We lose sight of the question ‘What is it that I am really good at? What am I still capable of?’ An economist might say ‘what’s my competitive advantage in the marketplace of ideas?’ But a more honest question would be ‘what makes my heart sing?’ Likely, the two are the same.īy age 50 you know this about yourself.
This was the “opportunity cost” John List was talking about.Įspecially for people in the last third of their career, say age 50 or older, it is often too easy to just keep doing what you are doing. I’ve raised over $500K in support from foundations for my new work. I even co-authored an article for SSIR with my 15-year-old colleague about what we learned from working together.
Another word for running around doing things how to#
I formed the Intergen Climate Group comprised of younger and older generations to learn how to work together, rather than separately or at odds, on the climate crisis. I launched a new project with the timber industry to understand how forestry can help counter climate impacts on bird populations. I published a report with a lobsterman on the feasibility of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by electrifying Maine’s 4,600-lobster-boat fleet. I’ve formed a new organization (I’m the sole employee right now) with a mission that aligns with what I think needs to be done to solve the climate problem-building broad relationships of trust across our political and cultural divides. Since I quit two years ago, I’ve had the two most productive years of my career.
But we can imagine a different future, if we make time to imagine it. what you might accomplish in an alternative future. A term invented by economists, opportunity cost is the difference between what you will accomplish if you keep doing what you are doing vs. Optimal quitting is a kind of quitting when you realize there is an opportunity cost to continuing to do what you are doing. I did what author and behavioral economist John List calls optimal quitting in his new book The Voltage Effect. The question for me was: Are those of us in the social sector using our accumulated skills and intellect wisely, or are we caught up in an inefficient nonprofit industrial complex that seems more about keeping donors happy than solving problems? Time is just too short.įirst, quitting is not quite the right word. COVID became a pandemic on top of an existing epidemic of burnout. This is not a COVID-19 story my decision came a year before COVID. Like a lot of my peers in the nonprofit sector, I was burned out. Why would I quit when I could have ridden off into the sunset on my own timetable?