Happy Monday! Like you, I’ve been watching the signs, adjusting my opinion in real-time, while also applying my mental framework to discern where and how to stay centered amidst the deafening noise. We live in a society with fractured trust, fragile supply chains, and reeling from decades of dysfunctional leadership. Headlines and think tanks scream collapse, and somewhere deep inside, many of us already know that, regardless of what it looks like, we’re not going back to “normal.”
But while the system may be failing, collapse doesn’t have to be the end. Paraphrasing my friend Rebecca Costa, “Collapse is just a reversion to something simpler.” It can be a turning point if we choose the right investment.
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And no, I don’t mean real estate, gold, Bitcoin, or crypto (though they may play a role).
I mean investing in something much more fundamental: resilience, community, and the architecture of a better future.
This post is about why that’s not just idealistic fluff. It’s a concrete, pragmatic, and URGENT call to action for each reader of this newsletter.
The Clock Is Ticking: Collapse Is No Longer a Distant Theory
MIT’s Limits to Growth model, first published in 1972 and updated by Gaya Herrington, shows that without major course correction, society will begin experiencing sharp decline by around 2040 in population, industrial output, and food availability. In other words, collapse.
And the data? It’s tracking right on schedule.
Meanwhile, our monetary system is under immense stress. Our institutions are stretched thin. And our social fabric? Tearing at the seams.
But amidst this breakdown, something else is quietly emerging: a new path.
What If the Future Isn’t a Nation, But a Network?
The rise of Network States, digital-first societies bound by values rather than borders, is opening a new frontier. They offer opt-in governance, digital citizenship, and decentralized control.
It’s not fantasy. It’s happening and growing in scale each day.
BENEFITS AND RISKS OF A NETWORK STATE
This model has the potential to serve as a post-collapse operating system. It's also possible, though not highly probable at the current scale, to help prevent collapse altogether. But it needs more minds, more stewards, more builders.
has announced “anyone” can apply to receive a Network School grant of $100k to start their network state project or contribution. Click the link below to learn more: Apply for $100K in network state grants here
What Happens If We Do Nothing?
Let’s be blunt:
Probability of MIT-style collapse by 2040? High.
Probability of a smooth global shift to network states? Low—unless we make it happen.
But collapse doesn’t mean extinction. It means we fall hard and rebuild fast—if we’re prepared. Preparation means investing now in people, infrastructure, and principles that can withstand failure and power renewal.
The 5 Essential Investments That Could Save Everything
1. Resilient Assets and Systems
Own real things: farmland, solar panels, Bitcoin, water access, gold, and silver/hard money.
Back decentralized infrastructure: encrypted communication, sovereign identity, open data protocols.
2. Local Community, Global Vision
Join DAOs or network state experiments, and subscribe to other writers on Substack.
But more importantly, start where you are: co-ops, community gardens, your neighborhood, and mutual aid groups.
3. Non-Technical Human Action
You don’t need to be a coder or policy wonk. You just need to be a good neighbor. Here’s how:
Shop local—and tell the store owner you appreciate them.
Bring spring flowers or a homemade meal to someone nearby.
Invite your neighbors to a BBQ, movie night, or game night.
Offer help with yard work, tech setup, or childcare.
Be the connection someone else needs.
These tiny acts? They’re the scaffolding of the world we want next.
4. Sustainable and Ethical Innovation
Invest in regenerative agriculture, nature-positive finance, and biodiversity-linked bonds.
Back the builders designing systems with transparency and long-term survival in mind.
5. Prepare Without Panic
Don’t hoard. Prepare. Build systems.
Diversify across physical and digital assets.
Practice scenario planning. But also scenario building.
Plug Into Wealth Matters Communities of Common Interest
We can’t do this alone. That’s why we’re building in public, with people like you.
It’s care. It’s courage. It’s in your COMMUNITY (local, networked, personal, neighborhood, small businesses). Before the summary of places you can invest your time, energy, and precious capital, below, I want to encourage you to keep it super simple.
Do something for a stranger today that they can’t thank you for. If you get discovered, it doesn’t count (but it’s still good). For instance, my father would always pay at the toll booth for the car behind him, without them being able to refuse the small gift as a random act of kindness.
When you make the next purchase of something routine, consciously choose to shop or eat, or consume from a local small business alternative, even if it’s 15-20% more costly than a corporate chain or Amazon.
Instead of ordering food delivery via an App, sit down and enjoy a meal at your local sandwich shop, brewery, or deli.
Go support your local youth, high school, or college sports team or theatre department as one of your next entertainment expenses. You get the idea?
If we want a future worth inheriting, we have to build it. And the best time to start? Right where you are.
