Is this my 'Jerry Maguire' moment?

Spoiler alert: This may be my Jerry Maguire moment : Jerry Maguire (played by Tom Cruise)??pens a heartfelt 'mission' statement, after experiencing a crisis of conscience. Maguire pens the paper with a new sense of purpose, distributes it to the entire company thinking it will have a similar impact on those around him. You probably know it didn't, but here I am sharing an equally long, purposeful New Year share.....so here goes....

I hope you feel you have a life of purpose, because that is what Anthropy is all about. That purpose is to help leaders maximise their potential for good. This particular purpose replicates a personal one which I have worked towards knowingly for eight years, and before my defining it for myself, subconsciously for well over thirty. It shares what I know is exemplified by the Anthropy ethos, born out of the most extraordinary of times and stands witness to a belief that in this Anthropocene era, greater humanity and an appreciation of what that means, is the only way we can navigate the complexities of the world we have created and live, lead and build a legacy successfully.

Let me start however by establishing the background to Anthropy as a way of thinking and doing. We can all acknowledge that throughout human existence, life has always been a series of collisions and near misses between the lives of individuals and catastrophic events. Such as they are, they shape both individual lives and our societies collectively and have been created by human activity, such as wars as well as that of natural disasters. They have resulted in everything from the fall of empires to extraordinary personal loss by individuals. They mark our continual human history and struggle for progress, but when collisions occur, we are forever marked by what might otherwise have been unimaginable. 2020 was such a year.

This was the year the world was pushed into unparalleled stagnation and uncertainty by the global pandemic. A year where we were confined to our homes, lost access to loved ones, saw collective experiences such as sport and theatre suspended, had travel banned and on a wider societal basis, faced real fear and uncertainty of how and when we would safely re-emerge. Our economy was pushed to the limit, with global supply chains found wanting and consumers who were accustomed to on demand and ‘click of a button’ supply, suddenly fearful of home basics running out and their own jobs stopping. The social distanced reality, our creaking healthcare systems, schools failing to be open to educate and university students locked down, was in effect the pressing of a ‘pause’ button not just on individual lives, but one could say the march of human progress and certainly human happiness, as well.

In such extraordinary times what had been thought normal is often turned upside down. What was once common can become fearful and the marginal become mainstream. This meant shying away from a handshake or kiss yet embracing the use of video conferencing and virtual coffee catch ups to work and socialise. At such times what we also have previously valued, is often re-evaluated, whilst we find ourselves responding to such uncertainty with a desire to seek greater understanding and knowledge to better adapt ourselves and explore what is happening and or what might happen in the future. Throughout this period, I found the like-minded I connected with looking to the future, with a confidence that there was good to be found out of such circumstances, illustrated by the collective efforts we saw in maintaining vital services, fundraising for the NHS and more. It was in my view an illustration that there was fundamental belief in hope, as the writer GK Chesterton put it:

‘Hope is the power of being cheerful in circumstances we know to be desperate’

At such desperate times and like so many others, my circumstances and concerns for my family, my business and the causes which I had supported, forced me to re-assess the general economic and societal situation. As I witnessed several friends and business contacts of a similar age die of covid, I also reviewed my life more generally and started to think about future priorities and a way through the immediate dilemma for our society. I considered how these dire circumstances might lead towards something better than had been before.?Thankfully I was not alone in my hopefulness which meant we could acknowledge that ultimately such times can offer both challenges and opportunities for us all. Which a person gravitates towards will be dependent upon their own attitude and circumstances.?

With my existing concerns ranging from global climate change to localised environmental challenges and economic and social disparity in the UK, it created a belief in me that this was a unique moment in time for us all to consider as an opportunity not only for personal change, but for systemic change on things which had been challenging us previously. My thinking was that there was an opportunity for those of us who had been fortunate in life and have found themselves in leadership positions, to initiate change in how society could re-emerge to do things in a different way to that which had gone before. The term ‘build back better’ was often used by politicians and others, but in my mind, it should have been ‘build back different’. Better can suggest simply improving what had gone before, yet many of us acknowledge that something more radical is required on many agendas rather than simply building on 20th Century and even 19th Century systems and models which are no longer fit for purpose. Different is a new start, an alternative, a creative solution not yet built.

