Sowing the Seeds of Consciousness and Capitalism
“To achieve the ultimate good, man must be virtuous,” wrote Socrates. His student, Plato said, “if we don’t exercise virtue in both work and play, we not only won’t realize our potential, but we’ll be unhappy.” And their protégé, Aristotle later built on their theories to coin the term Eudaimonia — saying that it “is what happens when both virtue and intent lead us to pursue what is worthwhile in life.”
When Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations in 1776, he espoused that man’s individual need to fulfill self-interest would ultimately result in societal benefit. Widely considered the “father of capitalism”, many of Smith’s philosophies were rooted in the world’s first fully functioning capitalist societies — Ancient Athens and Ancient Rome.
In 2019, I partnered with Graham Pansing-Brooks to create the Do More Good Movement with the ambitious mission of saving capitalism — or at least the parts of it that are worth saving. Graham and I believe that if businesses leaders are committed to serving all of their stakeholders — rather than solely being focused on making money for its shareholders/owners — that not only will they be pursuing what is “worthwhile in life,” they’ll actually do better for themselves in the process.
It’s not profit over purpose. It’s profit because of purpose.
In my opening statement for our inaugural conference in 2019, I made a bold statement that we are standing at the precipice of the largest shift in business since the computer age and the industrial age before that. Business leaders today are beginning to understand that the only way to thrive — or in some cases survive — over the next decade will be to build an organization that is grounded in kindness, empathy, gratitude, vulnerability and love.
Simultaneously, there is a crescendo of voices from around the world postulating about a great expansion of consciousness that is underway. Humankind is waking up to the fact that we are all connected — to each other and to our planet.
Truth is, the greatest minds of Western philosophy long-ago lived in an awakened world. Beginning around 1500 BC — long before Christianity was seeded — farmers, merchants, laborers and tradespeople from all over ancient Greece made the pilgrimage to Eleusis, near modern day Athens — to participate in the Eleusinian Mysteries. The nine-day ceremony was the most famous of the secret religious rites of ancient Greece. People went home telling their loved ones that the experience made them feel a deep connection to our planet and with all other humans. Plato inferred that his life was permanently transformed by his experience at Eleusis.
The Unfolding and Intertwining
The seeds of both human consciousness and capitalism were simultaneously sewn in Ancient Greece more than 2000 years ago. And now, 1600 years after the Roman Emperor Theodosius outlawed the Eleusinian Mysteries, we are seeing a beautiful unfolding and intertwining of both consciousness and capitalism.
The Do More Good Movement is hosting our 2023 national conference — the ROI of Why — in Lincoln, March 21–22. Business leaders from all over America will fly in, and fellow travelers from around the world will join via a live virtual stream.
The session I’m most excited about is a panel of thought leaders who will discuss the correlations and connections between the great expansion of human consciousness and the evolution of capitalism.
This year’s event features an innovative 24 hour format, opening at 3:00 pm on Tuesday 3/21 and concluding at 3:00 pm on Wednesday 3/22. Tickets are still available at DoMoreGood.com. I hope you’ll consider joining us.
It’s important that people still come together to expand and learn from one another, and it makes sense that the Do More Good Movement is emanating from the plains of Nebraska where neighbors have helped neighbors for generations and where top-down management and backroom dealmaking are not tolerated. Indeed, this is what happens when both virtue and intent lead us to pursue what is worthwhile in life.
Jay Wilkinson is the founder of Firespring and Cofounder of the Do More Good Movement. His life’s mission is to cultivate his own consciousness and be a catalyst for others to do the same. He’s got a lot of work to do.
