A Note Of Gratitude

News & Current Events Public News & Current Events
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The ladies and I leave soon for our Thanksgiving dinner with my wife’s extended family. But before I go, I want to share a few quick thoughts of gratitude with you, dear PP.com reader.

First off, Chris and I are ever-appreciative that we have the privilege of running this website for a living. Few people get to ‘live their truth’ the way we’re able to.

While it’s not always easy or lucrative, it’s 100% authentic and aligned with our guiding values. And it gives us the incredible honor of being in community with other like-minded truth seekers around the world – like you – who want to join and support our mission of “creating a world worth inheriting”.

I’m very aware that not many others feel as fortunate when it comes to work. Recently I’ve had a number of conversations with folks, many of them close friends, who are dealing with money and career worries. I can’t say for certain that it’s a sign the economy is getting materially weaker, but I do see the general angst they exhibit as a symptom of a broken system that offers less fulfillment and security than it once did. If you’re in a similar boat, you have my empathy.

So, knowing that what we’ve created here is truly rare and special, Chris and I are committed to doing all we can to protect, nurture and grow the Peak Prosperity movement.

Which, being honest, has been increasingly challenging over the past decade. With the central banks recklessly flooding the world with liquidity conjured from thin air, asset prices have hit record highs year after year after year. The average investor has understandably adopted a “why worry?” attitude. All is good if my 401k keeps getting bigger and bigger, right?

The tremendous volume of US shale oil pumped over the past decade has created similar false comfort. It has kept the overall price of oil contained globally and thus taken the urgency out of preparing for a post-Peak Oil future. Why worry about conservation when oil is cheap?

Now, we and you know that these are incredibly dangerous false signals. In reality, we have pushed off the economic and energetic reckonings that loomed so large in 2008 not by resolving them, but by deferring them – magnifying the destruction they will wreak once they can no longer be delayed.

World debt now stands at $250 trillion. For reference, it was $173 trillion in 2008 and only $83 trillion at the start of 2000. Global income (GDP) has grown much more slowly and is currently trending towards recession. At some point – perhaps very soon – those debts will default either because there’s not enough income to service them (deflation) or to do so, the central banks are forced to destroy the purchasing power of fiat currencies (hyperinflation).

The global energy system is still hopelessly addicted to fossil fuels, most notably oil. The shale ‘miracle’ has actually been a ‘debacle’ from a cash flow standpoint; no one can drill it profitably. The shale basins have been high-graded and companies are starting to exit. The predictable result? Oil prices will be back over $100/barrel sooner than the world is ready for.

It’s imperative that this site persevere to educate and engage the public about these critically-important themes. Because one day, as happened in 2008, the system will break; and panicked millions will suddenly be casting about for answers as to what just happened, why, and what they need to do in response.

And this site will be here for them. To explain, to inspire, and to guide them towards adopting the better behaviors and models that the future needs. All with the help of the existing community of aware, resilient individuals of goodwill – like you – who make up the Peak Prosperity tribe.

Which is why Chris and I have been tremendously busy behind the scenes for the past several months (ever since our April seminar) working on big plans to substantially multiply this site’s impact. Through them, we intend to bring the Peak Prosperity message to many more people, produce more content at higher quality than we’re currently able to, and expand the resilience-building solutions we offer.

Forgive me for being cryptic about the details at the moment; I have to be as they are still quite fluid. But I want you to be aware that – despite the multi-year headwinds that have been blowing strongly in Chris’ and my faces – we are more committed than ever to the mission of this site and are (very) hard at work on this next game-changer.

Timing-wise, we hope to be able to start putting these new plans into action at the start of the New Year. So expect to hear more clarity from me as the winter holidays approach. And keep your fingers crossed for us…

In closing, we love what we do and wouldn’t trade places for the world. Thank you for being a part of the movement here and for making Peak Prosperity the unique curious-minded, action-oriented and supportive community it is.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! And if you have a moment, share in the Comments below something you’re particularly thankful for on this day of gratitude.

cheers,
Adam

 

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://peakprosperity.com/a-note-of-gratitude/

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For our US readers, Happy Thanksgiving!
For everyone else, a slow day at the site.
There’s much to be grateful for, and there’s much to do while the sun still shines.
Both are true.
As Adam said, we’re honored to be entrusted to hold and maintain this excellent container where so many amazing people are assembled.
Thanks to everyone, in every country, on every day our community persists, headwinds or not.