I conducted various on-line group and individual discussions, partly social, partly as intellectual stimulation and one major re-learning became clear. In the discussions around considering any ability to transform the world, it was clear that one needs to start by examining how such change might demonstrate itself personally – in the individual. This meant we needed to look into ourselves, review our prejudices, our long-held views, our personal characteristics and beliefs. I also observed that in today’s world, we are inundated with people shouting for change, yet one cannot help wondering to what extent such impassioned advocacy is always based on inner knowledge to compliment that of external factors in order to have a reasoned and knowledgeable debate. As humans we need to acknowledge that with personal motivation for change, it must originate with personal understanding first. As is attributed to the philosopher Aristotle:

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Such thinking was not to shift away from a desire to see an improved world, but it set a path to clarify for me what were long held human characteristics capable of mobilising individual and collective change to that end. This I should say is not about simply deciding, as an example, to change from a petrol to an electric car, or any other such personal life decision. Rather the change in oneself, was to aspire towards a change in thinking; thinking about the bigger issues and how to affect them. This sense was also emerge later, not just as a change in thinking but as a change in feeling and became a key aspect of my creating Anthropy the annual event and the movement that has sprung from it. The illustration of the ethos behind Anthropy, puts personal knowledge at the start of what can be systemic change.

Self-knowledge is therefore the key to turning motivation to do different, into action when given an identified opportunity. In my own case it resulted in the creation of Anthropy, as a major national gathering, which was successful because of the very human characteristics which it was based upon. It involved over two hundred organisations in creating the largest ever crowd-sourced agenda undertaken in the UK and to where a thousand prominent individuals and cross sector leaders came together across three days to explore key questions on all our futures. As a business leader but also as a long term social orientated philanthropist and campaigner, the thinking around Anthropy was inevitably a fusion of my life and cross sector experiences. This created a perspective which many others seemed to find useful and which I hope, you will also.

Although during the pandemic period I had specific concerns around the economy and the way it was affecting the business I was in, it was my knowledge of long-term social inequalities that acted as a constant reminder that the challenges we had pre-covid, would be amplified by the pandemic experience and its resulting aftereffects. Here was my country, my world, my time, affected in a way unlike anything I or others had ever experienced, where we all had a set of shared conditions such as the national lockdown but where our experiences varied massively depending on the pre-existing circumstances. Those I spoke to during this time, who considered themselves enlightened leaders, were clear that we could not just wait for an ‘all clear’ message from government, simply to re-emerge and pick up where we had left off. That would be a dereliction of the responsibility which comes with leadership.

As a result of eighteen months of discussions, it became clear that there was a widespread desire for a new way of living and leading in society, based on what individuals had themselves re-evaluated during their own lockdowns. Such changes in people’s priorities have manifested themselves in mass resignations, early retirements, shifts from mainstream employment to what would have previously been seen as marginal or more modest ambitions. What this symbolised was a movement of thinking partially resulting in Anthropy 2022 but also an ‘Anthropy Way’. Throughout this period, people were responding to a set of thinking which I had formulated around Anthropy, which was embraced as a means to navigate post Covid change and also bring greater harmony and sense of purpose to individual lives. It was also clear that this was not something purely the preserve of the many higher profile and more significant leaders I had involved but was equally relevant to everyone. Why? Because such thinking is not just relevant to leading organisations or campaigning, it is relevant to what we all do in all walks of life, attempting to make sense of the complexity that we occupy and the relationships we value.

We as humans are naturally inquisitive and this is just as much about how our world works and how we live effectively as individuals within the world. It is about using the power of our intellect, our abilities to communicate and inspire, to build and to share, which is critical to human and individual progress. Much soul searching went into the belief that new perspectives, combined with personal exploration and imagination, could help us not just as individuals but also as a society to be better at what we had failed at previously. Equally such a fresh approach could help navigate what is the essence of what we all I think hope for, namely, to live a good life, be good in our roles and leave a good legacy.?

