Evolving Success - Animated
A Necessity for Progress and Success: The Manifesto
I believe that to succeed with your blog and your life, you must center yourself on a written version of the core values that mindfully drive you - a manifesto. This has been my theme of late because it changed my life and can better yours as well.
But, the challenge requires a lust for change and improvement, a commitment to take actions that work toward change, and a well written and thought out manifesto. You use the manifesto to keep you on track, measure your evolution toward success, and provide a motivation to succeed.
Bonsai as a metaphor for discovering design and vision
About 3 years ago, I moved into an older home, with the rough bush above. My bush was actually in bad shape, with large areas of disease and decay.
I had almost decided to rip the damn thing out, but standing there, looking at the bush on a cold, rainy day, I glimpsed beauty deep within is structure.
I am not an artist, but I saw shapes of branches within the wild bush that were interesting. Too much crap blocked the good stuff inside.
I had never tried bonsai before. I had no interest. But this bush sparked the kind of curiosity that can lead to learning.
I developed an obsession for the challenge, wondering if I could succeed in a task that I was not trained or prepared for.
Taking a Leap of Faith by Acting
Without knowing a thing about bonsai, I grabbed pruning loppers, and decided to see if I could uncover the beauty I saw inside. I began a difficult and painful process and gained knowledge through trial and error.
Looking back on the process now, I followed a pattern that works for identifying core values and creating a manifesto. Basically I followed these steps with the bush, but think about how the steps apply to your own life:
I saw a bush that was overgrown, diseased, and ugly, and I identified it as a problem in my yard.
I looked closely into the chaotic design, as I thought and imagined possibilities.
I realized a few problems: overgrowth and lack of pruning, disease, and so much thick needle and branch growth that I could only see a blob.
I recognized that the problems had developed because of a lack of attention, focus, and action.
Through the next few weeks I mapped a design in the bush that I found beautiful, and using my imagination I considered plans that might allow me to get rid of the unnecessary and reveal the essentials, a few minimal elements in the bush.
With a plan for success, I began to slowly prune and carve the bush, keeping the vision of my design in the back of my mind. I moved carefully, step by step, making small changes over the period of a few days.
As I pruned, I discovered the elements I was looking for, and also stumbled across important features that I could not see before because of the overgrown foliage. I adapted my vision to include all essential details. I did not stop pruning but adapted on the fly with spontaneity.
I persisted until only the essential remained, and I found it beautiful (you might not).
I follow up every year with actions that will maintain and further beautify the bonsai: watering, fertilizing, pruning, allowing new branch lines to develop, and carving away diseased areas.
I found that the process was ongoing and fulfilling. In other words, I value the process that I went through even more than the product that I am left with. The bush is a living and growing work of nature guided by my hand. If I leave it unimproved for a single year, I can ruin everything I have put into it.
Planning for Success Requires More Than Rehashing the Old or Faking change.
In this extended process, I found the importance of defining success, remaining focused, adapting to new conditions, and disciplining myself and the plant.
As I have studied mission/vision statements and manifestos for years now, I have gained knowledge and skills that make following my manifesto easier and more effective.
Dan Clark helps to clarify exactly why what we are doing is so important, saying that we must remember that:
◊ We don’t see things as they are—we see things as we are. To change the world we simply change ourselves.
◊ It’s not what we do but with whom we do it. When you put a hard-to-catch horse in the same field with an easy-to-catch horse, you usually end up with two hard-to-catch horses. When you put a sick child in the same room with a healthy child, you usually end up with two sick children. To be disciplined, healthy and significant we must associate with the disciplined, healthy and significant.
◊ The purpose of a leader is to grow more leaders, which requires analog action in a digital world. The short and long-term benefit to an organization is the continuous development and maintenance of a capable, loyal workforce,which translates into a positive, energetic culture based on promotion from within.
In my work with the bonsai, I lacked an essential piece of the creative puzzle - community. I would have greatly benefited from discussion, mentoring, classes, and advice as I learned to create something beautiful.
But, once I trained myself through reading and experimentation, I began teaching others, which Clark addresses in his last point. As I expressed my passion for this new hobby, I became committed to help others learn and lead in the creative process.
When you train leaders, you accomplish many things. You learn the art and craft much better as you help others to understand it. You benefit the community by lifting them up with new skills and knowledge. Extending the techniques to others in this way ensures the perpetuation of the important craft, preserving the art for future generations. You become a better person as you teach and lead.
No higher position calls to you than leader and teacher in building communities.
Takeaways on Core Values and Manifestos
Identify core issues, problems, values, and goals so that you can define them clearly.
Find in the chaos of your life the beautiful vision that represents your values, goals, dreams, and measures of success.
Write a lot about all these related themes.
Create, in written form, a manifesto that declares your core values, defines your success, pinpoints your audience, and provides a pathway to achieve.
Take specific action in working toward your vision of success and learn from your mistakes. Work hard.
Rally other likeminded people around you as friends, followers, and mentors.
Ensure that lasting changes takes place by training other leaders to carry on and spread your vision.
Challenge: In a comment below, describe the first step you are going to take to create a manifesto. Your comments are most appreciated.
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By Darin L. Hammond
Hire Darin for awesome professional writing, blogging, and guest posting. Darin owns ZipMinis.com and ZipMinis Freelance Writing. He publishes across the web on sites like Technorati, BC Blog, Blog Critics, Broowaha, Business2Community, SteamFeed, LifeHack, and Social Media Today. Find Darin on Google+ and the ZipMinis Page on Google+.
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