Christine Horner's Blog: Your Brilliant Future Here Now, page 15

Awakening Leadership

To create Heaven on Earth, we must embody all that we know to be true about the Oneness of the Universe and then live it in form. Synonymous with responsibility and sustainability is integrity. Mindful as to whether our choices unite or divide, ask yourself if you are choosing proactive sustainability or destructive reactiveness. The right choice makes you an enabled and empowered human being, transcending skin color and the outdated beliefs of others.

The invitation is to remain steadfast within the seat of personal courage even when others around you lose their way. By this, you lead in no greater way. Being the first to change, you change the world. With new awareness of what is no longer working, the arising leader in you realizes to fight darkness with darkness bears the same fruit. Instead, be the light. Others cannot help but see your example. The time is upon us to live fearlessly and choose courageously as we were born to do.

A project of the What Would Love Do Foundation, you will find more articles and a new web site: www.AwakeningLeader.org.  Post your awakening leadership story if you have one!

What is the Color of Your Character?

Dear Friends,

The belief in separation is so entrenched in culture and sub-cultures, social systems, and even religion, that it has been the excuse to treat each other as undervalued and disposable.   Yet, how can this be? Where does the thread that binds us together begin and where does it end?

My latest articles on true equality and what it takes to achieve it is posted on the Awakening Leader website.  VIEW 

Much Love,

Christine

 

“Sustainability is the all-inclusive compass…”

“Sustainability is the all-inclusive compass that redefines morality, values, the way we care for one other and the planet.  For isn’t it all about protecting the continuation of Creation expressed as all of Life?”

~ Christine Horner, Awakening Leadership

You are invited to download/share this quote on social media by right-clicking:

New Economy 2015: Curing Capitalism

[SPECIAL REPORT: PART 3 OF 3]  “The idea behind QE is that you don’t need a printing press to add money to an ailing economy,” cites Jeff Kearns in his Bloomberg report.

You probably don’t realize this, but the Federal Reserve’s bond buying program, also known as quantitative easing (QE), that began after the 2008 global economic meltdown was more than just economic stimulus, it was primarily what kept the U.S. economy from totally collapsing—along with similar efforts coordinated globally.

Ending October, 2014, the 3.5 trillion dollar intervention was the biggest emergency economic boost in history; the equivalent of Germany’s economy. Capitalism couldn’t save itself from . . . well, from itself, and its inherent flaws that caused such conditions to arise. Let’s revisit history, so we can carry forward its lessons toward building a better tomorrow.

NOT SO TINY BUBBLES

In 2008, mostly due to global banking policy related to financial derivatives, a domino effect had the world’s economies go over a cliff when speculative bubbles burst. No singular leader or institution was culpable.

The loosening of banking regulations up until 2008 could not be blamed solely on then President Bush, or anyone else, as steady deregulation had been eliminating safety nets over the last couple of decades. The irresponsible banking policies, if not criminal, were not the sole invention of one major institution, but were systemic within many global power houses.

Let’s repeat so that you understand the magnitude of the 2008 collapse and resultant QE: As we learned in Part 1 of this series, capitalism is dependent on growth, or it doesn’t work. Without growth, capitalism literally ceases to function except predatorily before toppling as it erodes its own base. Had the Federal Reserve not scrambled to inject “artificial growth” into the economy over the last five years, you and I would be looking at a very different world right now.

Yet, the crisis isn’t over. It’s only been deferred. The erosion factor is still in play as the wealthy benefit from bailouts and ongoing stimulus via low interest rates, while the general populous continues to deal with the fallout amidst a deteriorating infrastructure and a worthless currency powered solely by belief.

With the majority of all U.S. public school children living in poverty, and Wall Street quietly dismantling the reforms put in place in the aftermath of 2008 to prevent runaway speculative markets from happening again, what is the take-away? More capitalism is not the solution to capitalism’s limitations.

This means we must evolve. Big business or big government is not going to save us. It means taking responsibility—first for yourself, and then participating in a grassroots global community effort to be the change. We have reached an amazing watershed moment in humanity’s cultural story. What will your story be?

AIM HIGHER, TRICKLE UP

The three core elements of capitalism are competition, capital, and a pricing system, which we’ll call currency. In the new trickle-up paradigm introduced in Part 2 of this series, competition is out, and collaboration is in so that no one is left behind. Non-profit banking, food, healthcare, and other cooperatives allow supporters a return on their investment for supporting innovative business, products, and services.

For most individuals, the lack of capital for research and development, and then marketing limits the ability to bring your creative genius into the marketplace. Trickle-up means we mirror Nature by capitalizing from within, planting seeds to reap a perpetual harvest through employee-owned businesses, crowd-funding and open sourcing.

And finally, we provide safety nets and additional support to those purely in service to humanity through grants from private foundations and other non-profits. The concept of charity is eliminated from our consciousness as volunteerism becomes a valued and tradable currency.