I make no apology in being specific in stating the leading of a good life, because as you can see in my personal purpose, ‘to help people maximise their potential for good’, is what for years I have tried to help people with. ?Through my commercial work advising on ethical and sustainable business and via my charitable activities, often focused on young people, social entrepreneurs and cohesion in society generally, this was what success meant. All this was not focused simply to support an individual solely for their personal benefit but was about encouraging their wider positive impact. It harked back to my days as a young officer cadet at The Royal Military Academy of Sandhurst in the 1980s. There of course, success at gaining the (then) Queen’s commission as an Infantry Officer, would be a personal achievement but actually was more about becoming the best one could be, not just for oneself but for one’s soldiers, one’s unit and one’s country. Anthropy builds on that ethos and the inherent link between service and leadership. By its definition, to lead is to serve something greater than oneself and in understanding that, you become a better leader and person. Anthropy is about encouraging each of us to use our inherent human instincts to be better able at finding the answers to the questions we have and together those bigger questions which we face as the dominant species on Earth.

Like everyone, I have significant personal constraints, which mean I know I cannot achieve all I hope for if I act alone. I have an unknown but limited time to exist on this earth; I also have limited intellectual capacity, money, knowledge and skills to be capable of individually creating huge change in the world personally. However, if I can use what little I have and pool it with other like-minded individuals, to serve and help others, then I myself can perhaps take some satisfaction of having led a good life and, you guessed it, achieve my personal purpose by helping them maximise their own capacity for good.?At the core of Anthropy therefore is a simple equation which links being a leader, with service and achieving success through being good at it. I don’t of course mean being good at the technical aspects of a job, although that is a prerequisite in terms of efficient and competent functioning, but rather as a wider life mantra so that success in your personal relationships and in your working or voluntary roles, can be found through good being a core to your character and motivation. This means that regardless of what you do, be it as a young entrepreneur, or as an established business leader, a teacher, health professional, charity leader or politician, all can embrace good as a key principle on which to build success.

It should also be stated that my view is that Anthropy and its ethos is ultimately about the pursuit of happiness; A happiness I believe can be achieved through appreciating the wisdom of ages and finding a purpose that you can share with others to be a net contributor to the world. Even before Covid struck, we were continually aware of the change and challenge that existed in our world, a complexity and uncertainty summarized by the initials VUCA, originally a concept from the U.S. Army, to describe the volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity of the post-Cold War world. That whole statement is of course potentially perplexing, because for that time, it illustrates a preference for the predictable, the status quo, even if that ‘status’ was such that it threatened our very existence, the type of lives we lived in the height of the Cold War. If we then take the already existing pre-covid VUCA world, then add a layer of personal and community health anxiety then we surely can think such times now can only be described as VUCA2.0, a concept I originated in ‘Truth Be Told’ in 2021 with co-author @DavidGallagher. In that book we identified that an otherwise unprecedented additional set of VUCA influences had emerged to render that post-cold war language obsolete. Regardless, we now find ourselves in the post lock-down period seeking something more than simply managing an even more complex status quo; today we want to know that we have lived to some effect, against the prevailing challenges, that our lives matter and have a purpose. This is where I and many others calling themselves ‘Anthropists’ see ourselves having a changed mindset in our lives, capable of achieving happiness through collective human characteristics.

