New Good Life : Living Better Than Ever in an Age of Less

by Robbins, John

• ISBN13: 9780345524300
• ISBN10: 0345524306
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2035-01-01
• Publisher: Ballantine Books

Summary

How do you define the good life? For many, success is measured not by health and happiness but by financial wealth. But such a worldview overlooks the important things in life: personal contentment, family time, spirituality, and the health of the planet and those living on it. A preoccupation with money and possessions is not only unhealthy, it can also drain the true joy from life. In recent years, millions have watched their American Dreams go up in smoke. The international financial collapse, inflation, massive layoffs, and burgeoning consumer debt have left people in dire financial straits-including John Robbins, a crusader for planet-friendly food and lifestyle choices, who lost his entire savings in an investment scam. But Robbins soon realized that there was an upside to our collective financial downturn: Curtailed consumerism could lead us to reassess our lives and values. The New Good Life provides a philosophical and prescriptive path from conspicuous consumption to conscious consumption. Where the old view of success was measured by cash, stocks, and various luxuries, the new view will be guided by financial restraint and a new awareness of what truly matters. A passionate manifesto on finding meaning beyond money and status, this book delivers a sound blueprint for living well on less. Discover how to * create your own definition of success based on your deepest beliefs and life experience * alleviate depression, lower blood pressure, and stay fit with inexpensive alternatives for high-cost medications * develop a diet that promotes better health-and saves you money * plan for-and protect yourself from-future economic catastrophes * cut down on your housing and transportation costs * live frugally without deprivation * follow in the footsteps of real people who have effectively forged new financial identities. The New Good Life provides much-needed hope and comfort in a time of fear and uncertainty. Here is everything you need to develop high-joy, low-cost solutions to life's challenges. Practical and timely, this book equips you with the skills needed not only to survive but to thrive in these challenging times.

Excerpts

Chapter One

Rags and Riches

Recently, Lexus spent many millions of dollars on an ad campaign that wasn't exactly subtle. The ads trumpeted: "Whoever said money can't buy happiness isn't spending it right." The message, of course, was that you can buy happiness, providing you spend $50,000 or so on one of the company's luxury cars.

This kind of thing happens at all ends of the economic spectrum. Yesterday, I saw a McDonald's ad on a billboard. Several of their coffee beverages were pictured, along with the bold and prominent question "Who says you can't buy happiness?"

Similarly, years ago when I was working for my father and the ice cream company he cofounded and owned (Baskin-Robbins, 31 Flavors), the marketing department came up with what they considered a brilliant idea for a new advertising slogan. The new motto was to become the centerpiece of the company's marketing efforts. It was to be featured in radio, TV, and newspaper ads and displayed prominently in many of the retail stores. The new slogan was "We make people happy."

Both the marketing executives and my father were delighted with the proposed new motto. I, however, was not, and our differences sparked an intense conversation.

"What I like about the slogan," my dad argued, "is that we are communicating fun and happiness. That's what people want."

"Yes, people want to have fun and be happy," I agreed. "But it's not actually accurate. We don't make people happy. We sell ice cream."

"Don't get technical," he reprimanded. "You're making things too complicated."

I, of course, loved ice cream, to the point that I sometimes devoured a quart at a sitting. I knew intimately most of the hundreds of flavors the company had brought to market over the years. I thought many of the flavors were wonderful, and I'd had a hand in creating a number of them.

Up until this moment, I'd had no problem with the company's other advertising slogans. In fact, I was delighted that a huge photograph of me as a child, smiling while eating an ice cream cone, was prominently displayed on the wall behind the counter in hundreds of stores. And I happily sang the radio jingle that had been the centerpiece of ad campaigns in previous years: "Look for the sign with the big thirty-one-It's Baskin-Robbins, where ice cream's fun!" But there was something about this new slogan that disturbed me.

"Happiness is something we create by how we live our lives," I reflected. "It's something we bring about by living with respect for ourselves and for others. It's not something that can be bought and sold. We sell a product that is fun and provides temporary pleasure, but that's not the same thing as making people happy."

My dad was far from pleased. "What do you think you are, a philosopher?" he scolded. "Stop analyzing everything. We're talking about an advertising slogan, and you're making it into some kind of deep abstract discussion. Cut it out."

"What's the point, then?" I asked.

"The point is to sell ice cream."

"That's what I'm saying. That's what we do. We manufacture and sell ice cream. It takes a lot more than an ice cream cone to make someone happy."

"They can also buy quarts, half gallons, and ice cream cakes."

My heart sank. I knew he was right, in terms of what would effectively sell the product. This was, after all, what advertisements are meant to do. Customers appreciated the experience, the image, the feeling of being happy that Baskin-Robbins ice cream stores represented. I knew the slogan would be effective. But still, something bothered me.

The forging of a conscience

Despite my concerns, the company adopted the motto, and "We make people happy" went on to become one of the most successful marketing slogans in the history of the American food business. Successful, that is, in terms of increased ice cream sales. Baskin-Robbins, founded the year I was born