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…trust runs low…(thanks Sand-Puppy),it is good to have a time of thanks.
robie, husband,father,farmer,optometrist

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Our kids are in for the week and our bellies are full. We are at that point where the kids are grown and there is not much drama in their lives or ours. We are grateful they have developed some pretty good culinary skills, the Thanksgiving meal gets more fun every year as everyone contributes and are involved.
We are thankful for a an elk in the freezer this week, and also for another to split between two friends.
We are thankful and grateful to have been given a sawmill and even the timber for a guest cabin project.
I am grateful for the friends I have found here at PP, grateful for a chance to have met them in person after so many years.
I am thankful for the work that Adam and Chris put in to bring some clarity in a cluttered world.
Thankful to be paid to do what we would do anyway.

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For my family, the skills of my trade, good health, for the freedom & ability to utilize Chris & Adam and the rest of the tribe here knowing I’m not alone in my concern and preparations for the future, raising my children to hopefully avoid the mistakes I and many of us made in the past and be better prepared for whatever comes next.

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this fascinating world. I get to be here another day trying to figure out the best way to live on this planet.

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Lots of good stuff on this post! Read it several times; it woke me from my tryptophan snooze enough to unload some risk (BA/TXN/WMT, to be precise). Comments:

...average investors adopted a “why worry?” attitude.
Is this really true? I think those of us dancing with the Fed since 2008 (the "average investor"?) are worried stiff. Yet see no profitable alternative.
The tremendous volume of US shale oil pumped over the past decade has created similar false comfort. It has kept the overall price of oil contained globally and thus taken the urgency out of preparing for a post-Peak Oil future. Why worry about conservation when oil is cheap? The global energy system is still hopelessly addicted to fossil fuels, most notably oil. The shale ‘miracle’ has actually been a ‘debacle’ from a cash flow standpoint; no one can drill it profitably. The shale basins have been high-graded and companies are starting to exit. The predictable result? Oil prices will be back over $100/barrel sooner than the world is ready for.
To nitpick, at least a few companies have likely drilled shale profitably, but very few, and your point is well taken. It's all about price, which the central banks have masterfully controlled. Most companies are still betting on a price increase; nobody understands the oil situation better than the companies who have to find, drill, and produce it. Oil has been the most amazing story of the last 5 years, leaving me truly humbled of the power of the world central banks. Drilling so much oil, at such a loss, for so long, while competing in an international market (with Russia & the Saudi!) has been breathtaking to behold. Anyone who works in oil will most likely have a very, very lucrative next decade in the scramble for new reserves that likely aren't there. But what do I know? I didn't think the first 5 years would be possible, either.
Now, we and you know that these are incredibly dangerous false signals.
Well, as for myself, I sure don't "know" anything. Without a record of consistently accurate predictions it's hubris to have confidence in future predictions. Myself, I will reflect on the 3-body problem, re-read The Black Swan, and then re-check my stop-losses. Market prices (especially oil prices) can seem insane a lot longer than anyone can remain solvent betting on what they "know"...
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Great article, Adam!
I’ve had the tremendous fortune to live a very contented life over the past few years. Cancer, and other medical trauma has touched my life and the lives of my children and loved ones over the past decade, and those years were more stressful than I can describe here.
For the past handful of years, things have settled. Adult kids are making good choices, various business streams are producing, and thankfully, there is time in my schedule to consider the various principles Adam and Chris discuss. All of us have reviewed the Crash Course and Prosper. The kids and I are discussing and implementing plans for different income streams, thinking through various limited energy scenarios, and using the ‘big brown truck of happiness’ for goods that would be useful during a collapse.
Very grateful for my faith in God, healthy families, and to be able to use the time like Joseph did in order to prepare for a serious downturn.
All in all, even if the inevitable break is delayed for longer than we think, we are living a more productive, family-friendly, ‘drawn together’ life that has been very influenced by the PP site and community. For this, friends, I am very thankful.
 

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There is no site quite like yours, offering realism about what is happening and good advice for making a life worth living and a world of abundance, despite the headwinds. Best to both of you!

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I am thankful that we can see and understand what’s happening in real time. Such knowledge isn’t an investment strategy, or a predictive methodology - it serves as a long range planning tool. I wish I had invested my life’s savings in Netflix 10 years ago, but it was dumb then and remains so now. I am glad that when the inevitable comes, me and mine won’t be in the “problem definition” stage, nor casting our blame in the approved direction. We will be well informed as to what we should be doing when it’s no longer advantageous to have one foot in each world. Until then I shall endure the puzzled looks from my shipmates as I walk on the sunny deck wearing my life preserver.
Rector

