Embark on an intellectual voyage as Mike unravels the seismic shifts in global economics, sparked by the innovation of shipping containers and the foretelling of geopolitical currents. Witness his exploration into the realms of Mark Levinson’s “The Box” and the provocative foresight of Peter Zeihan’s “The End of the World is Just the Beginning.” Mike dissects the undercurrents of fading U.S. naval dominance, its potential impact on international trade, and the demographic hurdles as countries grapple with declining birth rates. Zeihan’s audacious commentary on China’s supposed ascendancy casts a contrarian shadow, offering an alternative perspective on the global stage’s future power dynamics.
Episode resources:
Get the book: The Box by Marc Levinson
Get the book: The End of the World Is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization
Check out the video version of this episode below:
Write a Podcast Review:
Podcast reviews are important to iTunes, and the more reviews we receive, the more likely we’ll be able to get this podcast and message in front of more people (something about iTunes algorithms?). I’d be extremely grateful if you took less than 30 seconds and 5 clicks to rate the podcast and leave a quick review. Here’s how to do it in less than 30 seconds:
Click on This Link – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/howd-it-happen-podcast/id1441722417
Click on the “Listen on Apple Podcast” Box
Click on “Open iTunes” – You will go directly to the iTunes page for the Podcast
Click on “Ratings and Reviews”
Click on the 5thStar (or whatever one makes the most sense to you 🙂
Episode transcript below:
0:00:00 – Mike Malatesta:
This episode is sponsored by the DreamExit. The DreamExit is a private bespoke program for successful entrepreneurs with annual revenue between $5 million and $100 million who realize that they have one chance to get their DreamExit right and that the odds of realizing that dream by themselves, all alone or at the last minute are stacked against them. In less than 90 days, we teach you how to design, build and execute a customized DreamExit playbook that gets your business ready for sale at its maximum value and gets you ready to maximize your meaning and purpose in your post-exit life, even if today you are not ready to sell. You see, dreamexits just don’t happen. They are the result of early, professional and proven planning. So if you’re an entrepreneur with annual sales between $5 million and $100 million and you want to learn how to 10x to 100x your chances of achieving the DreamExit you deserve, go to dreamexitplaybookcom today.
Hey everybody, and welcome to this free Thinking Friday solo episode of the how to Happen podcast. I’m Mike and I thank you for joining me today. On last week’s episode, I talked to you about the dramatic impact that the shipping container yes, the lowly shipping container had and continues to have on the global economy and the world in so many ways, and I learned about that from a book called the Box by Mark Levinson, and you should definitely check that out. But anyway, that conversation led me to want to share with you a few ideas from another book that I read, called the End of the World is Just the Beginning, by Peter Zion. Here is the cover of that book. There we go the End of the World is Just the Beginning. Mapping the collapse of globalization is the subtitle. So I recently saw Peter live and in person at a YPO Young President’s Organization event in Milwaukee where he was kind enough to sign my copy of the book. He’s very happy to get that, as you can see. Hopefully you can see Peter.
So who is Peter? Well, peter is a geopolitical expert and, to the extent that anyone predicting what will happen in the future is an expert, and that’s, I understand, open to debate. He at least does it convincingly and with an abundance of what I will call flair. So you should consider following him on YouTube or getting his daily email video, as both are great ways to start your day Like that. I start my day with the video or the email, I think it’s so while I’m eating my cereal. It’s a great way to start my day with something you probably weren’t thinking about, something I wasn’t thinking about and or could possibly impact our world and your world the book one of several that he’s written, and it’s a New York Times bestseller, and it’s one of those books that got me thinking about so many things that I hadn’t thought about before or I didn’t know, and that I feel way better informed and maybe a little smarter too, because I read it. And I think you might feel the same way. And I’m not going to try in this podcast to tackle everything in the book, because that would be impossible and even if I did it, it wouldn’t be half as good or authentic as what you would get out of reading the book, which I again highly recommend. But I will tee up a few things.
One of the book’s biggest themes is the United States Navy, specifically how the United States Navy is and has been kind of the de facto protector of the high seas since the end of World War Two. This protection was brought about by an agreement called Bretton Woods. I think that’s the right name for it. I know that’s where it occurred and so that’s why they named it, as I recall. But anyway, bretton Woods where, in the US, essentially agreed to protect the world’s oceans so that the countries devastated by World War Two could rebuild their economies and be assured that they could ship their goods safely and reliably internationally. And that protection by the US Navy, he argues, is coming to an end and when it does well, there will be consequences to free trade. Pirates think rogue nation states and think similar types of problematic things. So that’s one main theme the United States Navy. Very fascinating, I had no idea, maybe you do.
Another theme is demographics, so basically the making baby systems of some and many European and Southeastern Asian countries in particular, and they are not good. Now many countries are not having babies at the replacement rate, which I believe is 2.1 children per family, and as a result, they will, or are already, are very heavy top-loaded with old people and very light with young people, and for a lot of reasons this is very bad for these countries’ economies. Peter, in particular, is particularly bearish on China and while many people, interestingly, are predicting that China will replace the United States as the number one global economy and global power in the next decade, he argues instead that China will essentially fall off a cliff in the next decade in both of those areas. And that’s just a small, small taste of the book. If you want to learn more about the end of the world as we know it which I think that was an REM song for those who remember back a little ways and who Peter Zion thinks will be the world’s winners and the world’s losers over the next decades, read the book and then make your own conclusions. I’m not sure what he’ll end up being right about or wrong about, and it’ll probably be a mix. There’s no ways he’s going to be right or wrong about everything for sure. But, like I said earlier, you and I are all about learning more, and this book is a great place to do just that.
So thank you for joining me today. My goal is to provide you with value with each and every episode and I hope I hope I’ve accomplished that today and I’m always interested in your thoughts. So feel free to reach out and let me know. And if you liked this episode and you aren’t following the podcast, please hit the follow button. There are the episode and you know, talk it up If, if you’re inclined to do so, and if you are, I’d be very, very grateful. So until next time, everybody.
Thanks for listening to this show and before you go, I just have three requests for you. One if you like what I’m doing, please consider subscribing or following the podcast on whatever podcast platform you prefer. If you’re really into it, leave me a review, write something nice about me, give me five stars or whatever you feel is most appropriate. Number two I’ve got a book. It’s called Owner Shift how Getting Selfish Got Me Unstuck. It’s an Amazon bestseller and I’d love for you to read it or listen to it on Audible or wherever else Barnes and Noble, amazon you can get it everywhere If you’re looking for inspiration that will help you unlock your greatness and potential. Order or download it today so that you can have your very own copy. And if you get it, please let me know what you think.
Number three my newsletter. I do a newsletter every Thursday and I talk about things that are interesting to me and or I give more information about the podcast and the podcast guests that I’ve had and the experiences that I’ve had with them. You can sign up for the podcast today at my website, which is my name, mikemalatesta.com. You do that right now. Put in your email address and you’ll get the very next issue. The newsletter is short, thoughtful and designed to inspire, activate and maximize the greatness in you.
