I'm Writing A Book!

On October 1st, I decided to commit six months to writing my first book. 13 weeks later, I’m 13,811 words done with my ~30,000 word book! And last week, I officially signed with a publisher and set my publish deadline. This is getting real!

Here are the details:

Title: Positive Politics: How To Get Into Politics - And Do Good!
Publisher: Scribe Media
Manuscript Due: April 2025
Publish By: November 2025

I’m writing this book for anyone who’s ever thought about getting into politics! I know many of you would be great activists or politicians. The hardest part is getting started! This book highlights simple ways to get into politics and quickly do good. I also share many examples of successful politicians and activists who started small and made huge positive impacts!

Help me make this book perfect for you!

What’s one question on this topic that if I answered would make this book a must read for you? Please reply to this email or DM me @neilthanedar with what you want to see!

Here’s a sneak peak!

I’ve structured this book to be a fast read, with 20 concise chapters full of examples. I’m writing every word myself, averaging ~200 words per day. I’m already really proud of this book and am excited for y’all to read the whole thing next year!

Today, I’m sharing the Introduction of my book with you, which details a true personal story that forever inspires my work in politics:

This is an excerpt from my forthcoming book Positive Politics:

Introduction: A Woman from Coldwater

Here’s a quick economic puzzle:

1. A woman from Coldwater, Michigan works 60 hours a week for $8.50 per hour ($510/week).

2. Minimum wage is increased to $15 per hour.

3. The same woman now works 34 hours a week for $15 per hour ($510/week).

Question: What happens to GDP?

Answer: Nothing.

According to economists, nothing changed because no new money changed hands. That 26 hours per week goes into childcare and housework and, yes, leisure. But GDP doesn’t change. So we think there’s no progress.

But I met that woman in Coldwater. She’s a single mom working 60 hours a week at Taco Bell and Wendy’s just to make ends meet.

What changes is she gets 26 hours of her life back every week. She’d get to pick up her kids from school every afternoon. She’d have time to help them with their homework. She’d even get to spend quality time with her own mom.

She doesn’t want more money. She wants more time. That’s the real value of a higher minimum wage. Economists don’t optimize for time because they can’t measure the value of it as easily as money.

Meeting her made me happy and sad and angry. We talked outside a political rally on a chilly overcast Thursday evening, because on top of everything else this woman does, she still finds the energy to participate in local politics.

She’s a hero and she deserves 26 more hours a week to do whatever the fuck she wants. And I mean anything she wants. Because in addition to the extra time she’d be free to be a parent and activist, she might also get to sit on the couch for a couple hours and watch TV. And that’s great too.

We need to start valuing free time in this culture. And we need to stop judging people for caring more about time vs. money.

It doesn’t matter what she does with her extra time. Maybe she uses it to start a side business. Maybe she uses it to relax. What matters is she’s more free. She’s happier because she controls more of her life.

We have to stop measuring progress by dollars generated. It’s true that “you make what you measure.” We’re getting more dollars and less happiness. This has been great for industrial and technological progress, which we’ve assumed for decades is the only progress America wants. How do we maximize other types of progress?

Let’s go back to first principles. “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” is a good place to start. Our government was built to protect these unalienable rights. But like the self-evident truth that “all men are created equal”, America has failed to live up to these promises throughout our history.

We owe it to ourselves and future generations to finally complete this vision. This means reconciling our racial tensions and unifying as Americans. This means rising above partisan conflict that subverts the power of the people. And this means finally addressing economic unfairness that rewards elites at our expense.

This is an arduous mission that will take decades to fully deliver. It will require systemic social, political, and economic change. But we must do it. Because on the other side of this work is the true American Dream for all.

“This is your home, my friend, do not be driven from it; great men have done great things here, and will again, and we can make America what America must become.” — James Baldwin

We need to help people be free to succeed. Not just have enough to survive.

Abundance is the key to this mission. The last 200 years of progress pulled most of the world’s population over the poverty line. The next 100 years is about lifting everyone above the abundance line.

Treading water near the poverty line is a tough life. True freedom is having your needs met and still having the time and energy to pursue your life’s calling. Democratizing this freedom will unlock the world’s hidden ambition.

The pursuit of money creates golden handcuffs that keep ambitious people from doing what we really want to do. We need to free ourselves from these constraints to reach our highest potential. Most of what we dream of doing doesn’t cost that much money. We don’t need more money. We want the freedom that money can buy.

What would you do if you won the lottery? You wouldn’t just sit on the beach and do nothing for the rest of your life. You’d be free to try your biggest boldest ideas. What if you lived like that today? Take this leap and make your dreams real!

I’m writing this book to inspire more ambitious people to work on the World’s Biggest Problems. So much of the world’s top talent is wasted now chasing money. So much of our politics is controlled by a small group of elites and special interests. Positive Politics is a meta solution to these big problems!

We need a new movement to take back political power for the people! This means ending partisan control of elections and returning independents to our politics so our government can truly be by the people and for the people. And we must fight for open access to capital and good jobs so everyone can succeed. This is the America we deserve!

I met this woman almost ten years ago in my very first year volunteering for a political campaign. Talking to her haunted me in a positive way, leaving a core memory that will always inform how and why I take political action.

We need to focus on the key levers of opportunity – education, healthcare, jobs, and housing – and give everyone more time and resources to figure out the rest!

What would that woman from Coldwater want?

More time with her family. And the freedom to succeed.

That’s the American Dream. Let’s make it a reality for all!

Again, I’d love your feedback on what you’d like to see in this book! Please reply to this email or DM me @neilthanedar with your questions and comments!

Thanks,
Neil