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…the way I used to, but I keep up on what’s going on in the world of course – and this site and its community provide a very useful corrective lens that sucks out the bias the MSM and uninformed folks are always shoveling my way. For that I’m grateful.
Busy cultivating relationships with locals here, especially ones that grow food and/or can tend a forest garden. Our 12-month growing season makes the latter especially attractive. If I can have another couple years of this BS fiat-fever “normal” I suppose I’ll be well and truly ready for BAU to flatline and croak.
Part of my preps is learning to play the ukulele. What, you think Netflix will be any use here in the Central Pacific? Electricity will be too hard to come by to waste it on such foolishness. Jamming with friends will be the new (old) Netflix. I won’t mind a whit.
VIVA – Sager

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I’m thankful for a life partner who is making the PP journey with me. It would be incredibly lonely to do this on my own. Walking alongside a strong man, who brings his own skills and aptitudes as we develop our eight forms of capital is reassuring and energizing. It’s even fun occasionally.
I’m thankful for meaningful work, helping people transition to more resilient forms of personal transportation.
I’m thankful for nutritional information that has helped me overcome auto-immune challenges and strengthened my husband to do difficult work, helping traumatized students learn.
I’m thankful for a half-acre city lot where we can improve the soil and learn to grow some of our own food.
I’m thankful for Chris and Adam and a half-dozen other online educators and commentators who are challenging my thinking and bringing new insights.
I’m grateful for the PP community that we’ve met at the annual seminars and the recent handgun-training event. Such kind, generous, smart people. I am frequently struck by the awful knowledge you all carry in your heads, while bringing a gentleness of spirit to those you encounter. You give me hope.

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I get to be here another day trying to figure out the best way to live on this planet.
I am currently reading Bill Mollison's "Permaculture: A Designer's Manual." He has many extremely insightful and cogent comments on exactly this topic. You can find it online as a PDF. A great complement to the info on PP. I find myself being grateful that there are people like the PP crew and Bill Mollison out there who have done some deep thinking about these topics and have shared their insights with us.
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‘Making Permaculture Stronger’ podcast is excellent especially episodes 18,19,20,21
Worth the listen…
Check out the Regenesis Group https://regenesisgroup.com
Also consider reading “Bringing Nature Home” Doug Tallamy excellent read on saving the planet one yard at a time. Also the movie “Hometown Habitat”

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https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1199091814340472832?s=21

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This weird rant (IMO) will go down as marking the top of the stock market. A call to all moms and pops to capitulate and plow into stocks at record high valuations. Truly you cannot make this shit up.

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Aside from all of the things I have to be thankful for, supporting Peak Prosperity and the work you and Chris are doing is very near the top of the list. The information and insights which I find and observe here each day are invaluable to anyone wanting to navigate through this quickly changing world.
Since I became a member of your blog over ten years ago I suspect I have referred hundreds of people to the crash course which has resulted in thousands of conversations about the events which are changing our world. It is a part of daily life.
Sheesch, I think there were over four hundred folks who attended the first speaking event Chris gave here in Sonora back in 2010 so the CC numbers are likely much higher. All is good!
And so we continue! This next leg down in the energy story will present many new opportunities to help get the truth about our predicament out to those who desire to make some changes.
Rectors comment resonates with me today. PP truly is ‘a long range planning tool’ and I am thankful for your work and the contributions this family of capital builders is making!
Cheers to a wonderful holiday season.
Coop

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And I am eternally grateful for access to your blog. It is very enlightening and I often copy links to my readers. I have written a book about the Global Financial System and the coming crisis. Anyone is welcome to a free pdf copy of my manuscript by request to: peter@underco.co.uk.
In addition, our small group in UK are attempting to change the way our government works to benefit of the bulk of our disenfranchised population, here is our website:
http://harrogateagenda.org.uk/
Happy Xmas and New Year

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A few things I’m thankful for:

  • The Federal Reserve – For propping up the “markets” and big banks at any cost, using manipulations never before seen in the history of the world, and for their blindness to the devastation they wreak upon savers and retirees.
  • Monsanto – For ridding the world of those pesky insects that have no positive place in the web of life and taking the initiative to single-handedly correct one of God’s most obvious screw ups in the process.
  • The European Union – For giving us a template for an organization with no accountability to its citizenry and no particular interests in their cares or concerns, as that always turns out well.
  • The State of California – For reminding us that no matter how intrusive and totalitarian a government gets, or how high taxes go, it can always get worse.
  • The shale oil industry – For fracking the remaining fossil fuels from the United States like a hoard of looters grabbing all the booty they can get their hands on, while leaving behind a barren wasteland that the rest of us are responsible to clean up. And for managing to lose money in the process.
  • The Peak Prosperity Community - For knowing sarcasm when they see it and for being able to laugh occasionally, even while facing overwhelming challenges and predicaments.
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