Actions Speak Loudest

What Jimmy Carter and Mia Hamm have in common, or how to kick-start a decade of betterment.

There’s nothing quite like the start of a new decade to offer up the promise and potential for change. As the blank slate of the future stretches before us, with its capacity for betterment, we are kicking the year off by spotlighting a powerful spark of inspiration that actually transcends the fluff-lined cliches of idealism and offers tangible, real insight into the art and science of constructive change.

Action Speak Loudest is a brilliant book-and-charity that focuses on 32 essential issues, ranging from climate change to childhood obesity to education.

From President Jimmy Carter on peace to Robert Coles on moral intelligence to Donovan McNabb on physical inactivity, the anthology features 1000-word essays from cultural icons and everyday innovators alike, accompanied by award-winning photography.

Every generation makes a commitment to see its children lead better lives than they have and to leave the world a better place than they have inherited.

Today’s issues are combining to create the first generation of children expected to lead shorter, unhealthier and unhappier lives than their parents.

Action Speak Loudest is designed as a clarion call to help us keep our generational promise.

And while many well-intentioned efforts in this vein end up toothless and preachy, failing to make the leap from inspiration to action, Action Speak Loudest doesn’t. The end of each chapter features an In My Home I Can… section, offering pragmatic tips on implementing all these ideas in everyday life — a potent case study for the strongest change agent of all, the blend of moral motivation and actionable behavioral steps.

Because the project is a non-profit, all proceeds from the book go right back into the causes and organizations featured on its pages. So go ahead and give yourself — and the world’s sorest issues — a wonderful and inspired new year’s gift.

In 2009, we spent more than 240 hours a month bringing you Brain Pickings. That’s over 2,880 hours for the year, over which we could’ve seen 29 feature-length films, listened to 72 music albums or taken 960 bathroom visits. If you found any joy and inspiration here this year, please consider supporting us with a modest donation — it lets us know we’re doing something right.

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 4th, 2010 at 8:11 am in activism, culture and was tagged activism, books, culture.