Ah, yes. I love this. Way back in 2020 I started listing the values I felt had been at the heart of the coffee shop/deli we had just closed (a plan we’d set in train in 2019 before the world locked down). It turned out the values seemed to sum up the way I wanted to live life going forward … quite quickly I put a name to the list and the Encouragement Manifesto was born. I think of it as a handrail to guide my approach. Closing the deli gave us capacity but it removed the place where the values were enacted … I was suddenly an actor without a stage. So, the Manifesto needed a practical element. I asked some folk to write about the value that struck a chord with them … the first manifestation of the Manifesto - we have an archive of wonderful words, and I recently returned to that on Substack with a collection of new words. But I wanted to use the values to guide my ‘practice’, whatever that turned into. So the Encouragement Sessions began in 2021, at a time when folk were coming to terms with what ‘normal’ felt like in terms of their own practice/or the shape of their lives thereafter. 200+ conversations later, I feel that the Manifesto has life, vigour, and a practical application. I hope it feels obvious to folk who brush up alongside it that I am living the Manifesto. PS … I would LOVE for you to write for the ‘Gift of Words’ part of our world of Encouragement.
200+ conversations later!! Barrie, if I had a doubt about whether I really need a personal manifesto or should I spend time crafting one, it’s been blown away after reading about your experience! I’d be honored to write for the Gift of Words!
As I read your comment, one thing sprang out at me- a personal manifesto is about how we want to show up in the world and in doing so, we give something back to it. Thank you for sharing your experience, Barrie. I’m very inspired! - Priya
My goodness, I am so thrilled if our experience has in any way nudged you along the gorgeous journey you are on, Priya. Delighted. And super excited at the thought of your words for our community. I’ll buzz through separately on that. Thank you so much. Made our day.
Yes, to the value of this exercise. For a number of years in a leader oriented workshop we used some time to write a personal mission, we called it mission, not manifesto, although I think there are some clear parallels. Most of the attendees worked for organizations that had well-established mission and vision statements based on their values and yet few of the leaders had one of their own. What many of them discovered was that they were either aligned or out of sync with their organizations and that became a starting point for some more good work. There was also a values sort exercise we did frequently and those are readily available. It's harder than it sounds.
Gary, I’ve just started working on one and it is hard to craft. It requires both foresight and perspective. The word I kept coming across when I searched for it online was to have “declarative” statements but I imagine it also needs to have some flexibility. I’ve been thinking in terms of Mary Oliver’s famous line: Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
Thank you, Gary! I appreciate your taking the time!
I found it helpful when I was working to ask to see vision and mission in action, beyond the statement in words. The words are a good starting point and foundation, whether for a group or an individual. Then we can see how it takes root and grows into a life that reflects those closely held beliefs. So what is it we want to do with this one, wild and precious life?
Live it fully, joyfully, gratefully. Share it with others. Give freely and generously. Hold back when necessary. Be a friend, a good neighbor and helpful, trustworthy and reliable.
Very interesting proposition Pryia... to audaciously declare that I might have some influence on what I'm about and where I'm going. Reflecting on 50+ years of chronological adulthood (I'm pretty sure I'm permanently stuck in adolescence, like 99.9% of American men) I can easily declare that all the major decisions I've made have been disastrous. Runs of bliss have been serendipitous paths I wouldn't have chosen. It's often felt as though I really need to step aside and let life have its way with me. I'm getting closer to the exit of this embodiment and perhaps when I transition, I'll know which way is best: being determinedly grounded or riding the wind like the falling leaves.
I must say that you write beautifully, and often with some instigating message.
“It's often felt as though I really need to step aside and let life have its way with me. “
Yes!
Declaring that I’ve arrived- I was thinking of how much arrival is determined by external markers of success. I guess I wanted to take my power back and decide what arrival means to me. If I want to write, arrival means I get up everyday and make sure I write, a sadhana.
