Connectedness

For 7 years I have been writing this blog - At times it has been more frequent than others.  It started out as a project to connect with friends and family, develop my writing skills and share ideas and insights.

I have also focused much more on intrapersonal issues and related this to broader issues in society.  On a journey where I have refined my understanding and skill relating to change, innovation and leadership that has lasted roughly 14 years so far I have been privileged to learn about myself and the world we all live in.  From the beginning of this blog I have considered the  possibility of it becoming more.  I have a passion for writing but also for instigating change and challenging leaders to take up their role irrespective of position or title.  I dream of a world where more people get rid of the burdens that they take onto themselves due to societal influences, their own beliefs or other references that they might have built up and therefore create unnecessary rules that govern their happiness.

These rules that govern each of us creates a barrier hindering the possibility of true transformation that each of us has on an intrapersonal, inter-personal and organisational level.

This is a world of plenty, not of scarcity; possibility, not impossibility.  I want to connect with individuals that dare to dream in the same way and create a movement where those on the margins of society and on the margins of freedom can be included in an endeavour that helps to bring about a changed paradigm for the 21st century society.  ...A society that revolves around purpose, people and meaning.

I know there are many of you asking critical questions around your family, job, business, environment and the rest of society.  The first step is to start talking the same language and then from collective meaning start to focus efforts on targeted areas by connecting and collaborating.  This is where this blog will play a greater role in the future.  It will become much more of an integrated platform where individuals and organisations can tap into in order to join a discussion as well as coordinate  actions leading to greater positive impact.

I am moving the blog into a more productive and focused mode as part of a greater service offering from my side.  I will continually keep writing but also be exploring other tools and avenues of facilitating movement of hearts and minds towards a greater interdependent force for good.

I will be using the term connectedness to describe this movement, but more on that in following posts...

As I develop this I will be connecting with some of you directly in order to understand the need and perhaps craft the most appropriate approach that will be more targeted and effective.  At times I will be focusing more on the South African situation, but I will also be writing with an international audience in mind.

I hope to see as many of you joining me on this journey going from survive to alive!

Awareness Economics

A few times on this blog I have written about the importance of knowing yourself.  Sometimes I feel like I have even been a bit of a stuck record.  

The last few weeks I have however been picking up books, reading highlights from my professional networks and talking with people who have all indicated the same thing: the biggest change that is happening is that we will have to develop the relationship with ourselves if we want to change the world.

This, in other words, is indeed a delicious paradox.  It is juicy and rich in substance: Stop trying to change the world, change yourself if you want to change the world.  ...It is hard enough anyway!

In my previous post I clarified the purpose of the blog and also clarified the two core terms of survive and alive.  I therefore see this blog as a place where the new challenge of the 21st century economic environment, i.e. how much you pay for the food in your grocery store, how expensive your house is and how to take of yourself when you retire or provide for your children in the future, is directly connected with the internal life that we lead.  It becomes economics based on how aware I am.

From personal experience I can attest to the challenges of deep inner change that results in peace.  I believe it is only from this place of peace where the correct desires can be cultivated which results in the kind of behaviour that impacts our economic choices on a global level.

This is hard!  It is hard because of noise.  It is the clacking of keyboards, tweeting, liking, chirping, snapping cacophony that is designed to make us buy, buy, buy that keeps us from facing our fears.  Stop rushing, running speeding and fleeing.  Start sitting, focusing, re-centring and realigning to what is really important.  Do you know what is really important to you?

Do you survive or are you alive?