Smart Growth

I read with interest an article on the Harvard Business Review site and I thought I’d share it with you, as I (along with many “new age” teachers and speakers) have been banging on about a new world order for..well, ages now. A new paradigm, new ways of working and living are unfolding before our eyes and those of us who are embracing change and staying positive are thriving.

Here’s a snippet from the article:

There are the four pillars of smart growth - for economies, communities, and corporations:

1. Outcomes, not income. Dumb growth is about incomes - are we richer today than we were yesterday? Smart growth is about people, and how much better or worse off they are - not merely how much junk an economy can churn out. Smart growth measures people’s outcomes - not just their incomes. Are people healthier, fitter, smarter, happier? Economics that measure financial numbers, we’ve learned the hard way, often fail to be meaningful, except to the quants among us. It is tangible human outcomes that are the arbiters of authentic value creation.

2. Connections, not transactions. Dumb growth looks at what’s flowing through the pipes of the global economy: the volume of trade. Smart growth looks at how pipes are formed, and why some pipes matter more than others: the quality of connections. It doesn’t just look at transactions at the global, regional, or national level — how much world trade has grown, for example — but looks at how local and global relationships power invention and innovation. Without Silicon Valley’s relationships powering the development of personal computing and the internet, for example, the volume of trade between Taiwan, Japan, and China, would be a fraction of what it is. Smart growth seeks to amplify connection and community — because the goal isn’t just to trade, but to co-create and collaborate.

3. People, not product. The next time you hear an old dude talking about “product”, let him know the 20th century ended a decade ago. Smart growth isn’t driven by pushing product, but by the skill, dedication, and creativity of people. What’s the difference? Everything. Globalization driven by McJobs deskilling the world, versus globalization driven by entrepreneurship, venture economies, and radical innovation. People not product means a renewed focus on labour mobility, human capital investment, labour market standards, and labour market efficiency. Smart growth isn’t powered by capital dully seeking the lowest-cost labour — but by giving labour the power to seek the capital with they can create, invent, and innovate the most.

4. Creativity, not productivity. Uh-oh: Creativity is an economic four-letter word. Why? Because it’s hard to measure, manage, and model. So economists focus on productivity instead — and the result is dumb growth. Smart growth focuses on economic creativity - because creativity is what let us know that competition is creating new value, instead of just shifting old value around. What is economic creativity? How many new industries, markets, categories, and segments an economy can consistently create. Think China’s gonna save the world? Think again: it’s economically productive, but it’s far from economically creative. Smart growth is creative — not merely productive.

Here’s a final point — and a question.

Smart economies are driven by smart growth. The four pillars of smart growth are design principles for next-generation economies. 20th century economies are limited to unsustainable, unfair, brittle, dumb growth. Smart growth is more sustainable, equitable, and resilient.

Capitalism 2.0 cannot be powered by growth.1.0: that’s why the race for smart growth is inevitable. The economic pressure — the potential for value creation, in a world being ripped apart by value destruction — is simply too great.

Can you build a business powered by smart growth? The four pillars of smart growth aren’t just design principles for next-generation economies: they’re also design principles for next-generation businesses. Already, tomorrow’s radical innovators don’t accept yesterday’s toxic, tired consensus. Revolutionaries like Apple, Threadless, Etsy, Whole Foods, American Apparel, and Google are already reinventing better ways to grow - from the grass-roots up.

Yesterday’s incumbents are beginning to fail en masse, while these revolutionaries remain resilient. Why? As our research at the Lab suggests, getting smart is a better choice than staying dumb: smart growth results in more creativity, innovation, effectiveness, and power than dumb growth.

Read the full article by Umair Haque here: Harvard Business blog

Speed up with reiki

I decided to write the Reiki Principles to suit the Brighton Reiki way - in other words, make them more friendly and specific instead of a bit vague and remote. So how does this sound?:

Brighton Reiki affirmations:

Just for today, I let go of anger.
Just for today, I let go of worry.
Just for today, I give thanks for all the good things happening in my life.
Just for today, I respect myself and others in all that I do.
Just for today, I am kind to myself and others.

I’m not a great stickler for “rules” when it comes to reiki. Usui was a pioneer, a great healer and teacher who revived the ancient art of healing in Japan. He also tailored his methods for individuals. Hayashi Takaka also repackaged the healing ideals to suit the American market.I don’t believe any of this diluted or changed the essence of the healing teachings. Even calling it “Rei-Ki” is a short hand for this particular form of healing. If Takata hadn’t adapted the reiki teachings, they would never have survived and thrived in the West at all.

Hands-on healing is universal and individual at the same time. Every culture has a form of hands on healing, all very similar to rei-ki, but mixed in with the traditions of those people. So really there is no point in worrying about what is “right” or “wrong” when it comes to reiki. The essence is still the same and still works on the highest levels.

As healers, we have to remember that we are just the channel for the healing or the attunement. We are not in control of the outcome, whether it is a positive experience or if the recipient says they “feel nothing”. We have no idea what the outcome will be in future, how the healing will affect them and what changes will occur in their lives. So why get caught up in our own ego, about how “good” or “bad” we are “at healing”? People often say to me,”You DO reiki, don’t you?” Well, I don’t DO it - I teach and give reiki - but really I am just setting the scene for the universal energy to come into the space and help the person who wants to receive it.

It really is out of my control. Whether I am giving reiki to a new born baby or giving attunements to a group I have to take myself out of the equation. I am the facilitator and just helping the person receive the healing they have already committed to receiving when they made the appointment.

People who receive reiki healing or attunements don’t need convincing. They experience for themselves the wonderful enhancements that occur, when they allow the reiki into their lives. The world is moving at such an accelerated pace that reiki can only help speed up your life to match.

Worthiness

Today I picked ‘Worthiness’ from one of Doreen Virtue’s deck of cards. It explains that manifestations are not rewards for good behaviour but are the effects of our thoughts, beliefs, feelings and actions. The more we buy into the news about the economy, the January blues, job losses etc, the more we allow ourselves to be affected by them. We can only affect our own environment but instead of hoarding, scrimping and worrying abut ourselves, we can still be generous with our time to our friends, find ways to be charitable to others and still find ways to have fun for free.

The ‘Worthiness’ card also reminds me that accepting help from others isn’t just about me personally - it’s about allowing myself to be helped so that I can help others. How difficult is is it to accept good graciously!?! The affirmation suggested on the card is “Thank you for the gifts that have come to me now, I gratefully accept them for the good of all”.

I am enjoying reading The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People. Some of the concepts seem to be just common sense - such as sorting out your life on a weekly basis and scheduling your private life in the same way you might do with your work life. That may sound a bit regimented but if I don’t write things down, it just doesn’t get done. This book was written before we had so many different ways of communicating and the world was a little bit slower.

Thank you to all the well wishes from everyone re: the ghastly flu I’ve had since before Christmas. I am 99% recovered. I suspect I was having a “healing crisis” after having had another healing initiation from my teacher. This flu has forced me to make a choice about my healing work and how best to organise my time. Whenever I don’t take my own advice or ignore the signs of what I should be doing, the Universe will force me to take a step back.

So Happy New Year and thanks for all the positive comments for the new look website.