Changemakers Start Alone until They Find Others

Welcome to the 6th edition of Creative Change Newsletter, which now has 33,000 changemakers from the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe who subscribe to this! Join in the conversations about views, ideas and balm for changemakers to remake our world for good here.

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THE CHANGE BRIEF:

1. Changemakers start alone until they find others - 3 Thoughts
2. Meet me in Geneva on 3rd September
3. Creative Change Book is now in...

Changemakers start alone until they find others - 3 Thoughts

1) Begin without asking permission

2) Walk and you shall find

3) Combine forces for greater change

Hey Changemaker Family,

The recent Paris Olympics ended on a high note with Tom Cruise abseiling from the stadium roof, riding off on a motorbike that goes into a plane; soon, it shows when he jumps off a plane to skydive into Los Angeles with the Olympic Flag. It's a breathtaking stunt that only Tom Cruise can deliver with his skills and experience. The stunt began with the trademark soundtrack of Mission Impossible marked the handing over to the next host city of the Olympics. What is even more notable, Tom Cruise is 62 years old.

Two weeks ago at the University of Oxford, I delivered a talk explaining the concept of the Economy of Communion and my 20-year journey in trying to build a global company based on its principles: an idea that seems so utopian. My audience was a group of accomplished business owners and professionals from the US, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, they are members of a large Buddhist movement that is renown for humanitarian projects Tzu Chi Foundation who have gathered to study a new inclusive economic concept by Dr Rey, Rey-Sheng Her known as Economy of Goodness.

After listening to me, one of them remarked:

Change always seems Mission Impossible until it is made possible by people who believe and act on it.

1. Begin without asking permission

What he said is so true. It validates my experience, friends driving change, and the changemakers I researched in my book. Before one begins, it will always be seen as mission impossible. Almost everyone around you will say it is impossible to bring about change, and they may discourage or even laugh at you. It is not something that you can ask for validation or support. If the issue bothers you, if it is a call you uniquely understand, you must walk first and accept it is a lonely path. The greats in history did not ask permission, too. Gandhi did not ask anyone’s permission to pursue non-violent independence from the British.

When I started, I believed that as a design and strategy consultant, I could bring about a united world in the economy through consulting. But so many people sneered at the mere thought of it, perhaps looking at my youth, they thought I was too idealistic at that time. I felt down at times, wondering if it was only me, but I kept going. I realized that people will doubt you when they hear it for the first time. But if you keep going as I did, being relentless while being savvy in surviving to live another day to bring about the change you wish to see, people will relent and join you. This has been my experience.

In a similar way, this is the story of Dr Rey, the founder of Economy of Goodness. He was deeply inspired by the founder of Tzu Chi, and he wrote a visionary framework based on his experience in Tzu Chi for entrepreneurs to consider and bring about change in their enterprises. He did not ask permission from anyone, and he did it anyway. Still, he was alone on this path, but soon, he managed to attract a core group who believe in the approach.

2. Walk and you shall find

Yet because it is Mission Impossible, it also tends to attract exceptional changemakers - said the same person earlier

Dr Rey walked first, and a core group soon followed him on this learning journey. Similarly, when Chiara Lubich launched the Economy of Communion, it seemed utopian. But in 1991, hundreds of people decided to give it a try. Now, 33 years later, we have hundreds of research papers and entrepreneurial examples that can help us improve the concept and make it more scalable.

And because many of us in the Economy of Communion movement made a personal choice to pursue this calling, we met many changemakers who share similar beliefs. This was how I got to be invited to speak at this event. While researching his concept, Dr. Rey read about the Economy of Communion. So he contacted Prof. Anouk Grevin, global coordinator for the Economy of Communion, and she sent me. Prior to this, I have not heard about the Economy of Goodness or Dr Rey, now we feel like we have known each other for a long time.

During the three days with Dr. Rey and his core team in Oxford, there were still many questions about how to implement it, as this was still early days of the concept of the Economy of Goodness. Yet I could see the perseverance of Dr Rey and his core group. Upon learning more about the idea of the Economy of Goodness that considers ethos, models, and approaches to bring growth to fruition based on benevolence, many of them have started to propose ways to implement them. I encouraged them to keep walking and applying it because the more you use any good framework, the more you will help to realize its vision.

3. Combine forces for greater change

A changemaker may start alone, but there is another changemaker out there whose path will cross yours. So unless we all keep walking, we will never find each other at a convergence point. When you meet another changemaker, the person's path will be different, but the intent and approach are similar.

I was deeply inspired by Dr. Rey's sharing on the first day about his motivation to write out the concept of the Economy of Goodness. He was inspired, but more importantly, he deeply believed that the spirit of benevolence and goodness can drive economic change and should be its defining mark. He was also candid about the vulnerabilities and why the core group matters.

After listening to him, since I was to speak on the 2nd day, I decided to change my entire presentation so that it would be a fitting response to him. I shared the origins story of the Economy of Communion, from the Second World War, and my own joys and struggles.

At the end of it, we did not want to remain simply friends. We decided to work together to combine forces and mutually promote the Economy of Communion and the Economy of Goodness. As I shared at Shape the World Summit, there are too few changemakers, and we need more of us to meet a complex world. I will announce more details of this partnership soon.

This is similar to my partnership with fellow Changemaker Ming Xi Tong, who has nurtured a regional community of musicians who are also motivated by the idea of music and its impact over the past decade. Ming Xi and I believe that music can be in everything to drive change and results.

Which is why we decided to bring our movements together. Both are about change-making, just that the one of Consulus is the economy while that of Global Strings Federation is that of music. We call it MusicCore in which we will harness the power of music for business and impact. See the video :

At the end of the day, fellow changemakers, if you feel alone, it is normal, but I urge you if an issue that bothers you or if you feel called to lead change. Start walking, and do it now because I guarantee you. Eventually, you will find a circle of trust, your core group.

You will meet other changemakers who share your beliefs and soon realize you were never alone in the first place.

Meet me in Geneva in September

Fellow changemakers, in September I am kicking off my international circuit to deliver keynotes based on my book of Creative Change. Through the partnership with dear Fadi Daou and Globethics , the first one will be in Geneva. If you are in Geneva, I like to see you.

I have speaking engagements coming up in Asia, Europe and Americas all the way to 2025. If you like me to ignite changemakers in your country, company or community, there are still slots available, please email my team at info@consulus.com

Creative Change Book is now in...

Ever since we gifted the first book to Universitas Prasetiya Mulya in July, I have since gifted the Creative Change book to Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) through my friend Lee Siang Tai and also to Regent's Park College, University of Oxford through my friend Dr. Isbabella Bunn.

The inspiration behind the book was the youth, and my goal is to gift it to 100 universities, spreading the message that change is Mission Possible. The key is to start walking and to start now. Don't ask permission; walk and then find others like you.

Finally, our newsletter continue to attract more changemakers; we are now 33,000 strong and growing. I feel deeply responsible for our collective mission. And I am here to serve you. So please leave me your comments, and tell me your changemaking stories, struggles, and joys. Drop me a line at info@consulus.com

All the best in your journey of changemaking!

For those new to my journey as a changemaker, watch this: