Friedrich Nietzsche, in his book Ecce Homo: How One Becomes What One Is, proposed the concept of “an organizing idea” as representative of what nowadays is commonly referred to as a personal philosophy, purpose, Just Cause, WHY statement, or, as Seth Godin refers to, “the change one seeks to make.”
“The organizing idea that is destined to rule keeps growing deep down. It begins to command, slowly it leads us back from side roads and wrong roads; it prepares single qualities and fitnesses that will one day prove to be indispensable”
Friedrich Nietzsche
I like this concept of “an organizing idea” so much that I propose we distinguish it from some of the other similar performance and leadership concepts listed above.
WHY statement: This is your service oriented personal philosophy. It is based on your upbringing and is a statement of who you are–a summation of your core beliefs and values. This acts as your compass and is revealed when you are operating at your best.
Just Cause: This is the same as the change one seeks to make. “It is your specific VISION for a future state that does not yet exist. A future state so appealing that you are willing to make sacrifices in order to advance toward that vision” (Simon Sinek).
ORGANIZING IDEAs: The 1-3 mental models that guide your behavior in alignment with your WHY and Just Cause(s) as well as nurture the resilience you need to be able to delay short term gratification for longer term pay offs.
My Organizing Ideas:
- The PRACTICE: shipping creative work and doing something rather than nothing.
- BARRIERLESSNESS: “Breaking down the artificial barriers between diverse life experiences so all moments become enriched by a sense of interconnectedness” (Joshua Waitzkin).
- INFINITE MINDSET: Emphasizing and focusing my attention on the trajectory of my efforts, as opposed to finite data points that lack a context of directionality.
