In which I introduce myself.
Thank you for visiting.
Writing a blog could be considered vain. While The Big Idea is undeniably a form of self expression, I don’t want it to be about me. I intend to discuss ideas about society, ideas much larger than I am. To provide some context, I would like to take a post or two to introduce myself properly. I need to write something for my profile anyway.
I won’t begin like David Copperfield (I was born, I grew up…). I thought that I’d introduce myself in the context of Simon Sinek’s “The Golden Circle”, which I hope will make for much more interesting reading.
For those unfamiliar with Simon Sinek, I’ll explain very briefly. I’ve also included a link (below) to Simon’s TEDx talk “Start with Why” via You Tube. The talk is almost 20 minutes long (but the relevant part is the first half).
Simon’s idea is that inspiring leaders and companies start with a message about their purpose, cause or belief. If you start by explaining your motivation then you’ll attract people with the same beliefs. Ideas about what we do and how we do it are easy to explain but less persuasive. The ‘why’ speaks to our primitive, emotive brain (which has no capacity for language). This in turn drives loyalty, trust and goodwill. Simon’s catch phrase is: “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”
I’ll introduce myself starting with my own personal ‘why’. Such fundamental beliefs are vague, emotionally charged concepts which can be difficult to define. Please bear with me while I try to ‘speak directly to your limbic brain’.
After pondering the question of ‘why’ I’ve decided on the following three beliefs:
- Self Respect
- Community
- Respect for Nature
I’ve been thinking about how everyday activities and problems relate to bigger ideas. Each of these three beliefs constitutes a ‘big idea’. I’ll try to summarise each one here but I may come back to them in more detail later. The things that I’m passionate about, and will be writing about, will often relate to one or more of these ideas.
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ – Jesus’ Second Law.
The above statement assumes love for one’s self. I believe that this is an essential aspect of the human condition. You need to be healthy before you can help others. One of the most fundamental aspects of life is the instinct for self preservation. I believe that happiness is an important part of being healthy. I encourage responsible hedonism.
Family is very important to me. Our family (blood or adopted) should be our first and closest community. I believe that community is vital. By working together we can improve our situation and well-being dramatically. Community starts with my family, my next door neighbours and co-workers. Eventually the idea of community extends to include our entire global village (survival of the species, if you will).
My third core belief is a respect for nature. I like to have clean drinking water and clear air to breathe. I enjoy swimming at an unpolluted river, lake or beach. Global forces of nature are so vast that my life and efforts seem insignificant. Our planet is insignificant given the scale of the universe but it’s all that we have. I think that we should respect such powerful forces and not presume too much understanding of how the world works.
That should be enough to go on with for now. I appreciate that you don’t have all day. If you do have another few minutes then I highly recommend the ‘Start with Why’ video. If you’re really looking to kill time then check out Mr Fancy Pants.
Until next time, all the best!
External Links:
The title is a reference to Why We Fight (Wikipedia)
Simon Sinek – Start with Why video
Fancy Pants game (more amusing stick men)
PS: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ is from Mark 12:31. The ‘Jesus as a scientist’ citation is a gentle poke at the intelligent design / atheist / FSM debate – which is one that I don’t intend to get into here!
