Rand Selig
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Sustainable Living: Daily Choices to Thrive and Give Back
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Sustainable Living: Making Choices That Matter

I was standing in my kitchen with the trash lid open, holding a plastic container I couldn’t recycle. It was a tiny moment, but it hit me: I talk about values, yet my choices were on autopilot. That same week a friend asked, Are you thriving or just getting by. I didn’t like my answer. I reached for Rand Selig’s Thriving!, and a quiet switch flipped. The promise was clear: become the author of your own story, one choice at a time .

Thriving is a decision, then a practice

Selig is not flashy. He is steady. He invites you to stop drifting and “take hold of the reins,” to steer instead of react, and to “set sail” toward the life you mean to live. Then he adds the hard truth: what we practice, we become . Thriving! is built like a workbook because change needs action, not just ideas. He asks real questions to move you forward, gently but firmly .

Character: the root of sustainable living

Selig begins with character, the part of you no one sees. He opens with a line that sticks: “Life is like a grindstone. It will grind you down into grains of sand, or it will polish you like a beautiful gem. It all depends on what you are made of.” That picture makes growth feel practical, not preachy .

He then walks you through virtues and values worth building your life on: humility, generosity, restraint, kindness, moderation, charity, diligence; along with shared values like love, truthfulness, fairness, freedom, unity, tolerance, responsibility, and respect for life. You do not need to memorize the list. You need to choose, then prove those choices with your habits, your purchases, your conversations, and your calendar .

Here is the overlooked lever in Selig’s work: responsibility. He calls it the quality every successful person shares, the habit that lets you respond instead of react. Responsibility is not blame. It is power. It is how you keep your options open in life, and in how you care for your community and the Earth .

From self to community to planet

Sustainable living is not only about reusable bags. It is about living by principles that hold up when it is hard. Selig urges you to write down the principles that guide your life and your work, then live them with discipline. He shows how he built a firm on clear principles and how that choice shaped better relationships, better decisions, and fewer messes. He extends those same principles into service, community, and caring for Mother Earth, including planting trees, cleaning beaches, and choosing what to buy with care. It is practical and moral at once: spend less than you earn, give back, and consider the impact of what you consume .

Selig also widens the lens to the big picture. Through science and technology, humanity now has the power to harm or heal our shared home. What we choose today affects life itself. He writes that we must become capable of ethical and wise guidance, or we risk the future of the planet. It is a sober call, and it makes sustainable living feel urgent and personal .

Why this book earns trust

Selig’s authority comes from honesty. He shares early challenges with family and health, and how living by principles made him more compassionate and grounded over time. He shows that a life can be designed and adjusted, not just endured. That is why his counsel on responsibility and values lands. It is lived-in, not theoretical .

And he never stops at the self. He devotes full chapters to relationships, leadership, service, conservation, and even the habits that keep gratitude and purpose alive. If you want a practical on-ramp, he points to purpose and meaning, with tools like writing a vision statement and living your legacy on purpose .

A seven-day plan for living your values

These small steps add up. Try them this week.

  • Choose your three values. From Selig’s lists, pick three values. Write one action for each today. Call a neighbor, tell the truth kindly, decline a purchase you do not need. Repeat tomorrow. Responsibility grows through reps .

  • Practice the reins. When stress hits, pause and ask, what choice do I have right now. Say it out loud. Take the smallest action that moves you forward. What we practice, we become .

  • Turn loss into learning. When something goes wrong, write LOSS and answer four lines: Learning, Opportunity, Stay, Strong. This keeps your story moving instead of stalling in self-judgment .

  • Build one bridge. Pick one relationship. Ask one open question. Listen more than you talk. Communities thrive on trust built one honest conversation at a time .

  • Give your life a job. Write two sentences: My purpose is to help x by doing y. Put it where you see it. Let it shape one decision each day. Purpose focuses your energy in a way that sticks .

  • Act for the planet. Do one concrete thing: plant a tree, refuse a single-use item, or join a clean-up. Review one spending choice for environmental impact. Let your principles guide your purchases .

  • Write your principles. Name the few rules you will live by for work, home, money, and the Earth. Keep them short. Post them. Share one with a friend. Then act on one today .

Make the ride count

Selig’s voice is both kind and firm: enjoy the ride, smile and laugh more, and make the most of your one life by choosing well, again and again . If we were talking over coffee, I would slide Thriving! across the table and ask you to read one chapter, answer one question, and do one action. Then tell me what changed. What would it take for this year to be your best yet, not by luck, but by the quiet power of your choices ?