Personal Manifesto

Preface
I believe it is important for us, at some point in our existence, to set out and articulate our fundamental guiding principles; to upgrade those principles as we live and learn; and to practice those principles to the best of our ability.  Toward that end, I offer my currently engaged "Personal Manifesto", below, along with an invitation to any others willing to share their respective offerings.  These pronouncements are not necessarily "weighted" by listing in any priority order. 

Prounouncement
I am not into lost causes, losing propositions or meaningless pursuits.

The last person I want to fool – or BE fooled – is myself.

I will not shy from the difficult or even imponderable as long as there is reason to hope that a better day or condition can result from the applied effort. 

I am willing to risk significant investment for substantial gain and am willing to defer gratification toward greater ends, even to a point of sacrifice, where warranted or necessary. 

I believe life needs to be lived with Purpose. 

Definable goals are fine, but Purpose is a much more powerful driving force. 
 
I believe the end game of life – or at least a major piece of the end-game – is to eliminate the largest possible number of things that might – if NOT eliminated – threaten my wellbeing and/or the wellbeing of the world around me. 

I believe life has to add up and one has to keep adding for the duration. 

Each of us who inhabited the earth yesterday should have both learned and contributed something; and today we need to capacitize ourselves to contribute even more tomorrow.  There’s no official sanction for “coasting” or “resting on one’s laurels”. 

I believe in the acceptance and due exercise of personal responsibility. 

I do not believe it advances one’s station in life to wear clothing emblazoned with someone else’s name.

I believe we have many options to define our own Destiny if we will but apply ourselves to our full potential.  Waiving such options and deferring the application relegates us to the dictates of Fate, which is patently ungenerous. 

With regard to time, I believe there is no such thing as “Free Time”.  Time not scheduled is time wasted if not wisely invested.    

With regard to finances, I believe in building equity from time-zero onward.   Investments in equity position and/or sustainability are warranted, even to a point of indebtedness, e.g., for education, “Tooling-Up” (for a business or vocation), long-term housing, reliable transportation, vestments of professional station, etc.  But indebtedness otherwise is a fool’s squandering.

I believe each of us should explore the fullest range of human experience possible within our respective allowances of time and talent.   

I believe it is important to know how to “play” as well as how to generate and regenerate the driving forces of life.  Active pursuit of inspiration and engagement in positively affirming and “enlifening” activities are critical to overall wellbeing and should be liberally pursued and applied – but not to a fault!  The end-result of such pursuit should be increased, not decreased, capacitization. 

I believe in fostering creativity. 

I believe in being flexible and in being open to new possibilities.

I believe in developing translatable skills and aptitudes that can serve multiple purposes. 

I believe in Total Intentional Living. 

I understand that I do not have all the answers, and am committed to adapting and adjusting as necessary, within my ability, to best reflect the extant principles and practicalities of life.   

I adamantly abhor dogmatism for its own sake. 

With regard to social engagement:

The conservative in me wants the profanely poor and the deftly disabled to get off their asses and do something useful to justify the valuable resources and opportunities they’re wasting. 

The liberal in me wants to minister to all those in legitimate need.

The utilitarian in me wants to educate and equip the masses in real-time, real-life requirements and expectations, with leadership – to the grave if necessary – for progressive productive engagement.

The philosopher in me wants to provide enlightenment for all to revision their station in life as on a trajectory UP – not as some Fate-decreed spot in a parking lot – having an ultimate goal of Life- and Self-Mastery.  

I believe a person is “accomplished” when what he most prefers to read, he, himself, has written; when the music he most prefers to hear or perform is music he, himself, has composed; when the tools he finds most useful are tools he, himself, has devised; when the art he prefers to view, he, himself, has created.  

Quartermaster