Cover -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction: We Have a Choice -- 1 PRINCIPLE ONE Life Is an Open-Ended Experiment -- LESSON 1: It Is Wise to Have a Beginner's Mind -- PRINCIPLE TWO Everything We Do Is an Exercise in Relationships -- LESSON 2: Everything Is Defined by Relationships -- LESSON 3: All Relationships Have Consequences -- LESSON 4: Composition, Structure, and Function Are Intertwined -- LESSON 5: Context Affects Relationships -- LESSON 6: We See the World Through Our Own Lens -- PRINCIPLE THREE Change Is a Universal Constant -- LESSON 7: Sustainability and Change Are Continuous Processes -- LESSON 8: Cumulative Effects, Lag Periods, and Thresholds Are Key -- LESSON 9: All Change Is to Some Extent Irreversible -- LESSON 10: We Live in the Invisible Present -- PRINCIPLE FOUR Act Locally and Affect the Whole World -- LESSON 11: Our Actions Have Consequences -- LESSON 12: Consider the Long-Term Consequences First -- LESSON 13: There's Always a Trade-off -- PRINCIPLE FIVE Ecology and Economy Are Each One Half of the House We Live In -- LESSON 14: Reinvest in Systems As If They're Big Business -- LESSON 15: Our "House" Is a Global Commons -- LESSON 16: The World Is a Living Trust -- PRINCIPLE SIX Relationships, Not Numbers, Keep Systems Sustainable -- LESSON 17: Self-Reinforcement--The Secret of Stable Systems -- LESSON 18: Sustainability--It's About Effectiveness, Not Efficiency -- LESSON 19: "Simple" Doesn't Always Equal "Better" -- PRINCIPLE SEVEN We Can Only Manage Ourselves -- LESSON 20: Democracy Nurtures Sustainability -- LESSON 21: We Always Have Choices -- LESSON 22: We Become What We Oppose When We React Instead of Responding -- LESSON 23: Acceptance Is the Key -- LESSON 24: A Wise Response Depends on Reflection -- LESSON 25: You Can Always Start Today -- PRINCIPLE EIGHT True Sustainability Requires a Shared Vision.

LESSON 26: Shared Vision Is a Necessity -- Epilogue: Teaching Kids to Change the World--From Vision to Reality -- Search Institute's Framework of 40 Developmental Assets® -- Web Resources -- Notes -- Index -- About the Authors -- More Great Books from Search Institute -- Back Cover.