts and experiences in the world of social entrepreneurship, sustainability, and social impact, as well as my musings on seeking meaning and purpose in life and work.

If you're a routine reader and noticed that a newsletter didn't hit your inbox this last week...that's because it didn't!

When I went to start work for the day last Monday, my computer died!

I guess 8 years did it in!

It took me the whole day to get my hands on a new one, so I decided to give myself the week off. 😜

I hope you enjoy this edition,

Cheers,

-Cory

🔨 Break from Convention to Make Your Best Work

The first book I finished in 2022!

Break the Wheel: Question Best Practices, Hone Your Intuition, and Do Your Best Work

This book by Jay Acunzo calls out an obsession with seeking out “best practices,” and instead advises us to hone our intuition and investigation muscles to do our best work.

I found this a good fit to start my year, as I’m pushing to make 2022 my most creative year yet.

I’m definitely one to obsess about the tactical, the optimizations, the tips and the hacks vs. doing what Acunzo prescribes...focus on what works for YOU in your context.

For those of you doing creative work or building an impact driven enterprise, I’d recommend picking up this one.

Jay also runs an incredible podcast exploring how to do creative work that matters, Unthinkable.

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🐑 Grazing to Mitigate Forest Fires

In rural areas all around the world, farmers have historically grazed their livestock within the nearby forests.

It turns out, this practice is effective for managing forest fire risk.

Apparently, through all the eating and trampling the animals do while grazing, this all helps to manage the levels of biomass on forest floors.

There are a few complications, however.

First, there are less and less people living in the rural areas where this sort of livestock grazing has historically taken place. Many have migrated to the nearest cities.

And second, of the farmers who still live in these rural forest areas, they are most likely not allowed to graze their livestock in forests due to various regulations.

And finally, it’s not particularly simple. It’s important you have the right types of animals in the right places to eat the right things.

Still, in various EU countries this practice is gaining some momentum with some small-scale applications, read about it in Reasons to be Cheerful.

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🌞 The U.S.’s Largest Solar Farm in One of the Most Coal-Friendly States

The state of Indiana houses the “largest inland coal refinery in the country.”

It will also soon house the largest solar farm in the country.

A project known as Mammoth Solar, “will cover 13,000 acres, spread across two counties, with 60 landowners involved.”

It will generate enough electricity to power almost 250,000 homes!

But...why did this happen in Indiana?

Over the last 15 years Indiana has been retiring coal power plants and have needed to find new replacements for previously coal provided electricity.

Solar’s costs has declined and developers have determined that solar is a better long-term investment than new coal plants (finally).

The farm’s development has not gone without pushback.

Local farmers say that solar projects like this will ruin quality farmland. Landowners are filing lawsuits seeking to overturn the approval of the project.

The developers are pressing onward...and the U.S.’s newest largest solar farm should be completed in 18 months.

Read more here.

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#ICYMI: 🌎 How to End the Climate Crisis in One Generation

Paul Hawken is an environmentalist, entrepreneur, author and activist who has dedicated his life to environmental sustainability and changing the relationship between business and the environment.

In this episode, I chat with Paul about how to end the climate crisis in one generation using an approach centered on regeneration.

For Paul, the solutions to climate change are local, where human beings use their imagination to form economies that create more life than they take.

We discuss his book Drawdown, in which he provides a list of 100 potential solutions to climate change and ranks them by the potential amount of greenhouse gases each could cut.

We also talk about his new book, Regeneration, which offers a unique approach to understanding and taking action to address the climate crisis.

He tells me about why the fear and guilt-based climate change narratives don’t work and how we need to reimagine our relationship to our surroundings if we are to save the planet. He also addresses the lack of purpose people feel thanks to the current system and why bringing the earth back to life will bring people back to life too.

Available everywhere you listen to podcasts.

Episode & Show Post

💌 Enjoy this Newsletter?

Thanks for reading this edition of the Better World Weekly. I hope you enjoyed it. If you think you might have a friend or colleague who’d enjoy these newsletters as well, I’d love if you shared it with them. You can send them here to sign up.

If you come across anything compelling in the world of social entrepreneurship and social impact, please send it my way. Love to hear what you are reading and interested in.

Lastly, if you liked this newsletter, here are few more things you might want to check out:

1.Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: We publish videos, interviews, and more on all things building a better world. Watch one of our latest here.

2. Buy Ensemble Directory: Check out our directory of better-for-the-world businesses and products to align your purchases with your values.

3.Collections: Check out our collections of interviews and articles to deep dive on the topics most important to you in sustainability and social impact.

4. Sponsor & Advertise: Learn about partnering with us at Grow Ensemble to get your business or organization out in front of our community. Check out examples of our campaigns with other better-for-the-world businesses, here.

Cheers,

Cory Ames - @AmesCory

Founder & CEO, Grow Ensemble

🌍 - Better World Weekly (#116) - 🌍