My start point for an ‘Anthropic way’ of thinking is to recognise that we are born with extraordinary human qualities of reason, creativity and social instincts. These are inherent in the key characteristics detailed below, which we can unleash to shape our lives in order to create meaning and find those with a similar outlook to life to share the journey. Anthropy as a philosophy is the convergence of who you are, your values and talents and soft skills and then how you bring these into action with people who share them and value your contribution to help achieve good. I should explain at this point that I am not about moralising or trying and impose an opinion of what good might mean to you. To do so would in effect be contrary to Anthropy principles as such declarations or definitions (as we have often witnessed from politicians over the years) can become an imposition of a set mantra. With the wrong leadership, such definitions if not complied with, then encourage intolerance, narrow mindedness and hate. I do feel Anthropy defines a general ‘good’ for society, but it is a broad, high level ‘frame’; where the collective input of others combine an assessment of what we can all consider personally and allowing us to understand how to amplify that ‘good’ personally, professionally and more broadly.?I hope Anthropy can help define how to live, lead and then leave better, hopefully creating conditions for the very best of our shared characteristics to dominate our own life path, support those we influence and affect positively the things we care for.

?I should reiterate that Anthropy or being an ‘Anthropist’ is not simply about a state of one’s own individual mind. It is by its very nature, by being born out of our collective pandemic experience, a new, fresh process to try and think differently about tackling our major societal, environmental and economic issues. Although the building block for Anthropy is the thinking and action of the individual as a leader, its motivation is to encourage collective re-alignment towards a more humane way of conversing, collaborating and solving problems. As I have alluded to already, we live in a world which however forward looking, is constrained by 20th Century and in many cases 19th Century systems, structures, processes and thinking. These in themselves are often based on deeply set vested interests, centralised power and often aggressive and protectionist activities. For example, the way in which many markets shape corporate behaviours is often to incentivise poor human character traits. The way our political and media cycles are run makes for short-termism and the highlighting of what is bad, rather than good, what people disagree on rather than agree. These and other aspects of the status quo means that Anthropy is about flowing away from the mainstream, from what is seen as the ‘normal’ way of doing things, mainly because ‘normal’ no longer works in so many regards.

As people in all walks of life consider so much of our society no longer fit for purpose, Anthropy and its thinking offers a re-learning of the deep human characteristics which have in the first case made us what we are today. An undeniable truth however, is that what those traits allowed us to create in the first instance, as solutions to our previous basic needs such as energy, food, housing, transport, are the very things which now cause us challenge in the 21st Century. If the building block of Anthropy thinking is the individual and how we all can, through thinking and feeling differently, influence change, then it is about doing so across

the three aspects of an Anthropy focused life are: to Live, to Lead & to Leave:

How you live…

has a profound effect not just upon your own welfare, but those around you, the community and organisations you influence, the country, and the world you live in. How you live potentially in an Anthropic way, is about choosing your best attitude and then applying your energy to express that attitude towards a collective good. That is in essence about living a purposeful life, to the fullest potential. That is best achieved by a good attitude personally and the belief that most other people are essentially good. It requires belief that we as a collective of individuals and as a society, can build on that goodness and that we can behave and benefit together when we think the best of people and people think the best of us. This is harnessing a collective feeling, a hopeful view of the future, for our collective futures.

?The premise of understanding how Anthropy is identifiable in each of us, is to take five specific human characteristics, which have allowed us to become the dominant species on this planet and share how they can guide us individually and collectively in leading our lives. Anthropy is based on the key human traits of kindness, belonging, curiosity, imagination and our voice.?These will be explained further by me at Anthropy23, but in reading seeing such words, I know some will see softness, perhaps even weakness, ambiguity and being in marked contrast to what one sees for example, in the very many leadership books available. There are shelves upon shelves of leadership titles which concentrate on smashing, speeding, forcing, winning, selling and other such terms. Not surprisingly Anthropy goes in an opposite direction, a more human, thoughtful direction.

?Anthropy does not call upon the code of the warrior or re-interpret battle tactics for the board room. It does not promote political playbooks as a solution to leadership or cite billionaire short-cuts as the path to success. Instead, it draws on a thoughtful analysis and application of these specific human characteristics which have since pre-history, propelled us as a species to continually progress and solve our basic human needs. Now these characteristics need to be channelled away from how they were used in the last century to solve economic needs via growth and consumption, towards finding solutions to the immense 21st Century challenges which are entirely more complex. ?If our human instincts and skills can’t be utilised to look forward, rather than simply applied to retrospective and ongoing mechanics of our existing models, then we will be doomed. The essence of an Anthropy approach to life is to encourage you to examine your life in such a way as to allow the re-awakening of the five human traits in order to help you lead, the second critical area of influence.