Richard, thank you! The conversations are my favorite part of writing on Substack.
Lovely post; I always enjoy reading about where you are on this inspiring journey of yours. I never thought of writing a manifesto, but I did put down a set of personal principles when I rebuilt my webpage a few years back. It's just a bullet list, so maybe it's time to revisit it and expand upon it. What does a manifesto look like, though? I'm not suggesting I need a template, exactly, but how do you know how much to say, how deep you should go, when it's time to stop writing it and how to go about actually living it?
Stace, thank you! I appreciate your company. When I started searching online, I came across the word ‘declarative’ to describe the statements in the personal manifesto. I thought it could be a poem, framed as an answer to Mary Oliver’s question: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”
In my opinion, it’s best if it’s short, specific (perhaps covering the kind of situations we are most likely to find ourselves in), and written for a period of three months. I’m writing one where I cover just the next three months. It’s helping me clarify the larger manifesto of a lifetime. Thank you, your questions really helped me clarify what I wanted.
I think the closest I came to a personal manifesto was when we met this far out self-made ingenious entrepreneur who became my mentor. I'd just switched from publishing to sales and he was a salesman extraordinaire. He told me to religiously write down my goals, daily, and sign them, which I did. Things worked out and I really do have him, I believe, to thank for me creating my own sort of 'manifesto' which took me to incredible sales volumes.
Yeah, that sounds incredible, Jeanine! I was thinking of writing a manifesto, keeping it short, and reading it often so that it percolated into my very bones. As I write that, it sounds so dramatic 😀 but there is an inherent spirituality to it.
Ah, yes. I love this. Way back in 2020 I started listing the values I felt had been at the heart of the coffee shop/deli we had just closed (a plan we’d set in train in 2019 before the world locked down). It turned out the values seemed to sum up the way I wanted to live life going forward … quite quickly I put a name to the list and the Encouragement Manifesto was born. I think of it as a handrail to guide my approach. Closing the deli gave us capacity but it removed the place where the values were enacted … I was suddenly an actor without a stage. So, the Manifesto needed a practical element. I asked some folk to write about the value that struck a chord with them … the first manifestation of the Manifesto - we have an archive of wonderful words, and I recently returned to that on Substack with a collection of new words. But I wanted to use the values to guide my ‘practice’, whatever that turned into. So the Encouragement Sessions began in 2021, at a time when folk were coming to terms with what ‘normal’ felt like in terms of their own practice/or the shape of their lives thereafter. 200+ conversations later, I feel that the Manifesto has life, vigour, and a practical application. I hope it feels obvious to folk who brush up alongside it that I am living the Manifesto. PS … I would LOVE for you to write for the ‘Gift of Words’ part of our world of Encouragement.
200+ conversations later!! Barrie, if I had a doubt about whether I really need a personal manifesto or should I spend time crafting one, it’s been blown away after reading about your experience! I’d be honored to write for the Gift of Words!
As I read your comment, one thing sprang out at me- a personal manifesto is about how we want to show up in the world and in doing so, we give something back to it. Thank you for sharing your experience, Barrie. I’m very inspired! - Priya
My goodness, I am so thrilled if our experience has in any way nudged you along the gorgeous journey you are on, Priya. Delighted. And super excited at the thought of your words for our community. I’ll buzz through separately on that. Thank you so much. Made our day.
Yes, to the value of this exercise. For a number of years in a leader oriented workshop we used some time to write a personal mission, we called it mission, not manifesto, although I think there are some clear parallels. Most of the attendees worked for organizations that had well-established mission and vision statements based on their values and yet few of the leaders had one of their own. What many of them discovered was that they were either aligned or out of sync with their organizations and that became a starting point for some more good work. There was also a values sort exercise we did frequently and those are readily available. It's harder than it sounds.