Though cooperatives are not failure-proof, higher efficacy in an unconstrained environment allows for dynamism at precedential speed—months instead of decades. Transparency and accountability, social and ecological responsibility the new norm, quality of life, and even joyful living emerge as the generated good continues to extend outward and ultimately upward.

If capitalism is working for you, there is no need to fear these improvements. Some of these newer business models have been in place for decades, working alongside traditional capitalism, providing a livable wage to those who wish to live a simple life long before recent blue-chip stock companies were pressured to by public outcry.

ENDING THE 40 HOUR WORK WEEK

Concerned that income opportunity is limited under these paradigms? Employees would be no longer asked to forfeit invention rights to employers without receiving a share in the wealth.   Nano-technology, and automation will continue to free up manual labor and improve efficiency so that the traditional work week could actually decrease.

If competition divides, meaning you must work twice as hard to get ahead, cooperation has the opposite effect. Just as a family comes together to problem solve and share the work load, imagine if we extended this philosophy to our global family.

Cooperative work days could be brought down to 4 hours instead of 8-12 hours so that employees are given opportunities to explore passions and further education. Budding artists could take up apprenticeships with artisans. Writers could walk the woods for inspiration. Musicians could collaborate.

Budding holistic health care practitioners, and future master gardeners could attend open lectures given by area experts. Families could volunteer in community gardens, gain wisdom from our seniors, and learn compassion from the disabled.

There would be more time to attend local government meetings. Scientists and engineers could offer tours and demonstrations of the latest free energy technology breakthroughs, proposed planned communities, and public transportation.

Through this invaluable and ongoing exchange of information and ideas, the genius contained within you just might unleash itself to provide a singular perspective that solves a unique problem, creates a new novelty, invention, or mind-altering artistry. This is your unlimited income stream.

There are magic and miracles in collaboration! This is how properly functioning life works. Each one of us has an essential role to fulfill to lead humanity into a new era of true equality and prosperity. It’s your time to thrive!

© Copyright 2014 What Would Love Do Foundation. Our policy is to broadly share and build upon the work we support to advance collective knowledge while respecting the intellectual property of others. Therefore, except as otherwise noted, a Creative Commons license applies to all content on our website that the Foundation has created, owns or has a contractual right to share. As set forth more fully in the linked site, this license permits you to copy, distribute, and display such content as long as you mention and link back to WWLDF and do not change the content or use it commercially.

“This is the challenge that life offers us in every moment…”

“This is the challenge that life offers us in every moment.  For each situation that arises, we have a choice to either make ware or to make peace; to unite or divide; to respond from a place of fear or  a place of love.”

~ Christine Horner, Awakening Leadership

 

 

 

 

You are invited to download/share this quote on social media by right-clicking:

“It’s the ability to respond to life from a state of being…”

“It’s the ability to respond to life from a state of being, as fully engaged Consciousness, or Presence, that allows us to make the greatest impact on the world.”

~ Christine Horner, Awakening Leadership

You are invited to download/share this quote on social media by right-clicking:

New AwakeningLeader.org Website

Dear Friends,

I am thrilled to share that a brand new website, www.AwakeningLeader.org,

has been created to encourage you to embrace the natural born leader in you!

Share your Awakening Leader story and you may be featured on the home page.

Read inspirational stories and news.  Download the New Leadership Blueprint.

I’m excited to interact with you and to build community.  Let’s go!

Love,

Christine

 

 

Awakening Leadership

Human advancement requires the realization that each one of us has an essential role to fulfill to lead humanity into a new era of true equality and prosperity.  If Earth’s Prime Directive is oneness, its prime guiding principle is sustainability. It’s your time to thrive!

COMING Sept. 2015! Wondrous Willow

A courageous journey of the heart as Willow, an Old World Swallowtail, marvels at her existence as she awaits her special purpose to reveal itself. Growing to love her new friends deeply, a man-made fire changes her life and her mountain home forever.

New Economy 2015: Trickle-Up Economics

[SPECIAL REPORT: PART 2 OF 3]  In Part 1 of this three part series, The Future of Capitalism, we learned that capitalism is not sustainable without growth, nor does it allow for conservation in equal measure.

Though it was acknowledged that capitalism has generally served us well, many readers took great exception to the possibility that capitalism doesn’t truly provide the equal opportunity for all that it promises. And perhaps competition, which requires a loser for every winner—the true trickle-down effect—isn’t such a good thing. Can’t we collectively drive prices down and insist on quality by simply making our purchases elsewhere?

Reader Comments

(Note:  Reader comments sourced from syndication partner websites.)  Some readers requested other readers (and this author) to take an Economics 101 class. Does E101 address that free market conditions don’t actually exist as currencies, commodities and even interest rates are manipulated on a daily basis? What about when governments play economic hit man with each other at our expense?

Other readers cited exploitive (predatory) capitalism as the problem. Is unlimited speculation off the backs of the working class—profits are privatized/losses socialized—covered in a Harvard MBA? When is it recognized that the only reason for making derivative formulas so complicated that a PhD is required to develop it, that maybe not everyone’s best interests are included in the formula?