?How you lead.. Is a fundamental component to living an Anthropy life because, regardless of role, Anthropists are by definition leaders. They take responsibility for their actions, what and who they care about, be that a family, a community, an organisation, a movement or a social following.?In saying this next point however, I will potentially appear to contradict myself because a strange thing about many of us who think ourselves leaders, is that we are happy to be followers. What I mean when I say this, is that we are generally very happy to follow others who take away a challenging sense of responsibility from ourselves. It is why for many, we are very happy to put a cross on a voting slip every four or so years and then just get back with our own lives whilst politicians have the burden of ‘leading’ our country.?We are equally happy to concentrate on our own lives and career paths and leave the leadership required to address poverty in our cities, or something like homelessness, to those who have chosen that career path, occasionally happy to donate or attend a fundraising event, if our busy schedule allows. We are happy to allow others to lead the activities required to address climate change, or animal conservation, because it’s less easy to go out of our way or understand how what we do as individuals can make a difference. We are happy for others like our local council, to lead by responding to our complaints about litter in our streets, rather than simply taking a lead and picking it up ourselves. Of course, we consider ourselves leaders, but we are leaders on our own terms, in our own silos, in our own minds, to our own rules. That isn’t taking responsibility, it isn’t leadership, it isn’t Anthropy. Thinking of leadership as something which defines a particular role and has boundaries of responsibility is a falsehood. As I said at the Anthropy22:

?‘Leadership is not stepping around issues, it is about stepping up to them, it is not turning on people in need but turning towards them.’

?This is where leadership in the Anthropy model is not about one’s self but is about one’s service. It is also important to just address possibly the most uncomfortable aspect of the three aspects of Anthropy’s focus, namely legacy.

?How you leave…. is to consider your legacy as an individual. This can of course be the legacy as you leave one organisation to another, but at the pinnacle of Anthropy thinking, this is about when you die.?This may seem blunt, and it is a topic seldom if ever mentioned in when people talk about leadership, but such an omission is neglectful of a most significant and inevitable aspect of all our lives. If life and a leadership role in it, is to stand for anything, then it must be to consider what you personally would wish your legacy to be, to perhaps be remembered for (if remembered at all, which is not necessarily required to have a life of meaning). What, together with the efforts perhaps of others who care similarly about things, will you pass on to those who follow??We ourselves have in many ways been passed an extraordinary inheritance in the world, with centuries of human endeavour and development in everything from rich artistic and creative achievement, to advances in technology, medicine and agriculture. These have inspired generations and lifted millions out of centuries of dire life circumstances. But with that inheritance, some of which is now having unexpected negative impacts, comes a huge responsibility to use our own time to consider what we pass on to future generations. To consider how we leave this world, better through our own actions, is about leading a life which has had a meaning and a positive consequence.

Given these three areas of focus, readers should understand that Anthropy stands for a willingness to embrace the battle against various and often seemingly prevailing foes, namely, negativity, cynicism, and the status quo. As Anthropists we need to deny the oxygen to these energy sapping influences (and individuals) alongside distrust and aggression, so rampant in social and other media and sadly in the public discourse. Anthropy requires a belief in the best of humanity and that of one’s own ability to influence far beyond that which might initially seem possible. It is to believe in something before one has seen it and believe that life, leadership and legacy success, is not a job title, a certain salary, a social media following or ever more acquiring of ever more ‘stuff’. Living, leading and leaving successfully, is based on what you do, the way you do it and what people think you have done for others. That is the Anthropy way.

