For the big decisions in life, you need to reach a deeper region of consciousness. Making decisions then becomes not so much about ‘deciding’ as about letting an inner wisdom emerge.
– Brian Arthur, economist and author of The Nature of Technology, quoted in Source: The Inner Path of Knowledge Creation, Joseph Jaworski, page 13.
Business and Personal Cases for Becoming Wise
Each of us has access to extraordinary, infinite, abundant and brilliant wisdom. We limit ourselves and what is possible in our businesses – and the world in which we live – when we don’t develop and utilize that wisdom.
What becomes available are breakthrough solutions, ideas for new business opportunities, profound innovations, foresight and access to new frontiers.
Here’s an example of someone listening to that inner wisdom. A few years ago, one of my clients was leaving the daily management of his business. Although it seemed quite risky, he invited two people who had been with the company for many years to be responsible, working as a team, rather than one CEO. His rational mind told him that might not be a good idea, and it would have been backed by many others as noted in the Fortune magazine article, “With co-CEOs, companies flirt with disaster,” by Claire Zillman. However, he was a wisdom leader and trusted that his sense of the situation was best for him, his business, employees and clients. He and I worked to support these two in becoming the leaders they wanted to be and the business has continued to grow and thrive quite wonderfully.
We are living during a time which affords us incredible opportunity to develop our wisdom selves. If you’re reading this, you probably have food, shelter, work and a personal life that could allow you the time and energy to devote to becoming the extraordinary leader or person you’ve dreamed of becoming, even though you are also probably incredibly busy. I write that with all due respect, for if not you and me, and if not now, then who and when?
I could repeat the statistics about all of the various problems in the world and in the workplace, but you know them already. Some of the issues can be resolved by the typical approach of a) searching for a solution either by thinking our way through it, “figuring it out,” or accessing the expertise of others, b) creating a rule or regulation, c) enacting a new law, or d) putting more money into it. Accessing and exercising wisdom – where inspirations emerge – is required to address the overarching causes and systems that brought about many of the problems in the first place. The world is screaming for those wisdom leaders who won’t settle for the superficial – yet also necessary – fix.
You may love leading … or not so much. You may love the work you’re engaged in … or not. You may love your personal life.
Pursuing a wisdom path, however, will more-than-likely bring amazing vitality, meaning and joy to all of it.
Since I’ve been pursuing and exploring living as a wisdom leader, my life has been more interesting, fulfilling, adventurous and exciting…and there have been fearful and anxious times, but it has been the sort of fear and anxiety that comes with any adventure and moving into unknown territory. It’s thrilling, challenging and incredibly freeing.
Scientific Case for Becoming Wise
“The latest advances in the natural sciences give us a new picture of reality. … In the new concept the universe is an organically interconnected evolving system.” Quantum Shift in the Global Brain: How the New Scientific Reality Can Change Us and Our World, Ervin Laszlo, page 89.
Many people are actually aware of these discoveries and talk about them, yet haven’t shifted their lived perspective and experience of the world, business and people. Being out of alignment with what we know about the world is like paddling a kayak upstream.
What Do I Mean by Wisdom?
Wisdom is a virtue that falls into the category of you know it when you experience it. We’ve all had times where we just know: “That was a wise decision.”
Inherent in wisdom is knowledge, experience, self-awareness, heart (or caring about not only myself, but others and the world), creativity, intuition and a relationship to all-that-is. It includes the integration of the right brain, left brain, as well as intuition and discernment. It requires cultivating our:
- Body wisdom
- Emotional wisdom (distinct from emotional intelligence)
- Intellect
- Ability to connect with and relate to Source, or Universal Intelligence
- Courage
I will expand on the last two now and address in more detail how to cultivate all of these in my next blog.
Joseph Jaworski, in his book Source states, “There is a creative Source of infinite potential enfolded in the Universe. Connection to this Source leads to the emergence of new realities – discovery, creation, renewal, and transformation. We are partners in the unfolding of the universe.”
The use of wisdom requires courage because it is outside the realm of rules, incentives and information. It’s the courage to genuinely know yourself and what matters to you (how you want the world, your business and your relationships to be). This includes understanding, embracing and appreciating our true nature and what science is revealing about that (i.e., that we are all connected), an intention to listen to Source and the ability to take the appropriate action, without necessarily knowing why or why now.
Becoming wise is about becoming, not learning, yet there is learning to be done.
Click here for Slide Show of X-Factor Your Business by Exercising Wisdom