1. What one subject can you enjoy talking about for many hours?
2. Do any of your hobbies involve working a lot with other people?
3. What specific concerns preoccupy your mind, breaking into whatever else you’re thinking about?
4. What do you most enjoy doing for others?
5. Let’s pretend you’ve reached the end of your life, and you’re in heaven looking back on it. What’s the one thing you want to be most happy about having done or having been?
6. Who ‘out there’ in the world have you come to care about the most? Who do you most want to help, enable, or reach? (You define the categories, whatever way you want. Go with your first instincts.)
7. Now, write down at least five of your life experiences that most gave you a sense of fulfillment and/or growth. (Don’t think about them until later — just write them down for now.) If more experiences come to mind, just keep listing them until you exhaust yourself. You’ll sort them out later.

Co-Nation will follow my transcontinental cycling tour in 2012, as I visit a variety of cooperative communities across all sectors. From co-working centers in urban areas to intentional communities in the countryside, I’ll be gathering diverse perspectives on individual and collective problem-solving, and examining the benefits and challenges of cooperative culture.

If you are involved in any type of co-op or community that values cooperation over competition, I’d love to hear from you. Even if you are just getting started, or would like to learn more about the cooperative movement, please share your comments.

Current topics of interest include:

• Collaborative Leadership
• Volunteering and Civic Engagement
• Community Media and Technology
• Co-Economics and Social Enterprise
• Co-Learning and Skill Sharing
• Co-Creation and Artist Collectives
• Co-Living and Intentional Communities
• Co-Working and Worker Cooperative Businesses

What are some topics you would like to see covered in a documentary about cooperation? Are there any thought leaders in this field that I should know about? Who influences your community? What inspires you? What challenges do you face in your co-op or community, and how are you addressing them?

I’d love to hear your stories. If you know someone I should interview, or have a suggestion of a community I should visit, please let me know.

Fear not, I will continue to share the minutiae of my work, life, and quest for balance. I’m very busy right now working on several client websites and mobile applications. I’m also preparing to shoot a documentary about cooperation, community, and collaborative leadership in the United States. Co-Nation will follow my transcontinental cycling tour in 2012, as I visit a variety of cooperative communities across all sectors.

I’m currently an artist in residence at Trained Eye Arts Center in Bloomington, Indiana, where I’m working on some amazing media projects with other local artists. So, yes, much digital content to upload soon…Thanks for your patience.

While I often support locally-owned coffeeshops, there’s a few things about Starbucks that keep me coming back again and again. First, it’s the consistently delicious coffee at a reasonable price and the refill scheme I’ve already mentioned. I keep crazy hours and if I’m tired it’s hard to concentrate. Coffee is essential, and good coffee is comforting. So whether at my homebase in Bloomington, Indiana or freelancing on the road, I can count on getting a good cuppa joe that is not going to be disappointing.

Next, it’s the WiFi I can rely on. While it often gets janky when 20 people are streaming HD video on their laptops, for the most part it’s very reliable. I don’t need to mess around with any password, and it’s free (though I still feel guilty using resources and table space unless I buy something)

Lastly, Starbucks is universal. In my college town, so many International students are up in Starbucks that my friends call it the U.N. – There are so many interesting and beautiful people in Starbucks that it can be a bit overwhelming and distracting at times. It doesn’t necessarily feel like a neighborhood coffee joint, but I think each store is working on that in their own way. What Ive noticed is that students come to study, and people come to do business. As a freelancer, I can’t tell you how many times a client has asked me if we could meet at Starbucks, to which I’m always happy to answer affirmatively.]]> http://jghoward.com/starbucks/feed/ 0 http://jghoward.com/firm-decision/ http://jghoward.com/firm-decision/#comments Mon, 29 Aug 2011 19:19:38 +0000 jghoward http://jghoward.com/?p=985 The word decision comes from the Latin root decidere, which means “to cut off from.” I’ve decided to succeed in my own business, which means to cut off the very possibility of not succeeding. I’m deeply committed to local business on the social web, and I’ve realized that my choice enables me to give something back to the communities in which I live, work, and play.