?‘The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent; But if we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death ...our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfilment.’??????????????????????????????????????Stanley Kubrick, Filmmaker

?Kubrick’s thinking is important here because it requires us to acknowledge that the world generally is neither good nor bad. It means that we must recognize that the world as an entity doesn’t universally adopt the same thinking and any effect or reaction is simply that of other individuals reacting to us as an individual. This may seem a challenge, but it is also an opportunity, because anything created by individuals can be changed, including aggression and negativity. We must consider this when we see the influence of negativity and the fact that it dominates so much of our public debate and private discussions.

?In our almost forced consumption and re-transmission of such negativity, we are drawn into a world shaped by the spreading of bad, salacious and fake news and the aggressive positioning of agendas in order to channel us into set opinions. It places one label on us and a different one on our neighbour, manipulating us into different boxes and tribes, with the sole intent to fuel conflict, where we identify what we disagree on, rather than that which we don’t. We have become too compliant to such influence and so quick to judge a person on one opinion on just one subject and dismiss alternative points of view, because our minds are closed to the possibility that we ourselves may be wrong. ?Anthropy demands we are open to change our own attitudes, reject negative manipulation and build a human approach based on the very best of what we are. That starts with empathy.

Empathy sounds very akin to Anthropy and is highlighted as it is critical to our world view in order to understand problems in others and is an enhancement to our ability to lead successfully.?Empathy is of course the ability to share the feelings of another and we know its power, because when we are prompted, perhaps by a tragic news story, or a serious natural disaster which ravages people’s homes, we are capable of going beyond our own experience, because of an empathetic imagination that makes us consider how we would feel if so affected.?This is a human characteristic which drives us to behave charitably and gives us the enhanced ability to consider others. If we appreciate it more fully and allow it, it can create a significant advantage to freeing us from constraints in our own lives and roles.

This is because given we know we can behave in this way in the likes of a natural disaster on the other side of the world, Anthropy simply requires equally thoughtful, enlightened and empathetic attitudes to those closer to home. We need to show such empathy and consideration not just to those who we feel some sympathy for but importantly, those who we disagree with.?I and many already calling themselves ‘Anthropists’ believe we grasped just such an opportunity to think differently and re-emerge from the Covid period with a new attitude, specifically to reduce our rush to judgement, listen more and be considered in the opinions of others. We actively don’t engage in overtly dismissive or aggressive social posts but attempt to become the reason that someone can be encouraged to change their own behaviours, through the example of our own. Leadership and life are about behaviours and as we we can all become the reason someone feels the desire to bring out their own goodness and encourage it in others. This is where true influence lies. We are all given a choice in this every day.

?Every day we can choose our attitude… we can either look at the world as a place of aggression, volatility, suspicion and anger, or we can choose to recognize the good in people, the joy in new experiences, the wonder in our built and natural places, and of course the richness in the diversity of the people all around us. How much brighter, more colourful and enriching our days will seem if we simply have the empathy and understanding to agree on a good attitude to others and a positive perspective on the world as we step out of our door or switch on our laptop.

As you will have gathered, if Anthropy were a person, it would be an optimist. It is not blind to the challenges of the world but is optimistic because it is continually enthralled by the energy of others and what we can all see as the infinite opportunities in such people. Such optimism, the type I witnessed at Anthropy22 gathering from all manner of established and emerging leaders, campaigners and collaborators, is infectious. It leaves one feeling energised, hopeful and encouraged and we all know that like attracts like. If one chooses to be a pessimist, then one will gravitate to those who feel equally, will read pessimistic content, join social media circles of negativity and destruction. This breeds within you the counter to Anthropy’s reason, that there is hope for as long as humans have the ability to do what they have always done.??This is to look on the bright side of things, to look for the good in people and for the good it can collaborate on and help encourage.

