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We hear it all the time: \u201cKeep your options open.\u201d It\u2019s the philosophy that shapes much of our approach to education, career, and relationships. It also shapes where we choose to live and, critically, how we live there.\nPete Davis calls this infinite browsing mode, and he says it is the defining characteristic of our time. Davis compares it to a long hallway with countless doors, each of which leads to new possibilities. Having options can be fun and even liberating. But there are also downsides of hopping from room to room, of living life in the hallway.\nAnd the thing is, says Davis, the people we most admire\u2014for example, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mister Rogers, Dorothy Day, or the unsung local advocate going about the work of making the neighborhood better\u2014are the folks who ignored the advice to keep their options open. Rather, they are, in a word, dedicated.\nA few years ago, Pete Davis helped bring Strong Towns president Chuck Marohn to speak at Harvard. We\u2019re thrilled now to welcome Davis in return as our guest this week on the Strong Towns Podcast. Davis is a writer and civic advocate from Falls Church, Virginia. He\u2019s the co-founder of the Democracy Policy Network, a state policy organization focused on raising up ideas that deepen democracy. Davis\u2019s 2018 Harvard Law School graduation speech, \u201dA Counterculture of Commitment,\u201d has been viewed more than 30 million times. And he\u2019s now expanded that into a new book: Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing.\nIn this episode, Marohn and Davis discuss where the maximize-your-options mindset comes from and why it is and isn\u2019t a generational thing. They also talk about how the \u201ccounterculture of commitment\u201d manifests itself in various spheres\u2014including our education system, economy, and local communities\u2014and why we should celebrate maintainers at least as much as innovators. They also tell stories about some of their own favorite \u201clong-haul heroes.\u201d\nAdditional Show Notes:\n\nPeteDavis.org\n\n\nDedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing, by Pete Davis \n\n\nPete Davis (Newsletter)\n\n\n\u201cA Counterculture of Commitment\u201d (Commencement Speech)\n\n\nPete Davis (Twitter)\n\n\nCharles Marohn (Twitter)