We all need a manifesto. Here’s mine.

Joy matters.

There is something inside you that wants to be born. There is a purpose for your existence–a purpose nobody else can serve. How do you find that purpose? Joy.

Joy matters to our success as individuals.

Joy is our built-in homing device that tells us what matters to us and what feeds us. Joy tells us we are on the right path–our path. Joy tells us when we are fully alive. Joy tells us when we are operating to our full potential.

Joy matters to our success as a species.

Joy is the prime motivator. You cannot ever motivate someone to work as hard with punishment, fear, scarcity, or promise of reward as a person is motivated when they are in love with the work they are doing. People working out of a feeling of joy move mountains. They work because they want to, not because they have to, and this makes a huge difference in both productivity and creativity.

Joy can be cultivated.

Our culture has largely forgotten about joy and is focused instead on:

1. avoiding pain
2. seeking pleasure

Neither of these will get you to joy. Joy isn’t something that you can find outside yourself. Joy is internally generated. It also cannot be found through avoiding pain. However, joy can be cultivated with conscious intent. Joy is what happens when you start following your internal directives. When you listen to your heart, and follow where it leads, joy is the natural result.

Joy is the next revolution.

People are tired of settling for “secure” or “comfortable”. Life can be more, and we want more. Not more stuff–but rather more aliveness, more authentic happiness, more time to enjoy ourselves, and more of the experience of internal peace and joy that comes from doing what we love. As our society creates more abundance, people refuse to settle for goals that come from pain and scarcity. We are starting to ask “how can we truly enjoy life?” and finding new answers.

Joy starts with your decision that joy matters.

If you aren’t 100% happy about the life you are living, then do something about it.

If you want to do something that matters to you, begin it. If you want a thriving community of people you jive with, start building it. If you want a lifestyle that feeds your soul, start creating it.

Most importantly, decide that you will not settle for anything less than what your heart truly wants from life.

Tags: big ideas by emma
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