Anthropy likes to think that such a bright future for others is the means through which we ourselves will feel better and that ultimately this is what all people want. If you embrace an Anthropy mind-set, then you must also understand that as individual or unique as you may feel, we are all in this together, as one. We are all on one planet where the cleanliness of our rivers, beaches, oceans and air, are critical to our collective well-being. We live in a society which requires decent, ethical businesses to provide opportunities for employment and products and services which are safe, sustainable and equitable. We all hope our children have access to good food and exercise opportunities, can be educated to develop healthy enriched minds and play a full and positive role in society where they will be safe, respected and fulfilled. The more we look at these and other shared needs, we realise they are all dependent on good people, people who can be ambitious but not at the expense of others, who can become prosperous but share their wealth through fair taxes, offering good employment and supporting society through philanthropy. We see good people giving their time and that time being appreciated by society as one of the greatest things people can give.?

Anthropy has emerged from a significant amount of personal reflection. I have grieved those I have lost during this period and thought on their lives, interests and aspirations. I have tried to consider what is human nature and how I believe, contrary to much in the public domain, we don’t have an over-riding propensity to aggression and cruelness and tribalism. I was moved to create Anthropy because ultimately, I believe we are better than that. I believe most people are good and want good for others and forty years in leadership roles in the Army, local government, charities, start-ups and in global businesses, has done nothing to dissuade me of this belief.?But what I also know is that our positive attitudes are often denied the opportunities to be expressed to good effect, either because of our circumstances, or often because we have become prone to accept the labels of others and use the language designed to divide. This cannot go on if we are to fulfil our own destinies, by our own design.

Actually of course, many people for much of time, find it hard to know what to do with their lives, they don’t have a sense of destiny or even a destination. Yes, they choose career paths, think through what type of home and lifestyle they want and then work to get a salary to achieve that lifestyle. Sadly, it is often only far later than one would ideally hope that they often realize that these things, these often-material things, do not alone create a fulfilling life. We know that we have limited time on this planet yet waste it in trivial pursuits. Whilst not withstanding a perfectly acceptable human desire for enjoyment, fulfilment comes from seeking something which goes beyond simply feeding yourself. As Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the Russian novelist, essayist, journalist and philosopher said:

‘The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for’.

Anthropy is not just an event, it is a philosophy based on the fact that we now stand at a point of human progress, where we cannot any longer rely upon others to be the leaders capable of solving all that affect us. ?As a leader in your own right, you must assume to lead in a way that goes well beyond the job you might have and aspire to be a leader in society and in the service of society. In this way, we can all embrace a life that is purposeful, by being better and bigger together, and as a result be happy when we leave, having achieved meaning in our lives. To consider that even one person’s lot has been improved through your actions, or that the part of your planet you happen to live on, is more beautiful and more sustainable than when you were born, or simply that your interactions with people leave them more hopeful, is to bring the best of your humanity to the fore and the best of yourselves to everything you do. Given there is no lack of ambition stated in this, it requires you to be prepared to look hard at yourself, to form in your own mind an understanding of a new way of thinking and feeling in order to be clear around your actions in the world.

By finding your personal sense of Anthropy, it will enhance your enthusiasm, energy, resilience and positive thinking. You will be better able to discern what is a distraction, what is contrary to your purpose and this in turn will make decisions easier and better. The more decisions you then make based on such thinking, the more satisfied you will feel and generally you will become happier in how your efforts result in real impact on the things you care about. A perhaps unlikely fact is that I live in a small village in Shropshire, in a not particularly well know part of the UK, where the famous American novelist Mark Twain visited twice in 1873 and 1879. He wrote:

?‘Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover”.

?His statement above encourages us all to understand that we are the makers of our own destiny in the sense that we have the ability to make choices, to determine how we use our abilities and influence and for what reason. To build on Mark Twain’s analogy, throw those bowlines off, catch the 21st Century winds and explore, dream and discover how to embrace the opportunity to live, lead and then be prepared to leave having lived a life of meaning. I think Jerry Maguire would agree and then you will truly be able to say, ‘I am an Anthropist'.

If you got this far - thank you & if think its worth sharing and growing the Anthropy movement then please do with your own sense of the Jerry Maguire !

Looking forward to Anthropy23 ? Watch this space & do follow Anthropy company page for more details as they appear: https://www.dhirubhai.net/company/75066583/admin/