www.commoncents.university

What can we do?

When the problems are so large?

Do we have the tools to make real change?

Can we have both a healthy world and material prosperity?

We can see things don’t add up.

Do we have time for what’s important?

Or is there too much to do?Too little money?Too little time?

It’s implied that we have no real choice.

We don’t know enough.

You don’t have a degree in that.

That will never work!

Be practical!

You won’t be competitive.

It’s the way things have always been done.

They’re just trees, they’ll grow back.

We need more growth.

Have you studied Economics? Then stay out of the discussion.

If the market collapses, we’ll be in trouble.

There are no good options.

The talk is all in numbers.

The measurements are in numbers.

The plans are for numbers.

Not realities.

Where can one person start?

When there’s just debate?

We have made change before.

We have been united.

What did it take?

Information is not enough.

There is so much out there already.

Our systems are built on outmoded principles.

How it is How it could be

We keep creating the same problems.

The solutions are there, if we can see from a different perspective.

If we look beneath the surface.

Thinking in systems gives us the possibility to see the underlying causes of events, and how to make meaningful change.

The Iceberg ModelVia the Presencing Institute

EventsWhat is happening

Patterns of BehaviorWhat is happening over time

Systems StructureHow are the parts related?What influences these patterns?

Mental ModelsWhat values, assumptions and beliefs shape the system?

We can create systemic change if we identify real causes and holistic solutions.

Without the perspective of the whole system, even the most brilliant ideas don’t gain traction.

What do we really need answers to?

Where does money come from?Who was affected by this policy?

Do I need this much just to survive?

Is there another way?

How can my business be beneficial?

How do I feel about this?

Is this good for my community?

There are better models we can transition to.

We can see the bigger picture.

From Ego

To Eco

We can make change.

We’re in this together.

We can make a world we want to live in together.

There is great danger in our times.

We have tools to make it happen.

This is our opportunity.

A website that has more than information.

Where quality has a place alongside quantity.

Where storytelling intersects with data.

Where nothing isleft out.

Podcasts

Articles

Resources

Dialogue

Snapshots

Ideas

Tools Participation

Mapping the movement

Questions and polls

Information for the mind

Information for the heart

Understanding money

Classes

Systems thinking

From exploration to action.

Going public in fall 2015

Take a peek at www.commoncents.university

This is happening.

I would love to launch this in a beautiful community of empowered, inspired, and forward thinking learners.

This education would give me invaluable tools and boots on the ground experience.

The debt will be too much to bearas I focus on building this site in years to come.

Your financial support is essential.

Thank you.

The particulars

PodcastA weekly interview with our new economy heroes

Initial interview list:

Jeremy Rifkin -Director, Foundation on Economic TrendsMagenta Ceiba- Director, Evolver Network Fyodor Ovichenkov and Manuel Manga – founders of the Institute for Evolutionary LeadershipGeorgia Kelly- Founder of Praxis Peace InstituteMichael Kramer- co-author, “The Resilient Investor.”Chong Kee tan- Founder, Bay BucksPhilip Beard- Founder, Go Local BucksMaria Reidelback- Founder- HV currentMira Luna- Founder Bay Area Community Exchange Time bankRani Croager- Co-founder Uptima Business BootcampJonathan Youtt- Community OrganizerNeal Gorenflo- Founder Shareable Magazine

Carla Mays- Innovation Economy StrategistMillicent Johnston- The Tipping Point Scott Beiben- Lost Film Fest founder and Cryptocurrency enthusiastAmber Bieg- Marketing consultant and business strategistToko-pa Turner- Author, specialist in dreamsSudeep Motupalli Rao- Founder SlowTech LabsChris Martinson- Peak ProsperityAhma Rahim- Founder Numi TeaHiroko Kurihara- Co-founder 215 Collective and leader of Oakland Makers

Articles

Guest posts are welcome from qualified and thoughtful writers.

Covering all aspects of the movement from currency to policy, from history to community building.

As readership participates focal directions may change.

