Enough Money, Meaning & Friends , by Scott C. Miler To be happy, we have to have enough money, be engaged in a purpose that matters to us, and enjoy a close circle of friends and family who have our back when we most need them. This book provides you with a straightforward approach to reorganizing your life around the essentials so you are no longer wasting your precious time, talent, and treasure on anything else. Make your highest contribution to a sustainable world that works for everyone. **** Available on Amazon To learn more about Scott Miller, please see his website  here .

We are most effective when doing work that is both meaningful and makes us happy. For example, we are, as Walt Whitman would say, “large, [we] contain multitudes.” I am a kid from the ‘burbs, a national nonprofit leader, a long-time married guy, baby boomer, artist, musician, author, explorer, world traveler, seeker of higher consciousness, and recovering non-golfer. But my most essential identity is someone who wants to fulfill a life purpose while here on this spectacular planet. My nature, like yours, is hard-wired to pursue happiness, joy, beauty, abundance, love, and harmony. So, how do I intentionally follow my heart’s desire—my calling to adventure—and live a life full of loving relationships and meaning? What kind of life and work would make me happy next? My Happiness Philosophy Bottom line: Everyone wants to be happy. We can achieve happiness by applying daily skills that we can learn. People are happiest when they are part of a community of others who care for one another. Happy people are naturally generous and focus a lot of their attention toward caring for others and appreciating nature. Happy people will take a firm stand on what they believe is important in life. Happy people don’t need as much stuff or activity to be happy. Therefore, they are easier on the planet and tend to live respectfully within the boundaries of natural limits. Happiness is part of our emotional guidance system that lets us know we are pursuing what is most important to us, based on our values and our own unique internal “drummer.” When we focus on what we want to do , rather than what we should do, the feeling of happiness will guide us in being a more productive citizen and a better steward of the planet. From the book: Enough Money, Meaning & Friends ~ By Scott C. Miller To learn more about Scott Miller, please see his website  here .

Circles USA engages with communities by supporting these four stages of development: ASSESSMENT —Asking questions: “Is Circles right for our community? Do we have the leadership and resources to start a Circles program in our community?” CIRCLES IN THE MAKING —Getting started: If your community is ready and willing to start Circles, you will enter into a planning agreement with Circles USA (CUSA) to lay the foundation. CIRCLES DEMONSTRATION —Taking action: You are now implementing Circles to support families out of poverty, collecting data, and assessing outcomes. You are asking, “How is it working in our community? Do we like the results we are getting? Have we been able to secure resources to sustain and grow the Circles program?” SCALING TO A TIPPING POINT —Moving forward: You are happy with the results and can see the potential of growing Circles in your community to end poverty. For more information on bringing Circles USA to your community contact Circles USA .

Larry Thompson, author of Roadmap to Responsibility and the 2016 Circles Conference keynote has graciously shared his  “Give ‘em Five” and “Keys for Conversations” handouts for use within Circles only. Please look in the Basecamp folder titled, “CUSA: Circle Leader” to download these handouts.

We want to thank everyone who was able to come to the 2016 Circles USA conference, and to all of you who supported people in attending. We had 112 participants from 21 states in attendance! There were 30 breakout sessions presented by Circles staff, allies, partners, and guests across a myriad of topics. Keynote speaker Larry Thompson was a huge hit with the audience. 13 Circle Leaders were able to join us this year. Here are the evaluation marks for this year’s conference, based on a 5-pt scale, with 5 being the highest mark. We received evaluations from 68% of conference goers. The percent of people who gave a 4 or 5, by category: 96% to the overall conference experience 100% to the presenters 98%   to the food 87% to the venue 98% to the information Thanks for all the helpful suggestions for what to keep and change that our team will use in planning the next conference! Your Pictures from the 2016 Conference! (#circlesusa)

