How do you change your world?

J K Rowling, the phenomenally successful author of the Harry Potter series, that took her from pauper to billionaire, wrote, “We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.”

Have you ever wanted to ... Create a really disruptive technology? Find a way to change the world big time? Start your own highly impactful business!  Build a global impact business like Atlassian?  Become a corporate innovator? Solve a major global problem? Create income for the impoverished?

You haven’t, as yet?  Well, maybe, there's two answers: "Imagine more, imagine better". And, "Collaborate to Innovate."

Here Neville Christie, Co-initiator of Innovating Cosmos - the global community of innovators - provides a proven approach to how you can find, and create, the ‘right’ way for you to change your world.

Climbing the right wall

Over 20 different people have said something like, “As you create your life, and climb the ladder of success, make sure it’s leaning against the right wall. And the bricks are the right ones for you.”

The eminent US mythologist, Joseph Campbell's version was: "There is perhaps nothing worse than reaching the top of the corporate ladder and discovering that you're on the wrong wall."

Three realities

Good warning! But there are three vital realities lurking behind this often repeated advice:

1.    The ‘right wall’ for each of us keeps changing. Roughly, every five years most of us reach a ‘pivot’ where we need to re-find, re-design, re-create the ‘right’ wall – the right career, job, business, direction, opportunity, project - for us. Even for us to transform our Life and Business Purpose!!!

2.    Typically, between us all, we at least have 7 + 1 different responses when we reach this ‘pivot’: We flee. We fight. We bunker down and hope the ‘crisis’ will pass. We run faster. We slow right down. We adapt. Or we transform and evolve. The one extra? We do nothing! 

Some of these responses lead us back to the ‘wrong’ wall. Others set us in the 'right' direction. Right for us, at this time, that is.

3.    While most of us look ‘out there’ in the physical world for our next big opportunity, as J R Rowling suggests, each time the kick-start answer lies mainly ‘in here’.

"Ask ourselves a big, fat, hairy audacious question, and we gain the chance to get a big, fat, hairy, audacious answer." - a Nevilleism.

Lots of in-depth answers

So…as you answer the following 7+1 questions, you may find what opportunities lie inside you, waiting to manifest – and you save a lot of your time, life, innovating energy... and dollars. [And by the way, nowadays our energy, not our time, is our major limiting personal resource.]

For, importantly, our research shows that as you answer the following 7 + 1 questions, you will get to the right ‘wall’ quicker and easier, for you at this point in time... Then, rather than simply climbing this 'wall' - you, with your carefully selected team, will break down the wall, and transform it into a major opportunity. And a significant innovation - that changes you and your world.

Start here: Answer these three questions first

Question One: At this time in my life, what is my overriding Life Purpose?

Great opportunities must align with our Life Purpose.  And our Life Purpose must align with our opportunities. Else rejection or failure is guaranteed.

There are 7 core Life Purposes we all rotate roughly every 5 years, in amazingly varying ways.

Briefly the core 7 are: Follow the God 'stuff'. Clone me through spouse, children and family. Be the best Me I can be. Go for wealth, power and influence, Follow the love trail. Make the world better. Create my own secret recipe. See: Select from the seven main mountains of Purpose.

Question Two: What are my inborn talents, skills, strengths, masteries and interests – that I honour in me?

And which, of these, are important for me to use and manifest in the world - for my total wellness, and the good of others?

Often it’s good to dialogue about what they are, with your life partner, close friends, work colleagues, or find a mentor!

Innovation Psychologist, Conan Young, says, “Your goals need to be self-concordant for you to stay motivated, especially when the stakes are high or the seas are rough.  So, any opportunity not built, first, on your core Life Purpose, and second, on your talents, skills, strengths, values and abiding interests, will either be rejected by you… or, if you take them on, will have a high chance of failure.”

Question Three: What big ‘world’ problems really worry me? And worry me enough that I’m prepared to ‘fix’ them?

Here, it’s useful to list 10-20-30-40. Then narrow them down to the 2-3 you most realistically can change. 

Consciously ‘meditate’ on these world problem question for a week or more. Do lots of Google searching around them. Dialogue with everyone you meet about them. Use Siri on your mobile to list possible answers as they jump up from thh 'magical' deep knowing of your unconscious.

Reversal: Conan Young rightly points out: “Innovating’s not always about “big” world problems - it’s also about what is valuable to people. Anything valued by a large group can be a huge opportunity also…”

So, also ask: what would make the people in my world happier or better off?

