Book Review: Humankind

I was fortunate to hear about this book from Matt Beall of Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers during the 1000 Watt Turn On conference this year. As a side note, the Hawaii Life team is doing great work helping people affected by the Maui wildfires. If you would like to donate, they are matching up to $50,000 and every penny goes directly to the locals. I had heard of the book before but it seemed kind of cheesy to me, if I am being honest. I am starting to believe that if I think a book is going to be bad, I should just read it.

The long story short: everyone should read this book.

It is easy to be a cynic in our world. People let us down, do dumb shit, lie, act unscrupulously, and are sometimes just assholes. The truth is that the vast majority of the people we work with are good. The bad ones just stand out. That’s sort of the basis of this book, but on a way bigger scale than local real estate.

There are two schools of thought in human philosophy. On one hand, humans are naturally bad and that rules and government enforce norms that keep us in line. On the other hand, we are good by nature and modern life has corrupted us. Most people believe the former. According to this book, the latter is the actual truth.

Dispelling long-held beliefs using real studies, evidence from multiple studies, and historical evidence, this book proves the goodness in the world. It made me think of Hurricane Harvey and the response of the local community. More people showed up to volunteer than needed help. It was an inspiring tale. The truth is that these things happen all the time. Sure, great big world events make for great stories, but every day people are helping others around them. So, why don’t we focus more on that? Why don’t we highlight the good? Instead, the news is filled with the negative. That isn’t who we are.

If you are looking for a great read that will make you feel great too, you should buy this book. I think you will love it.

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