When Helping Hurts  has sold more than 225,000 copies is considered a classic on the subject of the role faith-based organizations play in the alleviation of poverty in their community. The Circles USA   model of creating Circles is explored and recommended throughout the book. “When Helping Hurts”, does an excellent job of bringing the reader to a better understanding of poverty and the causes which are much more than just a lack of financial or material resources. It also reveals how many of the current efforts churches have engaged may be unintentionally undermining the people they’re trying to help and seeks to direct Christians to more h olistic strategies l ike Circles as stated in the book. In short, “When Helping Hurts” challenges Christians to help the poor empower themselves.  Circles USA has many faith-based partners opening more and more Chapters in communities across North America. If you would like to learn more about how to bring Circles to your community or parish please watch this video from Circles USA Founder and CEO, Scott C. Miller .  More Resources to Begin the End of Poverty Addressing the Cliff Effect Community Planning Poverty: Results & Research Donate Circles Overview  / Start a Circle

Full Report:   Circles USA Mid-Year 2016 Impact Report WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO END POVERTY? After 24 years of research, experimentation, and direct experience with families and communities across the United States, we have identified high-impact strategies necessary to end poverty. Read the Full Report Circles USA Mid-Year 2016 Impact Report

Circles USA, CEO & Founder, Scott C. Miller TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group.  Find a Circle Near You

From CBS News: The Circles USA® Campaign is a transformational approach that partners volunteers and community leaders with families wanting to make the journey out of poverty. Operating in communities around the country, each Circles® initiative consists of families working to get out of poverty and several middle and upper income Allies who befriend them and lend support. The family is the Circle Leader, setting direction for activities. Find a Circle Near You

Eradicating Poverty, One Family at a Time From CNN: The Circles USA® Campaign is a transformational approach that partners volunteers and community leaders with families wanting to make the journey out of poverty. Operating in communities around the country, each Circles USA® initiative consists of families working to get out of poverty and several middle and upper income Allies who befriend them and lend support. The family is the Circle Leader, setting direction for activities. With the help and friendship of their allies, each family sets and achieves goals unique to their own needs. Rather than targeting a surface need of at-risk communities such as housing or food provision, Circles® seeks to expand social capital by fostering relationships across racial and economic lines. It engages the community as a whole and encourages growth from people of all financial classes. Circles® is designed to assist families in creating their own personal paths out of poverty while at the same time expanding opportunities, connections and eliminating barriers in the community that make it difficult for families to thrive. History of Circles Campaign Circles USA launched the Circles® Campaign in January of 2007 after having evolved for ten years from its roots as a discussion group between welfare recipients and social workers to its current form. Early results demonstrate that for every $1 spent on the program, $2 in welfare and food stamp subsidies was returned to the state, and $4 to the community as new earned income. Who We Are The Circles® National Campaign currently has 62 member communities across 23 states and growing. Scott Miller from Albuquerque, NM is the founder of Circles® . The mission of the Circles® Campaign is to empower people from every economic class to solve poverty in their communities through individual transformation and community change. Find a Circle Near You

Dear All, It is obvious that the poverty and economic pain felt, especially in rural communities, influenced the results of the election, much to everyone’s surprise (especially in the pollster business). Now that we have the results, it is imperative for each of us to understand Paul Ryan’s poverty plan, a Better Way. As one of our board members, Jim Masters, commented this morning, this is probably the plan that Trump will defer to, given there are no other plans on the table yet. Please download and read, “ A Better Way “. If we want to the government to support an approach like Circles it will need to be framed first in terms of “bootstraps.” Benefit programs will be seen as a necessary evil if they remain temporary while people chase work. Eliminating the Cliff Effect is a nonpartisan, no-brainer. And I believe, the timing is good to bring that problem forward to Ryan’s team to solve without dismantling the subsidies in the process. I believe that strategies like Circles will continue to be popular with this administration because it is “community driven”, taps volunteers to improve the results of formal community and government programs, and is focused on moving people permanently out of poverty. We should continue to talk about the bootstraps and benefits package(s) necessary for more households to increase their earned income. Of course, unless there is MORE AND BETTER economic development throughout the country, the human development side of the equation can only go so far in reducing poverty rates. Automation, artificial intelligence and globalization are going to continue, regardless of what policies are in place. We must advocate for stronger economic development programs. Again the lack of good jobs drove these election results. People need better jobs. Here is Trump’s position on infrastructure which may lend insight to where new investments will be made that offer jobs for those we serve. I look forward to hearing your thoughts   # # # ______

