Imagine5

When did being happy become embarrassing? In her new book, How to Be Hopeful, writer Caitlin Moran recalls sobbing her way through a period when everything seemed to be going wrong. Failed projects, panic attacks, perimenopause, bad vibes on social media and the relentless stream of terrible news. Somewhere along the way, she wonders if not just she - but we - have lost the knack of being happy. As if enjoying life had gone out of fashion. Eventually, she shifted her ambitions. Rather than aiming to create a better world, or even a better life, she now shoots for "better days." Doing the best she can with the life she has, the people around her and the things within reach. Appreciating simplicity, optimism, and a pleasant, enjoyable life. We can get into that. Making the world better can start with how we choose to live in it today. Maybe it's the first step toward falling back in love with it all. 📚 How to Be Hopeful is out now from Ebury Publishing Any hopeful books on your nightstand? Tell us about it so we can update our TBR 👇

🐻 What can chunky bears teach us about B2B SaaS sales? 🐻 Alright, LinkedIn, let’s take all the fun out of Fat Bear Week. It’s the week each year when citizens of the internet vote on which bear got thiccest in preparation for winter. This bracket-style competition has been running since 2014 and is still gaining steam. Last year, it attracted 1.7 million votes and crowned “Chunk” the absolute unit of our hearts. You know what else it attracted? Money. More than $360,000 from 4,700+ individual donors flowed to KATMAI CONSERVANCY’s Otis Fund, with explore.org nearly doubling that in matched contributions. Then there are the knock-on effects. Bear tourism in the region generated $34.5 million in 2017, while visitors to Katmai National Park and Preserve spent $58 million in nearby communities that same year. One study estimates that each individual bear is worth roughly $1.3 million in tourism over its lifetime. (That warm fuzzy feeling? Priceless.) All this in one of the least-visited national parks in the US. Katmai sits in remote Alaska, accessible only by boat or floatplane, and limits physical visitors to protect the park from human impact. The money helps preserve the park. A healthy park supports a healthy ecosystem. A healthy ecosystem produces very fat bears. And very fat bears bring the internet back next year. So, LinkedIn, what can these fat fatty fat bears teach us about making money while making the planet healthier? Step 1: Find a charismatic megafauna. Step 2: Get the hoomans deeply invested in its story. Step 3: Profit. (Step 4: Put that money back into the ecosystem that keeps the whole thing going.) You can still vote for the chonkiest bear at fatbearweek.org through Tuesday, September 29. 👉 More importantly, you can donate at https://lnkd.in/e3Hh-_QS. Up to $350,000 will be matched by explore.org for donations received by October 3.

Doom, fear and guilt grab attention. For ten seconds. What moves us to change is a story. One that we can see ourselves inside of. Something better, not just something less bad. This is what Per Espen Stoknes, climate psychologist and the latest Imagine5 Global Voice, has come to believe after 20 years of research. Per Espen holds a PhD in economics, is a TED Global speaker, co-directs the Centre for Sustainability and Energy at BI Norwegian Business School, and has served in the Norwegian Parliament and on the EU Commission’s mission board on Horizon Europe’s Climate Change and Societal Adaptation. He’s also a serial entrepreneur, author, professor and regenerative economist. An impressive resumé, even by LinkedIn standards. But what makes Per Espen such a natural fit for Imagine5 goes beyond his CV. His research has directly informed the thinking behind our strategy. And our work turns his theory into action: it’s not about speaking louder, but about creating better stories. We are therefore delighted to welcome Per Espen as an Imagine5 Global Voice. Global Voices are a mighty group of changemakers, thinkers and planet-friendly voices helping us figure out better ways to tell stories and welcome people into the green future. People who believe in what we do, and want to help us take it further. We’re thrilled to welcome Per Espen to the group. He’s been part of our circle for a while, and now we get to make it official. 💡

When Marshall McLuhan said “the medium is the message,” he likely wasn’t referring to an OnlyFans account called Girthmasterr. Desperate times, folks… Introducing: Headline Newds, a series where adult content creators tackle topics like climate misinformation, Big Oil’s big money, and disgraceful political inaction through (ahem) unconventional methods. SFW-ish versions can be found on Instagram and YouTube, with spicier clips on OnlyFans. It’s bold, conversation-worthy, and it’s reaching millions. Including audiences who might not typically engage with climate content: ♂ 71.4% of its Instagram audience was male 35–44 was the largest viewing demographic Maybe these creators have a unique edge. After all, they already work in a heavily censored and stigmatized space, and are accustomed to speaking openly about subjects that mainstream society often prefers to avoid. Here’s how the series co-creator and “Skins” star Megan Prescott sees it: “The question shouldn’t be ‘Why is Lily Phillips talking about climate change?’ It should be ‘Why isn’t every politician talking about it?’” She continues, “If people are more outraged by who is delivering the message than by the fact that fossil-fuel companies have been profiting while damaging the planet, that says a lot about what we still choose to care about as a society.” Sure, maybe some of us would prefer governments and businesses to lead the charge, but until then, at least we know what sells. Attention. 👇 What do you think - gimmick or gold?

For every $1 spent protecting nature, $30 is spent damaging it. That’s the finding at the heart of UN Environment Programme’s latest State of Finance for Nature report. In 2023: $220 billion went toward projects that conserve and restore ecosystems. 🆚 $7.3 trillion went into activities that harm nature, from fossil fuel subsidies to investment in high-impact sectors. The gap is enormous. But gaps are where opportunities thrive. UNEP estimates we need to spend roughly 0.5% of global GDP on nature-based solutions to meet global biodiversity, climate and land restoration goals. That’s $571 billion a year by 2030. 2.5 times more than we do today. Of course that means more money for nature. More importantly, it means moving the money already on the table. Changing what governments subsidize, where businesses invest and what financial institutions choose to finance. Those decisions are made by people. There are plenty of levers, and most of us have our hands on at least one. Money is one. Policy is another. And then there are the stories that actually make change possible. At Imagine5, that’s the lever we know best. Follow the money. Find your lever. Change the story. 👇 What would you redirect first?

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