We believe the universe is abundant.

As a core value built into our company’s DNA, we feel compelled to share why this value is so important to us and how it shapes the way we operate as a company.

We will never run out of pie

Believing the universe is abundant means not seeing the world as one of scarcity. Instead of fighting for the last piece of the pie, we believe the supply is endless.

It means not living and operating our company from a basis of fear.

It means not being afraid to:

• share our best ideas because there is an infinite number of good ideas
• let more people contribute to and benefit from our success because there is no limit on success
• let people, even competitors, download and see our source code because it’s not our code to begin with, it belongs to the community

Believing the universe is abundant means giving away that which we hold most dear. By contributing to and giving back to the community, we stand to receive an infinite number of riches back in ways we can’t begin to describe or imagine.

We are not afraid because we know that the universe is conspiring for us. It is dropping us hints. It is giving us clues. The universe wants us to succeed.

Believing in an abundant universe means believing there are no limits on what we can do. It also means not being fearful for tomorrow.

The universe conspires for us

Have you ever had something happen that made you feel so incredibly lucky, that you couldn’t believe your good fortune?

It’s the time you desperately needed to sell your car before leaving town, and a willing buyer magically appeared the day before you left.

It’s the time you were considering a career change, but were afraid to make the leap, when you met your future business partner waiting in line at the local grocery store.

It’s the time you reluctantly went out on a blind date only to find your date is the man or women you have been secretly admiring from afar for the last year and a half.

It’s the time you were $150K in credit card debt from funding your first startup and were about to declare personal bankruptcy, when you were acquired for that patent you filed last spring.

Some would chalk up events like these to simple good luck. Others would claim it was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

Things like this happen because we intend them to happen. It is hard work, combined with desire, faith, and thought that enables the universe to help us realize our deepest dreams and desires.

The universe conspires for us.

The alternative

Even if you don’t believe the universe is abundant, consider the alternative – a universe of scarcity.

When you view the universe as one of scarcity, your actions begin to follow your thoughts.

You donate less to charity.
You are less giving of your time to others.
You hoard things and share less.

When you view the world as one of scarcity you begin a self fulfilling prophecy.

Your world becomes scarce because you BELIEVE it to be scarce.

If you see a world of scarcity - you will live in a world of scarcity.
If you see a world of abundance - you will live in a world of abundance.

Giving it away

We don’t believe the universe is abundant purely for altruistic reasons. Operating as if there is no scarcity on money, ideas, and time is also good for business. It’s true when they say the more you give, the more you receive.

Take the story of Buckminster Fuller. Wanting to give something to the community, Buckminster tried to give away significant sums of money to various charities and organizations.

Over time however, Buckminster was surprised to see his bank account balance growing instead of shrinking. People were so moved by his generosity that they wanted to give something back also and asked if he would make donations on their behalf. Hence Buckminster had the problem of not being able to give away money at a greater rate then it was coming in.

“The more you give, the more you receive” is a mantra that has been echoed through the ages and reaffirmed on every corner of the earth for a reason. The reason is because it’s true.

An abundant universe affects how we operate our business

Believing the universe is abundant has affected the setup of our company in several ways.

When MJ incorporated our company, he insisted there would be no founder promotes. Every shareholder, including himself would have to buy their stock just like everyone else. No special grants of shares or options for him or anyone else.

Taking a lead from Marc Benioff of SalesForce.com, The Cambrian House Foundation was setup to donate 1% of profit, time, and equity back to the community.

Our business model hinges on the belief that by giving away our best ideas, and sharing our infrastructure and assets, we stand to gain more than keeping our ideas and assets to ourselves.

We are not worried about others copying our ideas (in fact we would be flattered if they did) as it would validate that we are on the right track. Paul Graham has an excellent essay on why it’s not worth losing sleep over being overly protective of your ideas the way most companies do.

We give away our ideas to the community because we know we stand to gain infinitely more by doing so.

The universe is abundant

Viewing the universe as abundant is what we believe. We know not everyone thinks this way.

We also know that the more closely we partner with those who also see a universe of abundance, the more successful we will be as a community.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Rasmusson (JR)