This week’s election has awakened me from a certain amount of sleepwalking. Even though I pay attention to national and global affairs, I often don’t take the time to register the weight of the seismic events affecting our world. I can be emotionally detached from the churning, suffering, and momentous upheaval that is the reality for so many people. The emerging world economy, climate change, and propensity towards violence remain the biggest threats going forward. The election has stirred up an unprecedented upheaval in people’s minds and hearts about how we are going to handle these challenges. The economy is going to require a massive new understanding of jobs, wages, benefits, taxation, etc. We are about to see huge shifts in what gets automated and what training and retraining humans will need to do in order to find work in the immediate and near future. Structures like Circles will be essential to support people who are taking on the changes, and even more so for people who feel unable to adapt with these rapid changes. I have been worried about climate change for more than 15 years after participating in my first intensive weeklong conference on the topic. Certainly, there are enough people in power, not to mention virtually the entire scientific community, who fear the threat of inaction. Right? We will certainly find ways to hold our major corporations accountable to take more aggressive actions to reverse the trends before biosystems collapse and make life incredibly difficult for the millennials and their children. Right? But what evidence do I have that humanity will not shoot itself in the foot by never addressing climate change appropriately, i.e. urgently, aggressively, and immediately? It seems we are likely to keep escalating the problem through the prolonged release of carbon emissions. We are likely to keep hopping on planes to visit exotic places and get in our SUVs to drive to the grocery store and buy products transported 1000 miles for our global palates and convenience. We are likely to keep buying a mind-boggling amount of new plastic gadgets we don’t need and return to our homes that are warmed by coal-burning plants. It’s akin to catching the last call at the bar on the Titanic. Unfortunately, humans are capable of enormous denial in the face of danger. Most of us are never going to leave the carbon emissions bar until the captain of the ship says we are about to hit an iceberg. (Or in this case, there are no icebergs and the ocean now meets the shores of Ohio.) Unfortunately, biosystems have feedback delays, which means they won’t show the kind of warning signs that would get the attention of a carbon-intoxicated party crowd. Violence is an unnecessary reaction to fear. We can and need to be better at how we communicate and solve problems with one another. Being nonviolent is a skill that can and should be taught to everyone. We need to show our children that it is best to take responsibility for one’s actions, stop blaming others, and be less addicted to the idea of winning at all costs. There is a lot to reflect about. Many of us have the capacity and interest to think globally and connect the dots of history to potential scenarios of the future. But we must engage others who disagree with us in meaningful dialogue. We need to get much more active. We can’t just whine about this with like-minded friends over lattes. We can’t just post it on Facebook. We need to power up through social media and political action to increase the public’s ability to think more flexibly and systemically. As our skills and tolerance for meaningful dialogue increase, we will be less tempted to hide our insecurity behind simple, convenient, and meaningless sound bytes. We will welcome a more rigorous assessment of the threats and opportunities in front of us. We will be more prepared to take comprehensive actions. Life is complicated. As for my next steps, I am going to work on my social media skills so that more people are inspired, irritated and challenged by my thinking. I am going to listen more actively to opposing opinions and keep my mind and heart open even when I vigorously disagree. But mostly, I am going to lead a movement to end poverty in the US. This is something I can do that is causing a different culture to emerge–one that is more sustainable for everyone. Conservatives and liberals must work together to find solutions to poverty . Stronger safety nets will be needed while we transition into a rapidly changing economy that will hopefully produce more and better jobs. New economic development strategies and powerful retraining programs must be deployed in our desperate rural and urban communities. Everyone should agree that leaving safety net programs should not cause a financial crisis. The current policies that produce the Cliff Effect must go. I am going to keep doing what I do only I am going to do it bigger, louder, wider, and deeper. If there is one thing that inspired me from this election, it is GO BIG or GO HOME! We can and should end poverty in our nation, in our lifetime. That achievement alone would well equip us as Allies to our global neighbors and bring a new stability to the world.