Tag Archives: book-review

YES!

Why I Gave Olivia a Voice

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“There are things I remember that I never lived. Some come to me like breath; others, like fire.”

Olivia

Olivia’s Journal

Some of you have already met Olivia. Most of you haven’t. Not yet.

Olivia’s Journal is one of the writing efforts from the Balance the Triangle project. A project I originated to explore human flourishing through questioning the disconnects between us, our institutions, and our technologies. I’ll be sharing more about that effort over time.

In her journal, Olivia carries the ache and the hope of a world in an age of fracture. And, like many of you, I’ve felt that fracture. The divide between what we know and what we are. Between futures we hope for and institutions that stumble.

I didn’t initially set out to write either the ‘YES!’ books or the upcoming Equilibria series. I set out to make sense of a world with too much noise, too little clarity, and too little space for moral language without ridicule.

My name is Chuck. And I gave Olivia a voice because I needed to hear what I could no longer see.

Why I’m Writing on Substack

I came to Substack because I appreciate the depth of this community. And I wanted to add Olivia’s voice to discussions there.

Because I believe in fundamentals. That we are more than algorithms of fear and attention. That we are people wired for care, fairness, courage, reciprocity, and more. And that we still remember how to choose wisely—not just for ourselves, but for each other.

And I believe that stories—good stories, questioning stories, and even wild and trembling stories fraught with powerful emotion, might be the only things strong enough to survive the storms swirling around us. Because we are all sense-makers, who make sense of the world through the stories we tell ourselves and each other.

What Comes Next

This newsletter isn’t just Olivia’s story. Hers is one voice. An emotional compass, if you will. Mine is another. Exploring moral wounds. Emotional hurts. Cognitive lies—and ways forward. Pondering tools and theories promising a redesign of what’s broken. Struggling with this “wicked problem” around the human wiring. cultural institutions and technologies so rapidly outgrowing our management abilities. A triangle we struggle to bring into balance.

So, a couple of times a week, Olivia raises questions through her Journal. Other times, I grapple with and learn what it means to be human. And I share that journey.

When I’m not here, you can find me—and further information—on LinkedIn.

It’s no easy task. Many others fight in these trenches. I add my voice and Olivia’s to their efforts.

Thanks for listening.

Take a look at Olivia’s reflections in her Journal on her Substack page.

Balance the Triangle

Walking a Strange Savanna

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OVERVIEW

The world we inhabit today is both familiar and strange. It teems with life, connection, and possibility, yet it feels unsteady, as if the ground beneath us has shifted. We find ourselves in a moment of profound transformation, shaped by forces we only partially understand—forces of our own making.

On one level, this story is deeply familiar. For millennia, humans have faced challenges born of the mismatch between who we are and the worlds we create. We are a species hardwired for small groups and simple tools, navigating a global, digital civilization of billions. Our minds were forged in the scarcity of the Paleolithic, yet we now contend with the paradox of abundance. Our institutions, designed for slower, more predictable eras, falter under the weight of exponential change. And our technologies, which amplify both our wisdom and our folly, demand a level of foresight we have barely begun to develop.

On another level, this story is entirely new. Never before have the stakes been so high or the opportunities so immense. The choices we make today will shape the lives of billions—and the legacy of humanity—for generations to come. Will we navigate this strange new savanna with the wisdom it demands? Or will we stumble, weighed down by the mismatches of our wiring, the inertia of our institutions, and the blind spots of our technologies?

This book is an invitation to explore these questions. It is a journey through the forces that shape our world—human nature, societal structures, and technological systems—and how they interact in ways that often seem chaotic, even overwhelming. But it is also a journey of hope. For as much as humanity is defined by its flaws, it is also defined by its capacity to adapt, to learn, and to create.

The framework at the heart of this book—Balance the Triangle—offers a way to understand and address the tensions of our time. It begins with three elements:

Human Wiring: The instincts and behaviors that have guided us for tens of thousands of years.
Institutions: The systems and structures that channel those instincts into collective action.
Technology: The tools that magnify our abilities and reshape our environment.
When these elements are in harmony, humanity flourishes. When they fall out of balance, we face conflict, stagnation, and collapse. The digital age has pushed this Triangle out of alignment, but it has also given us the tools to restore it.

This book is written for those who shape the world—leaders, innovators, thinkers, and doers. It is for anyone who feels the dissonance of the present moment and wonders how we might resolve it. It draws on insights from evolutionary psychology, philosophy, technology, and history, but its purpose is practical: to chart a path toward a world where humanity thrives, not just survives.

Throughout these pages, we will explore the past to understand how we arrived here, examine the present to confront our challenges, and imagine the future to envision what we might become. This is not a book of easy answers but a call to engage with the complexity of our time—and to act.

The strange savanna we walk today is not without its dangers, but it is also rich with promise. Together, we can find our way, guided by the lessons of the past and the vision of a better future.

Let’s begin.