Four Paths
We move on to find our song...and learn to sing it in our own voice...by walking and gathering insight from four different paths.
1. The Path of Goodness
According to M.I.T.’s Sloan School of Management, the very heart of effective 21st century leadership is a cornerstone of robust ethical standards. As we walk, each of us will hammer out a personal code of honor around answers to questions such as, what do I believe in? What must I fight for? What must I fight against? What am I willing to sacrifice my job, my social standing, or even my life for?
“If a man hasn’t discovered something that he would die for, he isn’t fit to live.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
2. The Path of Wisdom
As we walk, we will work to build two kinds of wisdom.
The first is to know the great truths about human nature and the processes of life.
“…you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” – John 8:28
The second is what the ancient Greeks called Métis, or the knack of rapidly understanding new or difficult situations and making sense of them. This facility to see swiftly and clearly…or what some call street smarts…is a key to surviving in a complex, volatile, and unpredictable world.
“I’ve been making a list of the things they don’t teach you at school. They don’t teach you how to love somebody. They don’t teach you how to be famous. They don’t teach you how to be rich or how to be poor. They don’t teach you how to walk away from someone you don’t love any longer. They don’t teach you how to know what’s going on in someone else’s mind. They don’t teach you what to say to someone who’s dying. They don’t teach you anything worth knowing.”– Neil Gaiman
3. The Path of Connection
There is no skill set we can master to help us connect authentically with others and gain their trust. Connecting is a raw, organic process that consists of spending whatever time it takes to tell our stories to others and listen to theirs. And, not just stories that flesh out our resumes. We must share stories that tell where we came from, and where we dream of ending up. Stories that shed light on the paths we’ve traveled…triumphs and tragedies alike. Stories that reveal not only what’s on our mind, but also what’s in our heart. Then, at the end of the storytelling, or when we’ve gotten to know each other from as many different angles as possible, we get to decide whether we trust each other or not…become friends or not.
“Real friendship or love is not manufactured or achieved by an act of will or intention. Friendship is always an act of recognition. …in the moment of friendship, two souls suddenly recognize each other. It could be a meeting on the street, or at a party or a lecture, or just a simple, banal introduction, then suddenly there is the flash of recognition and the embers of kinship grow. There is an awakening between you, a sense of ancient knowing.” – John O’Donohue
2. The Path of Contribution
We believe that a meaningful life can only result from making contributions that bless the lives of others. “We are best served,” as Abraham Lincoln said on the eve of the Civil War, “if our passions are driven by the better angels of our nature.” So we ask, are you partial to service or gold? Are you a model or a critic? A light or a judge? A bridge or a barricade? A lift or a let down? Do you have a ministry that no one knows of but you? Do you matter? Will it make a difference that you lived at all?
“What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” – Mark 8:36