John Krubski has been described as a "futurist with his feet on the ground." He helps America's businesses, from the very small to the very large, think their way to a better future. He has developed a formula for creating the future you deserve and applied it to the nation. The America Code began as a marketing exercise and evolved into a fresh perspective on the fundamental American operating system. "American exceptionalism" doesn't necessarily mean that America and Americans are better than other nations and nationalities. It simply describes the elementary fact that America is different, peopled by a disproportionate citizenry of Disenfranchised Diligent Optimists with a tendency towards Collective Congenital Amnesia who are Addicted to Personal Liberty. The future of America depends not on what we do but on who we are. Based on a body of work encompassing more than 35,000 Americans, this book gets to the core of what makes America America and Americans Americans. The America Code is in our genes. It lies at the heart of how we got here - both literally and historically. It is the compass towards our future. The Code explains how we decide what we decide and why we value what we value. To the clever reader it also provides a blueprint for motivating and influencing Americans in the market, in the workplace, and at the voting booth. The Code can teach us many things about the third largest country on the planet in terms of both land area and population. "American" is more a nature than a nationality. Being here doesn't automatically make you American any more than joining a team makes you an athlete. But you don't have to live in America to carry the America Code; which is why so many immigrants feel arriving here is more of a homecoming than a journey to a strange land. The seven markers of the America Code are: 1. We are disenfranchised diligent optimists. 2. We are addicted to individual liberty. 3. We subscribe to association rather than consensus. 4. We are fueled by the principle of possibility. 5. We are governed by a faith in something greater than ourselves - and certainly not the state. 6. We are pragmatic combatants. 7. We are collective congenital amnesiacs. Forty-four percent of Americans are essentially active by nature. Forty-six percent are essentially inactive. Ten percent are re-active... and half of America is genetically coded to disagree with the other half. We have met the Economy; and it is us The National Economy is a figment of our collective imagination. We need to be careful what we imagine and we need to be particularly mindful of how we are disposed to make the same mistakes again and again. Krubski's Twelve-Step Program for the Nation includes: . Only accept the word "unprecedented" if supporting documentation is provided that covers at least the past 250 years. . Return clarity to the national discourse by repealing, rescinding, and rectifying the mandate of political correctitude. . Provide a basic primer for political discourse in America beginning with the notion that for everyone you think is wrong someone is equally convinced it is you who are wrong. . Remind ourselves that we are not supposed to trust government-not ours, not anyone else's. That is the reason behind separation of powers. That is the rationale behind our Constitution. . Never ask the question "What has become of our country?" Nothing happens by itself-people are always responsible, and they usually have reasons for doing what they do. To paraphrase a mantra from the Watergate era, "Follow the advantage." . Never ask "What can I do?" unless you're asking for instruction and willing to take it."