How about we start selling heaven... rather than hell?

When it comes to how we talk about climate change and a sustainable future...this has been one of the most insightful lessons of this year.

It's been a crazy fall for me, especially professionally seen as I have spent the past 4 months with Futerra Sustainability Communications (www.futerra.co.uk).

Call it luck, personally I'd like to blame it on synchronicity - I temporarily worked as Co-Founder Solitaire Townsend's Executive Assistant - a tremendously enriching experience to be able to watch and learn from such an accomplished professional up close.

The Futerra culture has been exemplary to say the least - the dedicated people I've worked with and the inspiring environment I found myself in has further nourished the passion to do my utmost to protect our precious planet Earth.

This autumn the company and more specifically Solitaire as main author have invested a lot of energy in launching the "Sell the Sizzle" report - a new guide on how to communicate about Climate Change. You can download it online www.futerra.co.uk/revolution/leading_thinking.

It's quite revolutionary in the sense that it proposes a new approach on how to communicate about the whole climate change issue - how do we get through to the masses, how do we actually provoke change?
Futerra says it is now longer a scientist's but a salesman's problem.

What it all boils down to is that we need to create a positive vision of the future, we need to actually draw pictures of what a sustainable life looks like in order to make it DESIRABLE - BETTER THAN WHAT WE HAVE TODAY.

Like the report says - "What will it (a sustainable future) look like, feel like, and be like if we manage to pull it off?"

Talk about empowerment! I remember running around the office two days before sending the final version off to the printer in order to "collect" Futerra's positive visions - this was the most fun I had had up until then! (For final illustrations result check the picture below)

For the first time I actually tried to imagine what kind of world we were all working towards, what did our dreams of a sustainable future look like - for real?

The first thing I personally thought of were happy, peaceful and balanced people.
I imagined everybody being less stressed, having time over to nourish truly valuable, enriching relationships with family & friends over deliciously healthy and tasty meals. I imagined somebody leisurely bicycling to work whilst passing children playing in the streets.
I imagined safe & prospering communities.
I imagined a world without wars.

Now what is the value of one man's or woman's vision?
No 'buts' here...I come to think of the impact one sole human being like Martin Luther King, or Ghandi had and that gives me hope - because I'm not alone in this - there are another 231 members in the Open World Community who I believe would agree with me.

So I suggest for you to keep thinking of your own positive visions, talk to your neighbors, your family, your friends about it - make your dream and desire for its realization irresistible to stay away from!

One group of people, who the family only recently heard about, are actively transforming their dream into reality - they are the citizens of Transition Town Totnes (TTT) - fascinating stuff! totnes.transitionnetwork.org/

The New Year is just around the corner and I believe it's always a great opportunity to leave the old behind to embark on new, exciting journeys - time to redefine!

With best wishes for now,

Christiana