Three Steps to a Flourishing Planet
The current theory of change held by most people who are aware that the world needs to change is quite simple - war. Our side / vision of the future wins when the other side loses. This shows up in our elections, the workplace, our marriages, the Gaza strip, etc. The thinking goes - if enough of the right people get in power, things will change for the better. The pendulum swings one way, then another, in an endless cascade of progress and regress, “yays” and “boos”.
However, that is not actually how it works anymore. We are in a brand new era of activation, autonomy and empowerment that no longer fits a conservative v. liberal dichotomy (I’m not sure it ever did). We have all the tools right now, right here for every person to have a life and career they want, and contribute their creativity and leadership to a flourishing community and world that works for all beings.
It is not easy, but it is also not complicated. We just to recognize where we are in the process of creating a flourishing planet. Broadly, there are 3 key phases to change.
- Awareness
- Activation
- Reform
We are in phase two: activation. Phase one: awareness is realizing something is broken or could be better. Every person paying attention to the news or just looking out the window upon our once thriving and now blighted communities is aware that something needs to change. The data is in and there is scientific consensus on climate change, political corruption, income inequality, social upheaval (racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia), prison-industrial complex, etc.
The phase one work is 90-99% complete, which is not to say that everyone can hear the truth of the world's problems (this is where phase two comes in). So let us disabuse ourselves of any fantasies that raising awareness matters. It doesn’t. People are immune to data that conflicts with the phase three pony they have already bet on, e.g. social democracy, free market / limited government.
Phase three: reform is when we are successful in building buy-in to make changes at the social, political or economic level to create greater flourishing. Many activists, leaders and politicians are spending their time, resources and efforts in a premature phase three orientation, believing they have the one solution that will work, whether it’s flavored like Gingrich’s “Contract for a New America” or Ocasio-Cortez’s “Green New Deal”. As much as I wish it were simply coming up with a new plan and politicking our way to implementation, more premature phase three work will be fruitless. Here’s why.
You can’t skip phase two.
So what is phase two: activation”?
This phase is when someone knows their purpose in life, is the living embodiment of it and can speak it in language that is plain, real and emotional such that every person who hears it can get on board with it. Without stage two, no one will believe you, want to join you or listen to any phase one data that conflicts with their understanding / ideology. They will view you as just another loudmouth who wants power and wealth, aka premature phase three. They have to feel your soul, your purpose, believe that you are the embodiment of that purpose, and only then will they listen to what you have to say.
To effectively move through phase two, three steps need to happen:
A. Purpose.
B. Alignment.
C. Real Talk.
These are the three steps to a flourishing planet. We don’t need more awareness and we don’t need more solutions. We need purpose-driven leaders who have moved through phase two and can authentically lead change. Recognizing that the fastest way to create a flourishing planet is to fully embrace and complete phase two, let’s explore how to do that.
A. Purpose
Your purpose is your deepest identity, your reason for being on this Earth. When it comes online, it reveals who you truly are, begins to align your life and career around that deepest identity and guides your decisions. What’s needed here is to complete at least one exercise that reveals the deeper truth of who you are, such that you are left with clarity, confidence and courage to take action on that purpose.
A common expression of purpose is a purpose statement, one sentence that contains who you are, what you’re committed to above all else, and you deepest virtues, e.g. “As a man of love and joy (deepest identity), I create a flourishing planet (deepest commitment) through integrity, courage and compassion (deepest virtues).” This statement is a decision-making tool for aligning and guiding your life choices.
B. Alignment
Alignment is the condition whereby your whole life expresses your purpose statement. This is far easier said than done. It is a lifelong process actually, but begins when you do these three things:
Create a purpose compass.
This process involves mapping out how your purpose is best expressed in each of the 8 key areas of your life: health, home, romance, family, community, career, finances, inner life / spirituality.
Identify the voices of resistance.
Each of us has an ego, an identity that helps us stay safe by avoiding risk and change. These voices show up as negative self-talk, fear of trusting others, fear of losing our career, family and resources and fear of looking foolish. Performing an exercise to name each voice gives you the power to listen to them, honor them and transform them such that you can continue taking purpose-aligned action.
