I had a chance to attend a fantastic workshop this morning, led by the incomparable Gus Lee. Never heard of him? He’s a leader in challenging people to find and develop a core of character in their lives.
I talked about this a bit in my post about Integrity, but Gus spoke more articulately, and at a much deeper level.
Here’s the facts, folks: We have lost our core of principled action. We’ve replaced it by the never-ending search for happiness through power, pleasure, and gain.
That’s not what our society was built on.
Instead, our ancestors understood that there were some core values and principles (inalienable rights married with unwavering duties) which should guide every action, and upon those, everyone would benefit. Instead, we have a situation where action is driven primarily from short term gain, pursuit of power, and avoidance of tough issues.
Think about it: This was the same decline of character which eroded the Roman Empire from the inside.
Gus’s challenge to each of us was to regain our sense of the bigger picture, of unwavering principles, and taking principled action even when it looks impossible.
In developing my business plan for Possibilities Partnership, I put together a list of core values which are strongly linked to my own personal philosophy. I’ll be discussing those more in future posts.
But for now, Gus challenged me to question whether they’re deep enough, and whether I have the fortitude to truly follow through. I’ve got work to do.
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Newspaper article about this event: Click here.