In our last +1, we met one of my heroes, Mrs. Kristie Kuehnast. I smile with joy (and in awe) every time I imagine her fifth-grade students coming back into the classroom after their mile run to sit down and watch a new +1 or PNTV. High fives, Kristie. We appreciate you. (Oh! Please walk through a cloning machine about 50 million times. Thank you.) We also briefly touched on Yuval Noah Harari’s perspective on the subject of Education. Today I want to revisit some more wisdom from his new book. As we discussed, Yuval shines a spotlight on 21 of the biggest challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. With the rise of artificial intelligence, information technology and biotechnology, things are changing at an incomprehensible speed. And, it’s only going to speed up, not slow down. He tells us: “The danger is that if we invest too much in developing AI and too little in developing human consciousness, the very sophisticated artificial intelligence of computers might only serve to empower the stupidity of humans.” He also tells us: “To avoid such outcomes, for every dollar and every minute we invest in improving artificial intelligence, we’d be wise to invest a dollar and a minute in advancing human consciousness. Unfortunately, at present we are not doing much in the way of research into human consciousness and ways to develop it. We are researching and developing human abilities mainly according to the immediate needs of the economic and political system, rather than according to our own long-term needs as conscious beings. My boss wants me to answer emails as quickly as possible, but he has little interest in my ability to taste and appreciate the food I am eating. Consequently, I check my emails even during meals, which means I lose the ability to pay attention to my own sensations. The economic system pressures me to expand and diversify my investment portfolio, but it gives me zero incentive to expand and diversify my compassion. So I strive to understand the mysteries of the stock exchange while making far less effort to understand the deep causes of suffering.” Let’s focus on the end of that passage… Which are you most interested in understanding? The fluctuations in the stock market? Or the fluctuations in your own well-being, and, by extension, the well-being of those around you and the world at large? I remember a coaching session where an Optimizer and I had fun making the distinction that, rather than waking up and immediately checking the stock market, he may want to consider waking up and checking in how his ULTIMATE stock was doing—that stock being his OWN CONSCIOUSNESS, of course. Seriously. When you wake up, what do you do? Do you check in on the most precious “asset” you’ll ever have? (Again, I repeat: That would be YOU and your well-being, of course!) Or, do you immediately check in on the world—whether that’s the stock market or the news or your email inbox? Byron Katie comes to mind. She tells us: “The greatest stock market you can invest in is yourself. Finding this truth is better than finding a gold mine.” Amen. Today’s +1. How can you invest in yourself a little more today? Here’s to celebrating (and tapping into!) our gold mines.
