Episode # 35: Yancey Strickler Talks About the Bentoism Framework

✍️ EPISODE OVERVIEW:

In this enlightening conversation, Kickstarter co-founder Yancey Strickler shares his innovative framework called Bentoism (Beyond Near-Term Orientation), which offers a fresh perspective on self-interest and decision-making. Moving beyond traditional success metrics, Strickler discusses how our current focus on short-term individual gains is unsustainable and proposes a more holistic approach considering both immediate and future impacts.

Drawing from his experiences leading Kickstarter and his subsequent journey, Strickler explains how the platform was intentionally structured to prioritize community benefit over profit maximization. He delves into why our current societal trajectory is concerning, particularly regarding climate change, wealth inequality, and social cohesion, while offering practical tools for making better decisions that benefit both our present and future selves.

The conversation explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed fundamental weaknesses in our systems and mindsets, potentially serving as a catalyst for necessary change. Strickler provides insights into how individuals can take meaningful action despite overwhelming global challenges, emphasizing the importance of vision, networking, truth-telling, and loving connections.

📖 CHAPTER SUMMARIES:

1. Origins of Bentoism (12:00-25:30)Yancey Strickler explains how his experience as Kickstarter's CEO led him to develop Bentoism. Struggling with balancing financial decisions against social impact, he recognized the need for a framework that could consider multiple perspectives. This led to creating a simple but powerful two-by-two matrix considering now me, future me, now us, and future us needs, inspired by the compartmentalized structure of a bento box.

2. The Cultural Shift in Values (32:00-45:00) The discussion examines a striking UCLA study revealing how college freshmen's life priorities have dramatically shifted since 1970. While 86% once prioritized developing a meaningful life philosophy, today's students overwhelmingly focus on wealth accumulation, reflecting a broader societal shift toward materialism and short-term thinking.

3. The Critical State of Global Systems (47:00- 55:00) A sobering analysis of current global challenges, including climate change, wealth inequality, and social division. Strickler references key studies and books predicting societal challenges, suggesting we're entering a period of extended decline that requires new approaches and thinking patterns.

4. Creating Meaningful Change (55:00-1:00:00)Yancey Strickler outlines four essential elements for navigating challenging times: visioning (maintaining positive future scenarios), networking (building supportive communities), truth-telling (facing reality), and loving (maintaining human connections). He emphasizes the importance of small, consistent actions over grand gestures.

5. Practical Implementation (1:00:00-1:10:00) The conversation concludes with practical applications of Bentoism, including weekly planning sessions and community support structures. Strickler shares how the Bento Society hosts regular meetings where members collectively work on aligning their actions with longer-term values and goals.

🔑 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. Modern Success Trap Success metrics have become dangerously narrow, focusing primarily on financial gains while neglecting broader impacts on society and personal fulfillment. This short-term thinking has created a society where 84% of college students prioritize wealth over developing a meaningful life philosophy, representing a complete reversal from 50 years ago. Understanding this shift is crucial for making conscious choices about your own definition of success.

2. Beyond Individual Thinking The Bentoism framework expands self-interest beyond immediate personal needs, considering four dimensions: Now Me, Future Me, Now Us, and Future Us. This comprehensive approach helps make better decisions by considering both short and long-term impacts on yourself and others. By integrating these perspectives, you can create more sustainable and fulfilling life strategies. Learn More: How to Work on Yourself

3. Environmental Wake-Up Call Current environmental and social challenges aren't just future concerns but present realities requiring immediate attention. The West Coast fires, declining U.S. life expectancy, and growing wealth inequality are early indicators of systemic problems. Rather than becoming paralyzed by these challenges, use them as motivation to make meaningful changes in your daily choices and habits.

4. Crisis as Opportunity COVID-19 represents a potential catalyst for societal transformation, challenging outdated systems and mindsets. While the pandemic hasn't automatically united people as hoped, it has exposed systemic weaknesses and created space for new approaches. Use this period of disruption to question assumptions and establish better patterns.

5. Community Power Individual action alone isn't enough; meaningful change requires community support and collective effort. The Bento Society demonstrates how people from diverse backgrounds - from CEOs to Walmart workers - can come together to support each other's growth. Building or joining such communities can provide accountability and inspiration for maintaining positive habits.

6. Redefining Wealth True wealth extends beyond financial metrics to encompass relationships, personal growth, and societal contribution. The Bentoism framework helps reframe success to include both material and non-material forms of wealth, encouraging a more balanced and fulfilling approach to life planning and decision-making.

7. Future-Self Awareness Developing a strong connection with your future self can dramatically improve current decision-making. By viewing your future self with compassion and consideration, you're more likely to make choices that benefit your long-term well-being rather than just immediate gratification.

8. Systems Change Meaningful personal change requires understanding and working within larger systemic contexts. While individual habits matter, recognizing how they fit into broader social and environmental systems helps create more sustainable and impactful transformations.

9. Value Alignment Success comes from aligning daily actions with core values and long-term vision. The Bento framework provides a practical tool for ensuring decisions and habits reflect both immediate needs and future aspirations, creating a more purposeful and satisfying life journey.

🥇 GOLDEN HABIT:

"A weekly review and planning session using the Bento framework"

Definition of Golden Habit: "A 'Golden Habit' is the optimal habit to relieve a pain point/replace a bad habit because it's personalized to your DNA, goals, and lifestyle in order to maximally reduce the friction to form it."

This Episode's Golden Habit (Timestamp 58:00): Strickler describes his practice of weekly planning using the four Bento boxes (Now Me, Future Me, Now Us, Future Us) to ensure balanced decision-making and action-taking. He notes this habit has transformed his to-do lists from mere task management to meaningful life direction.

Related Core Area: Mindset Core:

This habit addresses the pain point of scattered thinking and short-term decision making by providing a structured framework for holistic life planning.

🚀 READY PLAYER ONE?

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🫅 BIO - Yancey Strickler:

Yancey Strickler is the co-founder and former CEO of Kickstarter, the pioneering crowdfunding platform that has directed over $5 billion to independent creators worldwide. After leading Kickstarter to become a Public Benefit Corporation, Strickler developed Bentoism, a framework for better decision-making that considers both personal and collective well-being. His book "This Could Be Our Future: A Manifesto for a More Generous World" challenges conventional notions of value and success. A thought leader in ethical business practices and sustainable growth, Strickler advocates for a more balanced approach to measuring progress and success in both business and life.