Coming Apart or Community Together?
Posted by Orrin Woodward on March 15, 2012
In the course of answering emails, I noticed that my friend Greg Johnson had sent me a link to a blog discussing Charles Murray’s new book Coming Apart. After reading the blog article several times, I realized I had to go buy the book immediately. I’m thankful I did!
Although many believe that the complex challenges facing us today cannot be solved through the lens of the American founder’s virtues, Murray writes:
I take another view: The founders were right. The success of America depended on virtue in the people when the country began and it still does in the twenty-first century. America will remain exceptional only to the extent that its people embody the same qualities that made it work for the first two centuries of its existence. The founding virtues are central to that that kind of citizenry.
I wrote RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions for LIFE to bring back character-based ethics into society and the marketplace. In truth, Murray’s and my philosophies align closely, not a shocker since Murray gathered his views from studying numerous sociological studies, while I gathered mine from over 15 years in the living rooms of America. Both methods resulted in the same conclusions: that people with satisfying work, a happy marriage, a high social trust community, and a strong religious foundation are more likely to be happy than people without these four attributes. Of the four, in fact, a happy marriage is the factor that generates the biggest improvement in someone’s happiness score. I can speak on marriage and happiness both personally, experiencing first-hand the increase in happiness when Laurie and I improved our own marriage, and professionally, witnessing many couples improve their marriages and, subsequently, their happiness levels.
Coming Apart reveals that only 10% of respondents who are unmarried, unhappy in jobs, profess no religion, and have low social trust describe themselves as genuinely happy. When a good job is added, the number of respondents stating they were happy increased to 20%. A happy marriage, however, raised the total to 60% declaring they were happy. The final two attributes – high social trust communities and strong religious faith – increased the respondents’ scores an additional 10% each. Thus, from a baseline of 10% of respondents being happy, over 80% of the people who had all four attributes stated they were sincerely happy. In other words, when someone adds these four attributes, his possibilities for a happy life increase by eight times! This is a significant increase and enough to make even the most skeptical of people pause and ponder.
Is there a reciprocal community (high social trust), where people can thrive in compensated communities (high rewards and recognition), learning proper principles for faithful marriages (marriage pack) and the development of a Biblical faith (All Grace Outreach)? There has been since November 1, 2011. Indeed, the reason the LIFE business has grown over 50% in four months is simple: it meets the needs of its community members. No matter how many fearful competitors attack our game-changing strategy, we grow because we satisfy our customers’ innate desire to be happy. People join and stay in LIFE because we focus on the big four (and other) attributes described in countless books on community, like Charles Murray’s Coming Apart. Simply put, we help people grow personally and professionally which leads to increased joy and happiness. I am not just a founder, but I am also a satisfied customer of the growth process materials.
One of the greatest secrets to be learned about life is that happiness cannot be approached directly; rather, it is captured when it’s not being sought. Happiness, in other words, is a by-product of a series of internal victories, which are eventually revealed in the external world. Perhaps you are looking for a community of learners, encouragers, and leaders? Maybe you are resolved to change? As people gather together within the LIFE communities, the world can and will be changed. One million people, here we come!
Sincerely, Orrin Woodward
9 Responses to “Coming Apart or Community Together?”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Ken Hendon said
Thanks for sharing this info and the book it came from. More and more, better and better we are learning to explain the exceptionalism of Life! Awesome!
Kristen Seidl said
Fantastic post Orrin! I am a satisfied customer who plans to play my part on our way to a million! Does author Charles Murray know about LIFE? If he hasn’t yet I am sure he will. Sounds like he would be a good fit for Team’s mission.
jasonwinkler said
It is breath taking to realize that what LIFE is doing everyday is saving our country step by step for today and leaps for tomorrows to come! Thank you Jason and Chris Winkler
rjfisher1 said
Thanks for sharing the statistics – very powerful, as well as the direct correlation to your findings and his.
gabulmer said
Thanks, Orrin.
Coincidentally The King’s College (@thekingscollege) just posted this link on Twitter this AM: a talk followed by Q&A with Charles Murray @ The Manhattan Institute (recorded in Feb. 2012).
Here’s the link:
http://www.manhattan-institute.org/events/021512MI.htm?awid=7337031330653968743-3577
gabulmer said
Reblogged this on apologetics workshop.
Bill Eder said
Orrin: Thanks for the insight in to Coming apart. Not that we should go backwords,however we can and should learn from history. Growing up I lived
in a” neighborhood” it was a “community” that cared and watch over each other.
This was and can be a way to realize how together people will find a fuller and happier life. We are designed to be and live in community.
Joanne Michaels said
I attended the breakout session in St. Louis last night and it was awesome. It was so uplifting to hear everyone answer the the questions and know we are all in this together to a million
Wildtarg said
Provocative insights Orrin, in both your blog and the one you linked to.
I actually gravitated to what was quoted from Falling Upward, that a general trend is for people to spend the first part of their life striving for achievement and seeking to discover and establish their own identity. Then there is a transition to seeking significance and establishing a legacy. It occurred to me that this is a recurring theme in great historical figures; Martin Luther, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, to name a few.
However it bears pointing out that in an increasingly schismatic and chaotic society, it is more and more difficult and time-intensive for individuals to even grasp their fundamental identity. As media and social forces become less compassionate and personal, people spend so much energy in the struggle to survive that self-knowledge and self-mastery end up on the back burner, or get taken off the stove altogether. This trend is likely to lead to fewer and fewer innovators and big-idea people, resulting in the stratification, stagnation, and decay or collapse of society.
LIFE is revolutionary not only because of its business model, but because it creates a sustainable environment where people can experience community and discover their own importance and significance as individuals, grow and develop, and add value back into both the LIFE community and society at large. This is a system that actively resists the Five Laws of Decline and exerts a regenerative effect on people and organizations who use its events and materials. I am humbled, honored, and excited to be a part of LIFE.
Keep going, we’re with you…