My personal manifesto
The words below are intended to be an expression of beliefs and motivations that are deeply held. They act as a statement that encapsulates the things that really matter to me and give an insight into what makes me tick.
This manifesto is also intended to be an anchor to stay on track, much like a ship needs a firm hold in stormy weather. The 10 simple statements below are the clarity amongst a lot of mental clutter.
My hope in sharing this manifesto is that other people might see it as a useful means of simplifying things, to really focus the mind in a very positive way!
Manifesto 2016
1. I have never really had a dream other than to be a cricket commentator. I have not dreamed of a going to a particular place or doing a particular thing.
2. I have never aspired to be anything in particular or to achieve a particular outcome, other than fleeting thoughts of a nice house in a ‘good area’ or a special place (like Scotland or, now, maybe Bali).
3. My strongest feeling has been to connect with people with different lives and build something together, to share my thoughts, knowledge and energy to help put smiles on faces.
4. I have a fundamental believe in partnership over individualism and this extends to collective/community thinking and behaviour.
5. I have felt loneliness on all sorts of levels, particularly over the last four years and I want to shield myself and my friends from it. If I have their backs, they will have mine.
6. If I have a dream, it is to be a builder of something bigger that serves a purpose beyond my personal happiness — that will follow as a by product of achieving the former.
Over the last two years, the experiences that have given me the greatest sense of contribution have consistent similarities — a mission, looking at matters that affect people, based in a natural environment without technology, with a group of people with curious minds.
7. Making connections is something I do, it has been there my entire life. Recognising this as a talent and knowing it happens everyday, a real possibility is to create a canvas that stimulates many others to grow and thrive.
8. At that heart of where I get personal satisfaction is in seeing humans change, be brave enough to do things differently and make an impression on those around them for showing a ton of character.
9. Beyond that, being closer to my family matters. I don’t see enough of them and it often makes me cry just thinking about it. There’s only so much longer this life can endure without me doing something positive to remedy that feeling.
10. The final thing to say that traveling and going places to see things or to hang out is not for me. I’m a bit past that. I’ve visited many places and met a lot of people and any future travel has to have a compelling reason for it.
Written: 18 September 2016 and published in Bali, Indonesia on 26 September 2016.
Background: As part of a massive effort to gain clarity on my working life, Derek Loudermilk recently challenged me to write up a personal manifesto. As is usual with me, I resisted for a time before spontaneously putting pen to paper on a flight to Bali.
Having pondered it further since, and made a few additions and tweaks, I’ve re-produced it here. We did not specify a format — this is just how it came out, with a round number of 10 statements.