Accountable Community
You join a weekly or bi-weekly group that is committed to being fully aligned with purpose. It take a village to raise a child. It takes teamwork to make the dream work. No human is an island. We need each other. Without a supportive community, wherein you publicly declare the purpose alignment actions you are taking each week, you will fail to make the changes. The voices of resistance are too powerful and ingrained to overcome them alone. This is where a community of people committed to living their purpose comes in. They hold you accountable to your declared actions and if you do not complete the actions, they can help you explore what voice of resistance was behind that incomplete action, such that you can keep taking new actions. Men’s and women’s circles are highly effective accountability communities to support you in living in alignment with your purpose. Coaches and accountability partners also work well if you cannot find or create an accountability community.
When you become aligned with your purpose, your life will dramatically improve, yielding greater levels of income, wealth, fulfillment, vitality, love, connection. Check out all the research that documents the results of living your purpose here: https://ScienceOfPurpose.org.
C. Real talk
Once you have become the aligned expression of your purpose, it is important to communicate it in powerful, plain language, that leaves everyone you meet inspired to learn more and excited help you realize it. People need to know who you really are (your purpose) and believe that you are committed to it (your alignment). They need to feel your truth, your heartbreak, your passion and personal sacrifice, before they will trust you. To have this real talk, conversations need to develop in a particular way.
Get to know them.
Before you share anything about yourself and your purpose, you have to be related to them. To do this you have to be vulnerable, sharing something that makes you look bad, something you are struggling with or ashamed of, and then you have to get in their world. Find out what they are dealing with and empathize with them, such that the feel really seen and heard by you.
Share your project.
Once you feel related to them, it’s time to share what you most care about. Your purpose guides you into action, and you will have something discrete to share, e.g., a community project to solve a problem, or a new piece of art or a gathering to create deeper connection. To do this, you state the project’s name, and a sentence or two about what it actually is.
State the problem.
Projects are meaningless without context. So if your project is to create a community garden, you first begin with the problem, e.g. our community is disconnected and we don’t have access to healthy fruit and vegetables. Then you share what will happen if we do nothing, e.g. increased isolation and health problems.
Share why you care.
This is where you again are vulnerable and share how this problem has negatively impacted you, e.g. I have become overweight, a diabetic and feel depressed and isolated.
Share the promise of the project.
This where you paint a picture of success, e.g. each member of the garden gathers to spend two hours a week working together to tend the garden and build community relationships and leaves feeling connected and with a basket of fresh fruit and vegetables to take home.
Make the ask.
This is where you give this person an opportunity to participate, e.g. join the garden, come to a meeting to talk about it and share your concerns, sign-up for an newsletter, etc. This should occur as an “easy yes”, something that doesn’t require them to rearrange their life, e.g. come to a meeting next Tuesday night. Once you make the simple ask, be quiet. It’s important to let them consider it, ask questions and give an answer. If they say “no”, ask them if there is any other way they’d like to be involved. If they say “no” to that, then ask if there is anyone else they know who might be interested.
That’s it. Easier read than done of course.
What to do next
If you don’t know your purpose, explore some free purpose discovery resources here. If you do know your purpose but don’t feel aligned with it, consider joining a men’s circle (The ManKind Project, Sterling) or women’s circle (Women Within, Women in Power) or working with a guide on alignment. If you feel aligned already, and want to lead powerfully and vulnerably, consider enrolling in a leadership program from Landmark, such as the SELP or ILP, taking the C3 Course, or working with a leadership coach.
Conclusion
Once complete with phase two: activation, then you can really be in action creating a flourishing planet. Most politicians and activists are in a premature phase three and journalists and researchers are beating their heads against the wall in phase one. While these people important, more phase one and premature phase three are not what is needed right now.
It’s on us to be the change, to lead with heart, our purpose, our deepest identity and commitment.
About the Author
Brandon Peele serves Americans who feel betrayed by the American Dream, who have discovered that hard work, voting and luck are not enough to have a life, career and country that work.
He guides people to awaken their purpose-driven leadership. He is a Certified Purpose Guide (TM), author of Planet on Purpose (2018), co-author of Purpose Rising (2017) and The PURPOSE Activation Blueprint (2015). Brandon has worked with people from organizations such as Apple, The Smithsonian Institute, Tesla, Johnson & Johnson, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Illumina, Zeiss, Sapient, Morgan Stanley, Google and the United States Marine Corps. As a leader of online purpose courses, Brandon has guided thousands of people from over 50 countries to awaken, embody and lead with their higher purpose. You can learn more about Brandon’s work at BrandonPeele.com.