I watched the Simon Sinek TED talk about how people don’t buy what you are selling or how you made it. They buy the “why”, the purpose behind it. They buy what you believe in. Sinek uses the examples of Apple, the Wright Brothers and Martin Luther King. He says Martin Luther King said, “I have a dream,” not “I have a plan”.
So what do I believe in?
I believe in being intimate with the nitty-gritty of my life. The sweetness of papaya. The strength of my ten year old’s hug. Blending with the dazzle and warmth of the sunset.
I believe in opening to my humanity. I believe in the innate health and creativity of myself and of every other person. I believe in “the levelling of the waters” between me and another, so we are there, beholding each other, one breath at a time. I believe in the ongoing practice of forgiveness – forgiving myself, and forgiving the others.
I believe in shining my light up to the darkness. Standing up to the power that dehumanises, that impoverishes, and that lunges at the heart of the planet for its own greed.
I believe in gaining mastery in something that is chosen. For me, I am going for mastery as a facilitator, as a coach and as a writer. Mastery requires ongoing practice and discipline. It requires finding that balance between effort and ease , between letting go and letting come (to borrow from Otto Scharmer). It requires us to be humble, to be open, and to be paying attention. This is flow!