Gary, I’ve just started working on one and it is hard to craft. It requires both foresight and perspective. The word I kept coming across when I searched for it online was to have “declarative” statements but I imagine it also needs to have some flexibility. I’ve been thinking in terms of Mary Oliver’s famous line: Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
Thank you, Gary! I appreciate your taking the time!
I found it helpful when I was working to ask to see vision and mission in action, beyond the statement in words. The words are a good starting point and foundation, whether for a group or an individual. Then we can see how it takes root and grows into a life that reflects those closely held beliefs. So what is it we want to do with this one, wild and precious life?
Live it fully, joyfully, gratefully. Share it with others. Give freely and generously. Hold back when necessary. Be a friend, a good neighbor and helpful, trustworthy and reliable.
How will it look in action? That brings it from the purely mental ideal and into real-life situations. And yes to all that! Thanks, Gary!
Thanks, ideas and imaginations are great starting points and if they don’t get started, they stay there, suspended in time.
Very interesting proposition Pryia... to audaciously declare that I might have some influence on what I'm about and where I'm going. Reflecting on 50+ years of chronological adulthood (I'm pretty sure I'm permanently stuck in adolescence, like 99.9% of American men) I can easily declare that all the major decisions I've made have been disastrous. Runs of bliss have been serendipitous paths I wouldn't have chosen. It's often felt as though I really need to step aside and let life have its way with me. I'm getting closer to the exit of this embodiment and perhaps when I transition, I'll know which way is best: being determinedly grounded or riding the wind like the falling leaves.
I must say that you write beautifully, and often with some instigating message.
“It's often felt as though I really need to step aside and let life have its way with me. “
Yes!
Declaring that I’ve arrived- I was thinking of how much arrival is determined by external markers of success. I guess I wanted to take my power back and decide what arrival means to me. If I want to write, arrival means I get up everyday and make sure I write, a sadhana.
Richard, thank you! The conversations are my favorite part of writing on Substack.
Lovely post; I always enjoy reading about where you are on this inspiring journey of yours. I never thought of writing a manifesto, but I did put down a set of personal principles when I rebuilt my webpage a few years back. It's just a bullet list, so maybe it's time to revisit it and expand upon it. What does a manifesto look like, though? I'm not suggesting I need a template, exactly, but how do you know how much to say, how deep you should go, when it's time to stop writing it and how to go about actually living it?
Stace, thank you! I appreciate your company. When I started searching online, I came across the word ‘declarative’ to describe the statements in the personal manifesto. I thought it could be a poem, framed as an answer to Mary Oliver’s question: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”
In my opinion, it’s best if it’s short, specific (perhaps covering the kind of situations we are most likely to find ourselves in), and written for a period of three months. I’m writing one where I cover just the next three months. It’s helping me clarify the larger manifesto of a lifetime. Thank you, your questions really helped me clarify what I wanted.
I think the closest I came to a personal manifesto was when we met this far out self-made ingenious entrepreneur who became my mentor. I'd just switched from publishing to sales and he was a salesman extraordinaire. He told me to religiously write down my goals, daily, and sign them, which I did. Things worked out and I really do have him, I believe, to thank for me creating my own sort of 'manifesto' which took me to incredible sales volumes.
Yeah, that sounds incredible, Jeanine! I was thinking of writing a manifesto, keeping it short, and reading it often so that it percolated into my very bones. As I write that, it sounds so dramatic 😀 but there is an inherent spirituality to it.
I think now though Priya after your idea, I will write one. I love the idea of it! Thank you for the nudge.
A very interesting piece Priya. I really enjoy the attention you pay to journeys and arrivals and noticing them.
As of right now, I don’t have a personal manifesto but after reading your piece, I think I’d like to make one. :)
I do not have one and I had never even considered it...until now.🤔
Kim, I’m crafting my first one and I’m wondering why I’ve never done it before. I’m in my fifties and maybe that’s brought both clarity and space.
I do, but I plagiarized it and it’s short: do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly. . .
The best!