TAO Talks: The Emergence of "Wellbeing Economies" (J. Friday)

How 300+ movements are weaving a new economy centered on human thriving. J Friday joins us for a conversation on the emergence of Wellbeing Economies

What if our economy isn’t based on ideal (or even complete) metrics?

Today’s systems celebrate growth for growth’s sake: GDP at all costs, shareholder profits over human thriving. But beneath the noise of collapse and resistance, a new story is quietly taking root: the rise of the Wellbeing Economy.

A wellbeing economy isn't a dream or an abstraction. It's happening now. It's being built by more than 300 movements around the world — regenerative communities, cooperative businesses, commons-based initiatives, and new governance models that prioritize people and the planet over extraction and endless growth.

The Connection Engine, founded by UK-based strategist and storyteller J. Friday, aims to unite these siloed movements. The Connection Engine isn't just a network: It's a coordination hub, designed to align these fragmented movements into a shared flywheel of action.

The premise is beautifully simple: a platform where anyone can plug into a global ecosystem of change with weekly actions (five-minute, 15-minute, or one-hour commitments), strategic storytelling, and peer support. Whether you want to join something local or launch something new, Connection Engine turns passive hope into participatory action.

And perhaps, TAO — with its long-term vision to combine TikTok's legendary algorithm for connecting people, products, organizations, and movements + infrastructure that enables human beings to organize locally, nationally, internationally, and globally — will become the connective tissue these movements have been waiting for. ;)

As J Friday explains, much of the world is still trapped in a cultural phase of resistance…unionizing, protesting, fighting systems that were never designed for human thriving. While important, resistance alone doesn't change the underlying structures.

What we need is systemic transformation.

And that transformation starts with belief: shifting our cultural consciousness from survival and extraction to regeneration and community wellbeing. From resistance to creation.

Across domains like ecology, technology, governance, commons stewardship, and economic redesign, the solutions already exist. The problem is they are siloed, underfunded, and largely unknown to the public. That's J Friday’s vision for the Connection Engine, stitching together the fabric of the new world in a way that is visible, actionable, and accessible.

Why a Wellbeing Economy?

Because "wellbeing" touches everything: health, wealth, community, fulfillment. It's not just a value: It's the real metric that should drive our systems. People don't buy "GDP." They buy health, happiness, meaning, and connection.

A wellbeing economy aligns the incentives of governance, business, and community around what actually matters to human life.

This isn't theory: countries like Iceland, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales have already begun to implement wellbeing economy metrics into their governance structures. And the Connection Engine aims to help amplify these efforts on a grassroots level by giving people tangible pathways to participate in the development of wellbeing economies.

Example: Driver’s Co-ops

One of the clearest examples of a wellbeing economy emerging in real time is the rise of drivers' cooperatives. Instead of drivers being trapped in extractive models like Uber and Lyft, workers are banding together to own and operate their own rideshare platforms, keeping profits within their communities and ensuring better wages, governance, and dignity.

• Colorado: The Drivers Cooperative of Colorado is leading the way, showing how a federated rideshare model can empower drivers, reduce exploitation, and circulate wealth locally.

• Hawaii and New York: Similar cooperative models are taking root, inspired by the same principles of worker ownership and community wealth building.

Rather than fighting endless battles for scraps within the old systems, these drivers are building entirely new ones. Systems where the value created stays in the hands of those who generate it. It's a living testament to what happens when we shift the purpose of an economic system from extraction to wellbeing.

Together as One: The Power of Distributed Change

One of the most powerful aspects of Connection Engine — and of the broader movement — is that it is decentralized by design. There is no single leader. No gatekeeper. The 300+ movements span a wide variety of strategies, sectors, and structures, but they are aligned by a shared value: Prioritizing collective wellbeing over extraction.

This is how systemic change happens: not through top-down decrees, but through emergent, synchronized action across networks of people, movements, and organizations.

The future isn't written yet. But it is unfolding. And for once, it looks like it could be built not on the backs of the many for the benefit of the few, but together, as one.

If you want to be part of this emergence, explore the work of Connection Engine at jfriday.com. And if you’re curious about those 300 movements, she regularly shouts out the ones she’s finding on Tiktok!

As J tells us:

A better world isn't just possible. It's already emerging.

About J. Friday

J Friday is a UK-based storyteller, systems strategist, and co-founder of Connection Engine, a global initiative connecting over 300 movements building a wellbeing economy. With a background spanning grassroots organizing, narrative strategy, and regenerative systems design, Friday works at the intersection of culture, community, and systemic change. Her work focuses on creating practical pathways for ordinary people to plug into extraordinary change, weaving together movements that prioritize community care, regeneration, and collective wellbeing over extraction and endless growth. She believes the solutions to humanity’s greatest challenges already exist — we just need to connect them.

• Website: https://jfriday.com/

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@realjfriday

• Substack:

  J. Friday