I am writing this chapter with a cold nose! The reason for this is that it is November in the UK and temperatures have plummeted. While I could turn on the heating I don’t. Everyone is different but in my case I think it comes down to two factors: I hate wastage and I would rather be spending money someone else. I must still have some Scottish blood in me! I could afford to heat the house if I really wanted to . . . but I don’t. So I am in fuel poverty, albeit perhaps for different reasons to most. How many other people live in fuel poverty for one reason or another?

Better houses can alleviate these problems. What’s more challenging is how we best transition to them and it’s going to come back to money! Whatever your situation I would set yourself a goal – a dream with a deadline – and then take action in any way you know to make it happen. I’ll let you into a secret. I don’t have as much money as I would like to have for my project, but I do have faith that I will when the time comes. I’m doing everything in my power to make it happen. I believe we can all make this happen if we put our minds to it. Keep learning. Desire. Make plans. Take action.

I’m sure there will be other people in the world who want to help others make this transition once they have secured their own positions. I think that’s where it starts. It’s the old analogy of the safety demonstration on a plane – you are always advised to secure your own oxygen mask before helping anyone else. If you’re not in a good way then you’re going to be no use to anyone else. That’s where we all have to start. First it’s with a realisation that we can’t keep living like this and that something is going to have to give. I feel that everyone will have one of these moments. Even without climate scientists, most people will have a gut feeling that something is wrong. It will most probably be in the form of rising bills though but I challenge you to start questioning some of the fundamentals. Trace where your food comes from or where your waste goes. Try to find that visual impact to what you are personally doing. This is the only place we can start. It’s much easier to change ourselves out of choice than it is to be forced to do it at some point down the line. I may be wrong but I believe we are heading for a much more basic existence, moderating the resources we use. I don’t think this will be a negative event if we embrace it in the right way. In fact it could be an important part of our growth as a species.

So step one is about us! Step two is about encouraging others and spreading the message. We each have unique gifts that we can put to good use. This isn’t so much as ramming it down people’s throats as just letting them know what’s out there, what’s possible. Add value where you can. I still feel the Internet is going to be the unifying tool. Online communities are building up every day but anyone can be part of them, whether you want a big or small part. Sharing knowledge is very much where we need to be going over the next few years. When you tackle a project, consider how you can spread knowledge you are building up. I think the self build community is already brilliant at doing this, but the more knowledge that goes online, across multiple different platforms, told by different people, in different ways, the better. This should chronicle our mistakes as much as our successes. We must move on from sweeping things under the carpet and be prepared to use our efforts as learning experiences. We are going to hear a lot more about transparency in the coming years. We will all be drawn to businesses that are transparent. Those that pretend to be transparent might find it is actually tougher than they thought!

I’m convinced we’ve got all the brain-power we need on this planet to turn things around and that the Internet is a way to get great minds together where in the past it would have been impossible. We shouldn’t underplay the positive side of our predicament. With change comes opportunity and those who embrace the change rather than fighting it will be in the perfect position to benefit in the coming years. Economies that are shaped upon old thinking will only find it harder and harder. The hard path often becomes easier and the easy path often becomes hard!

Anyway, see this as an exciting time. Re-focus yourself. Inspire others into action. You can definitely make a difference.