Keep the Faith

Why pushing for goodness is punk rock | Vol. 82

Mar 26, 2026

Welcome to Vol. 82 of Move Fast, Think Slow.

In the last dispatch, I handed over the reins to my guy Bobby Edwards, and he did not disappoint with his thoughtful piece on AI and human agency in HOW HUMANS WIN. A highlight I enjoyed.

My push for you is to find that “you know your kid” element in your job. Think about that irreplaceable human element that’s unique to your role. Run with it. Get better at it. Evolve it. Perfect it. Then pull it apart and do it again.
If you need a starting point, MIT Sloan School of Management has a list (EPOCH) of capabilities that humans have, and AI does not. It’s a quick read and will set you on the path to winning.

Give it a read if you missed it.

This week, I write you a little note on hope, a perspective on an era shift (albeit a tough one, but are they ever nice), reading Nice News (literally) and giving hope a chance.

Holding out for hope, being an optimist, and holding the line for a brighter future is the punk rock of today.

Based on what the algorithms would have us read due to the corporate obsession with measurement and the need to drive “engagement” to further drive profits, it can seem like the world is heading towards the end. And yes, we all know it’s bad. I won’t run through the list of dour, sour, sad, and disappointing things happening here at home and abroad.

But what if all the bad is just a really erratic moment that’s spawning a new era, where we have a chance to emerge from the ashes anew?

“The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters” - Antonio Gramsci

This quote made the rounds earlier this year because, well, does it not feel fitting to the current moment? The guy who apparently wrote it was imprisoned for 11 years by Italy’s Mussolini in the 1930s. The end for Mussolini, albeit a while later, was not so kind for him. I’m not here to share a history lesson; I am here to point out the idea of a “new world struggling to be born.”

Jump to astrology! Yes, astrology. In 2007, an astrologist made claims of what America would be like in the 2020s, and not in short order, he nailed the vibes. And that brings us to more astrology analysis, including numerology for one of my favorite Gen-Z intellects (@Nikitadumptruck).

I highlighted in a post from last year that Kissinger said the freak in the White House is typically just a footnote in history, but in history, people like him signal a shift in the era that actually has nothing to do with them.

So I ask you, if this thing all burns down, how do you want to rebuild it?

The thing is this: If you wanna be anti-establishment punk rock, be an optimist, hold out for hope, and hold the line for a brighter future.

BUT WHERE IS THE PROOF?

Jacob Simon popped into my feed last year, and I said “yes, yes, and yes” right away. He does these quick videos on “THINGS THAT WENT RIGHT” around the world that I highly recommend you follow and subscribe to his HOPE MAKERS newsletter.

Check out all the things that “went right” in 2026 by month from Jacob/Hope Makers.

January: 🐻‍❄️♳🦌 An Arctic drilling lease sale failed when no company placed any bids, Thailand banned plastic waste imports, and 16 new wildlife crossings were announced across 16 US states.
February: 🦬🍄‍🟫🏔️ 540 buffalo returned to their ancestral homeland, scientists invented a 3D-printed fungi battery that decomposes when out of power, and the Taranaki Maunga mountain in New Zealand was unanimously recognized as a legal person.
March: 📚🪧📉 The 200,000th Little Free Library was created, protests broke out across every National Park site to protect our public lands, and the UK’s emissions fell to the lowest level since 1872.
April: 🧸💰🌊 The EU banned harmful PFAs in toys, Chevron was forced to pay $750 million for illegal damages, and over 800 marine species were discovered in a global search for unknown life.
May: 💸🧑‍🔬🌺 The US ended hidden “junk fees” or misleading prices from hotels and events, community scientists recorded 3.3 million wildlife observations, and Hawaii added a tourism fee to protect their natural resources.
June: 🤝👗🐋 The biggest Indigenous land back deal ever in California was completed, France adopted a bill that bans ultra fast fashion ads, and a real princess from Tonga called for the recognition of whales as legal persons who can defend their rights in court.
July: 💦🧑‍⚖️⚡️ Flint, Michigan finally finished replacing 11,000 lead pipes to clean up the city’s drinking water, the highest court in the world ruled that countries must to prevent activities that harm the environment, and Poland generated more power from clean energy than coal for the first time despite being Europe’s most coal-dependent nation.
August: 💥🌞🐢 8 coal plant towers were beautifully destroyed in the biggest-ever simultaneous demolition, researchers made a new solar cell that works with indoor light to replace small batteries, and former sea turtle poachers transitioned to working for conservation organizations in Cabo Verde.
September: 🐘✈️🛍️ The last captive elephant in Argentina was released into a sanctuary as the nation closes down their zoos, a solar-powered plane broke a record by reaching 9,521 meters on a 5 hour flight over the Swiss Alps, and a secondhand shopping mall in Sweden with donated items turned 10 years old.
October: 🇮🇹💡🌊 Italy became the first European country to make harmful deepfakes illegal and punishable by prison, new data showed the world’s biggest electricity source became renewables, the UN High Seas Treaty to protect international waters reached enough countries to become legally binding next year.
November: 🎟️🧸🏞️ The UK made it illegal to resell live event tickets for more than the original cost, all children in New Mexico started getting free childcare, 2.2 million acres of land was returned in one of Australia’s biggest Indigenous land back deals.
December: 🌊🎥🌸 Norway paused deep sea mining through at least 2029, Ecuador’s Indigenous Otavalo community made an anime to preserve their fading language and customs, and nature’s inherent right to exist is remaining after Ecuadorian citizens voted against a proposal that would rewrite their constitution.

THAT’S A LOT OF THINGS!

And know this: All those things pointed out above were only possible because a handful of humans got together, stayed focused, and pushed new ideas through, or policies, or technologies that benefit humans, that benefit the collective.

I try to look for Jacob’s updates and also the newsletter, Nice News. I highly recommend you do this too; you will realize there is so much goodness happening in the world today, despite the madness happening as well.

Before we go, ask yourself this: who does it benefit for us to give up on hope? Who does it benefit if we are to believe the end of the world is true? Who does it benefit if we are just to submit to whatever the tech overlords tell us is true? You already know the answers to these questions, but the questions matter more than the answers.

The work to be done is to ask yourself what your constitution in this time. How do you implement said constitution? Do you still believe that democracy is the best form of government ever created? (History tells us it was and is). And if so, what little things can you do every day, and what friends, old or new, can you make to help map out a better future? You don’t just have to write the laws or vote; you have a say in who you are, how you treat your neighbors, who you help out, and what you can give or donate to those less fortunate each and every day. Each and every week. My bet is, you will be proud of yourself when you are old and grey, that you made some decisions to live with more intention, to help out, to be punk rock. Then you can tell your children and your grandchildren, we were punk rock, baby. We didn’t submit to the doldrums of madness; we imagined a better future, and we built it back up for you, brick by brick.

I think Antonio almost had the quote right. I’d spin it, though. “The old world is dying; the new one is struggling to be born. Now is the time for heroes waiting to be born.

WHAT PARTIALLY INSPIRED TODAY’S DISPATCH: YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT (AND CONSUME)

This is the notorious food pyramid.

This is the food pyramid turned into a media pyramid by the brilliant. Faris Yakob | GeniusSteals.co. I think about this every single day when I am thinking about media, my clients, innovation, and the right kind of impressions to help grow businesses. Yes, while I am punk rock, I still want to make a living, and I actually think being punk rock is very good for business.

More on this pyramid in our next dispatch, but I also share it for you to keep in mind, just like YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT. YOU ARE WHAT YOU CONSUME, so be careful with what kind of stuff you’re putting into your eyeballs.

VISUALS OF THE WEEK