A few readers panicked at seeing the word socialism mentioned, taking the entire article as pro-socialist when it was only mentioned that when there is no upward movement, for all the innovation that capitalism brings in high growth mode, it slides backwards just as quickly as funding for infrastructure, scientific exploration, healthcare and education dry up, leaving us with insufficient safety nets.

Since we have thirty years of economic data that says trickle-down economics doesn’t trickle all the way down, but tends to float on top, can we take the best of what capitalism has to offer, returning to its practical application? Or, can we do better, creating win-win, instead of win-lose?

Excerpted from the Be the Change Grants Program Supplemental, “Creating a Trickle-Up Economy” written for the What Would Love Do Foundation

A New Economy

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report cited in Part 1 concluded that, “Cash transfers and increasing access to public services, such as high-quality education, training and healthcare, are an essential social investment to create greater equality of opportunities in the long run.” And they are exactly right. Why? Because capital is put back into circulation. Notice how cutting social services and austerity measures have failed to alleviate capital shortages or generate growth.

If you wonder who is going to pay for a cash infusion and services, you are already paying for it, but so inefficiently that politicians and citizens alike are baulking at the idea even maintaining what we currently have in place—and rightly so.

Most present human activity, including capitalism, is entrenched in short-term gains rather than playing for the long run. War is inefficient; debt-based economies are inefficient; even charitable organizations are not running at peak efficacy as we continue to band-aid the side effects of unsustainable economic activity, rather than addressing root causes.

Again, to acknowledge all the good bits found in capitalism, there are many capitalists who adhere to ethical business practices and only use competition as a means of making sure to provide a unique, fresh angle to their product or service that nobody else is offering (which sounds a little more cooperative in nature). Many a small community is thriving and wouldn’t change a thing.

Whatever economic system(s) we embrace, it must include social agreements, social responsibility, and allow for conservation in equal if not greater measure as we plant the seeds of tomorrow. We are presently living the ongoing results of our failure to adequately address these essential elements.

Why Trickle-Up Matters

Trickle-up economies capitalize from within, beginning at the grassroots level. Trickle-up mirrors nature in that it supports the genius that exists all around us, rather than acting out predatorily. Who starts the trickle? You do.

Trickle-up includes accepting responsibility for being the face of change in the world by supporting paradigms that serve all of humanity, starting locally. When we come together cooperatively, the cost to the individual is very small while the rewards are very large. i.e. Imagine if each of us volunteered just a few hours each month.

Trickle-up business models do already exist, and not as a new form of socialism. Non-profit cooperatives (NPCs) such as food and banking NPCs, employee-owned businesses, private foundations and charities are just a few examples. When you back a non-profit, your investment is returned to you in the form of reduced costs on products or services, and sometimes even in cash. That capital is then pumped directly back into the economy, improving everyone’s quality of life.

In this author’s neighborhood, a credit union is literally depositing $5,000,000 back into its member’s accounts by the first of the year. Subscription food coops are healthfully springing up and non-profit medical providers are thriving—all regardless of economic conditions. These organizations actually are profiting quite nicely, but not at the expense of their employees or other organizations.

Profits are not being pocketed by just a few, but are returned to those who believed in and supported the business’s mission statement—its survival contingent on serving the good of all. What is happening in your neighborhood?

Other examples include crowd funding and open-sourcing. Both encourage transparency, accountability and collaboration in a non-threatening and even exciting environment. Dynamic and responsive, everyone’s genius is recognized, no matter how small the contribution. Efficiency is more quickly assessed in an uninhibited environment. What other constructs can you think of that are trickle-up?

What’s Next?

What is clear is that man-made globally systemic poverty is the result of competing for resources, regardless of what economic flag you wave.  As nano-technology and 3D printing continue to automate manufacturing and reduce labor requirements, humanity will be undergoing another workforce reduction. This transition will terrify those unprepared. So let’s prepare!

In my opinion, a gift economy is truly the only universal economy that serves humanity and the planet. But until then, multiple economic models will continue to co-exist. For those who enjoy risk and wild speculation, venture capitalists can go play with other venture capitalists and compete all you want, but let’s end the corporate socialism. Let’s end corporations profiting off the negative aspects of our culture, and that includes charities whose agendas are self-serving.

In Part 3, we will learn more on how to create a trickle-up economy, beginning with you. To move humanity to the next stage of our evolution, we must learn how to tap into our individual creative genius and collaborate. (Hint:  Your unlimited creative genius is also what creates your unlimited income stream.)

   © Copyright 2014 What Would Love Do Foundation.  Our policy is to broadly share and build upon the work we support to advance collective knowledge while respecting the intellectual property of others. Therefore, except as otherwise noted, a Creative Commons license applies to all content on our website that the Foundation has created, owns or has a contractual right to share. As set forth more fully in the linked site, this license permits you to copy, distribute, and display such content as long as you mention and link back to WWLDF and do not change the content or use it commercially.