Now get more concrete as you answer these next three filter questions

Question Four: What’s are the types of added value I feel comfortable, and uncomfortable, with?

• For profit? Not for profit?
• In what areas of human endeavour – sport, politics, religion, culture, business, education, science, welfare, technology, health….?
• For friends near, dear and held close?
• For ‘friends’ around Australia, in Asia, around the world?
• For friends I have yet to meet?
• For a combination of these?

What ‘calls’ to me, or ‘moves’ me most?: Transmitting new ideas. Creating new products. Technologies. Changing organisations. Changing institutions. Transforming lives. Software, apps or dapps. Blockchain and crypto-currencies. Relationships. Children. The next generation. Our older generationz. The disadvantaged, impoverished, homeless, down-trodden, victimized?...

Climate change. Sustainability. Total wellness. Gold, property, stocks, shares, personal wealth. New processes. New systems. Science, art, dance, education, music, opera, high culture. A revolution. Eradicating poverty. A different sort of society. A new form of capitalism.  Revamping democracy. Smart homes cities. Smart cities. Smart transport. Slow food. Rural communities.  Virtual communities.  Artificial intelligence...

Aligning with China. Transforming lives. Creating a new monetary and banking system. Personal power and fame. Travel. Adventure. The quiet life; reflection; transcendence; bliss; world peace; personal peace… A different sort of religion,  Transforming food chains. Living until 120.

Creating new frontiers. Breaking with traditions. Home. Getting away from home…What?

• What’s definitely ON and OFF the agenda for me?

Question Five: What level of value add seems right for me?

We all have complex relationships with money and what makes up ’value’. And whether you and I are working for profit, or not-for-profit, as innovators we have an inbuilt Geiger Counter that calculates the amount of money or value we feel we ‘deserve’ to earn - or that we can add to the world over the next 3-5 years:  “100+ million!! My God, what are you talking about? 100+ million!  Sure I can do that.”

When you carefully examine, in dollar terms, what that amount is – made up of both tangible and intangible value, financial and non-financial - you have an enormously important filter as to the size and scope of the innovating opportunities you will actually embrace with others. Too small and you’re not motivated. Too big and you turn away.  [Note: We have invented a way to measure intangible and 'invaluable' values. It's called High Intrinsic Value Units. Or HIVUs - pronounced 'High Views'. And written as &H.]

So, push yourself: “Over each of the next 3-5 years, I don’t just aspire to but I know I can earn or add value - alone or with others - to the tune of $200,000? $1 million? $5 million? $10 million? $50 million? 100 million? Even more?”

Question Six: How can I/will I do this?

Now ask: How can I marshal my costs, assets and income in ways that mean I can realistically work 1-2-3 days a week on world-changing, equity-sharing projects – where I gain no income for as many as 3+ years - without adversely impacting my family, my health, or our life-style?

Now add the 7th big filter

Question Seven: Who are the ‘nutritious’ people - with what sorts of talents, skills, values, strengths – that I naturally gravitate towards. And most like to work collaboratively and co-operatively with? And, what sorts of ‘toxic’ people do I choose NOT to work with?

A vital 8th question

As you get clearer about the specific opportunities you might take on, it is also vital you ask this 8th multi-headed question:

Question Eight: How, can we as a team, multiply, leverage and scale this opportunity so it can be global and big?

e.g. Keaz – developed by the core Innovating Cosmos team – is a platform designed for the sharing economy. By using it, many hundreds of different business opportunities can be built – all aimed at reducing the global footprint of ‘things’. From a zero start 4 years ago, and bootstrapped at first, then with $500,000 equity capital added, Keaz now has a market value of $40 million. And is on a rapidly-accelerating, exponential growth curve. 

Think about other innovative, multiplier platforms and technologies in the here and now, such as the Cloud and blockchain that might turn your idea dial up from 1 to 10 and then 100!

Want assistance?

1.  Join one of the 12 global tribes, working collaboratively to change the world for the better

2.  Create a nutritious and talented team to collaborate with you - this can be 12-15 fellow founders of SMEs - like those who meet at he Innovation RoundTables run by Innovating Our Futures.

3.  Contact Neville at – n[email protected]

Spread the idea

Yes!  You’re warmly invited to pass on this article to others, add it to your mail outs, or post it on your web site. 

Go well – as you change your world – and your make the world better, fairer, ‘richer’, and more sustainable for all!

Neville D Christie