Resources

For individuals, business leaders, and social entrepreneurs, Common Cents has links to resources and organizations that are doing great work.Systems thinkingThe circular economyPermaculture design principlesDesign thinkingHolarchies

OrganizationHolacraciesCo-operativesSelf-organizing systemsRe-localization

MoneyLocal digital currenciesCryptocurrenciesPublic BankingSlow MoneyNatural CapitalNon-debt based currency8 forms of capital

EconomyAppropriate regulationFair TradeRemoving externalitiesInformation vs service vs industrial economiesRegenerative Economics/ Environmental Economics

Dialogue

Readers are encouraged to have RESPECTFUL discussions below articles with an easy to use social media sign in

A forum may evolve if users are interested.

Snapshots / Portraits

A mini-interview section with portraits and 1-2 paragraph snapshots of people speaking about how money impacts their lives or communities.

Styled after “Humans of New York.” www.humansofnewyork.com

Ideas

Which thoughts of today will become our future?

People are coming up with brilliant ways to restructure our workplaces, economies and communities.

Here is a place to get a first taste.

Tools

Businesses, Individuals and social entrepreneurs have more tools than ever before to organize and make effective and profitable change.

Articles and guides written by knowledgeable people form a toolkit so that more people can be involved.

Visual information presentation helps people with different learning styles.

Systems thinking

When we look at things in systems, new possibilities emerge.

The externalities that are causing so much damage to our environment, and driving income inequality are no longer hidden.

By incorporating systems perspectives into all of the site’s materials, users can integrate knowledge and gain new perspectives.

Classes

After reading a book, a short lecture or blog post is about all we get to hear from our economic heroes. We are hungry for more wisdom, and what easier way than an online class?

With a welcoming user base developed over the coming year or two, launching an educational platform to a steady readership has potential for a solid student base.

Courses could be in tangible money-management and business tools or philosophical inquires.

Understanding money

Money is something we’re not supposed to talk about in polite company.

Politically, we’re supposed to have a few degrees.

Little in life is more common to all of us than money- here is a place to generate a common understanding, and tools for personal empowerment.

Mapping the movement

It sometimes looks like we’re all working on different things- when really we’re working on different angles of the same puzzle. How can we map the economy- through time, to see where we all fit?

How can we see the relationships between policy and action? Between belief systems and events?

New software for visualization and information is coming out. Some simple tools can be built affordably. This information will become accessible to people in all areas of the movemet.

Participation

We can consume information anywhere.

Having a chance to participate brings new insights and wisdom.

Through comments, discussions, personal stories, polls, classes, and artistic and creative interactive engagement on the site, people can engage and find out how they belong.

Information for the mind

Numbers and figures don’t convey the whole story, but they help. What are the real figures and measurements we can use to determine the health of our economy? The success of our business? Our personal wealth?

Looking at our current problems from a larger systems perspective can give us better insights into how to plan what we’re creating next.

Information for the heart

We are not rational economic beings.

If we were, we wouldn’t have the destructive systems we do, or be terrified to check our bank accounts.

Talking about how money affects our lives and the lives of others lets people see how they actually feel, and make their choices.

Portraits, interviews, polls, and dialogues will give site visitors a chance to explore how they feel about work, money, and the economy… and how they wish it to be.

Monetization

As a blog, Common Cents has free podcasts, articles, interviews, and potentially forums.

Advertisements from ethical businesses can provide a basic income for the site.

On-line classes have low overhead,and if readership is strong they could be filled with little to no outside advertising costs.

Affiliate marketing may providea way to promote products and services that are aligned with Common Cents values.

About

Cjay Roughgarden is a writer, educator, and curriculum developer. She has been studying systems of interaction for most of her adult life. She is enrolled for the MBA program at Presidio School of Management Fall 2015, and has a BA in Political Science and Writing from Gettysburg College.

Cjay is finishing a youth horticulture curriculum soon to be available at welovetogrowfood.com, and is working on her first book. She also consults for SlowTech Labs, a Cradle to Cradle Certification and Biomimicry Design firm in Sonoma, CA.

In her spare time she collaborates on large art projects with an Oakland-based group of artists known as 5 Ton Crane.