Massive Transformative Purpose E-Book

Angel María Herrera

• Herausgeber: Editorial Bubok Publishing
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 321

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

Have you ever asked yourself why you have come into the world? How many times have you wondered why you are doing something or for what reason? Do you feel as if you are not dedicating your life to what you really should be doing? Would you like to have a life full of purpose? The answer to these questions is an easy one for those who know their main purpose in life. Purpose can provide us with the focus we need in our lives, just as the North Star guides us along a path of unlimited possibilities, alternatives and varying directions which we face each day. Purpose is an endless source of energy, which can give you extraordinary motivation, making you feel as if everything you do has meaning. Massive Transformative Purpose is a book that motivates and inspires people to find their vital purpose. The book also offers a practical method so that anyone can find their purpose following 9 defined steps, using a tool called MTP Canvas to design and describe each person's vital purpose. Lastly, the book offers practical advice to initiate your purpose and finally give meaning to your life and leave a footprint in the world, becoming the leader of your story. Are you ready to dive into this inner journey that will change the world?

Leseprobe

Massive Transformative Purpose

The guide to provide sense to your projects and your life

Massive Transformative Purpose

© Francisco Palao Reinés © Ángel María Herrera

Translation: Rocío Navarro López

First edition in English: January 2021

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in wri-ting by the Author, or as expressly permitted by law, by license or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.

Printed in Spain

ISBN papier: 978-84-685-5503-4 ISBN ePub: 978-84-685-5504-1

Massive Transformative Purpose

The guide to provide sense to your projects and your life

Ángel María Herrera

Francisco Palao

Index

Prologue

Introduction

PART I:THE THEORY

1. Wake up

2. What is the Massive Transformative Purpose (MTP)?

3. Before starting: Pay attention and read well before continuing

4. Benefits: Why is a «why» necessary

5. MTP Canvas

PART II:THE PRACTICE

6. Defining the MTP: The story

The hero/protagonist

Values

The three basic longings

The superpower

The world

The kingdom

The inhabitants

The Journey

The footprint

The path

The MTP

PART III:THE END?

Let’s change a happy ending for a memorable ending

To leave a footprint in the universe, start walking

Transcend

Epilogue

Bibliography

Attached: MTP List

By Angel Maria Herrera To my parents, for providing me with a life full of meaning To my wife and children for giving meaning to my life To my journey partners, from whom I have learned to walk To Elena, for putting words to my ideas

By Francisco Palao To all the people who read this book and persist in their purpose To all the Universe which has contributed to my purpose To my parents and grandparents, for being part of who I am and always be To my brother Jorge, for accompanying me unconditionally And especially to my daughter May, for giving meaning to my purpose

Prologue

The world is changing at a lightning speed. Exponential technologies are disrupting the status quo in ways that we can barely fathom. The world is being abandoned by information technologies, software is eating up the world, biology is becoming a programmable medium. Matter is becoming a programmable medium. Biotechnology and nanotechnology are turning the entire world into software and this, compounded with advances in artificial intelligence, are leading us towards a technological singularity, where we are limited only by our imagination.

The human mind is being exteriorized and the world is being transformed by the contents of mind. Mind has become a geological force. Now, more than ever, what is needed, then, is to steer this creative capacity. We need a massive transformative purpose, we need the kind of purpose that shakes us in a kind of quaking annihilating glory into focus. We need a massive transformative purpose that will part the seas. And this more than ever, is what is needed. For this reason I’m very excited about this book, for this book maps it out for us, guys. This book takes us on the journey, a journey of disruption, a journey of transformation and ultimately a journey of redemption in a massive transformative purpose.

Enjoy.

Jason Silva

Introduction

The ascidians are a kind of animal that is distributed in the seas of the entire planet. They start their life looking pretty much like a tadpole. When they hatch, they swim through the ocean looking for nutrients and a place to live. While the ascidian travels through the water with the purpose of feeding and looking for a rock to settle, it uses its brain. When it finds a stone or a suitable shipwreck, it sticks to that. It will never move again. From that moment, the one who directs its life is not itself. The ascidian is reactive; it’s not a motivating force in its own life. It can’t control its destiny. And since it no longer needs its brain, it eats it.

This book aims for you to discover your MTP, which is what prevents you from becoming an ascidian.

How everything started

About a year ago, Angel Maria finished the structure of the methodology that he had developed to helping people to find and tell the story that lives inside each one of them. He was excited and eager to be able to share this methodology, which he had developed based on his own experience, the years of study, training and productive learning and dedication. He wanted it to be more than a manual to follow in his mentoring and he came up with the idea of transforming it into a book, which also offered the opportunity for more people to put it into practice.

Following his instinct as a storyteller, he started the journey.

After several hours of concentrated writing, he stopped to take a break and went for a walk to clear his mind. At that very moment and without knowing why, the name of Francisco Palao came to his mind, an old friend of whom he had not heard from in a long time. Without hesitation, he took out his mobile phone and dialed his number.

– What’s up Angel Maria? Long time! – answered Francisco when he saw his incoming call.

– Hi Francisco! How are you? I was just thinking about you and said to myself, I must call you – Angel Maria replies.

– How funny! A moment ago I was also thinking of you, wondering what had become of your life, what were you involved in now, and I told myself that I had to call you. But, I see that you have gone ahead, hehe! How are you? What are you up to?

– Well, I have just started writing a book – and I think it is going to be interesting, and I’m sure that you are going to like it too because you like helping people. I have developed a methodology to discover the personal story that lives within us. I think that we all have a story to tell and it’s not the same story that we have been told, that we have accepted as valid and we also tell ourselves because it is the one we have always heard. It’s not that story. It is about discovering our own story, the one that defines us, the one that tells us who we really are.

– Mmmmmm, it sounds very interesting… - Francisco replies – Hey, how about we meet for lunch and you can explain it to me in more detail?

– It sounds like a fantastic idea to me! - When shall we meet?

When you remember a person, call him and when he answers, tells you that he was just thinking of you, and it’s true, it may seem like one of those coincidences that are noted on the calendar of destiny. But it can also be a demonstration that your vital purpose acts as a magnetic field that manages to attract people aligned with you. And that was exactly what happened.

A few days later, they met in a restaurant in Madrid to continue talking about the methodology that Angel Maria had created to discover one’s true story, about his interest in helping others to discover it, about the idea of writing a book…

Francisco listened to him with great interest, because it seemed to be a powerful project with significant potential.

– Do you know what all this you tell me reminds me of? something that I am currently working on in exponential organizations, and what Salim Ismail defines as MTP?

– MTP? – asks Angel Maria with curiosity.

– Massive Transformative Purpose and that purpose is precisely your guide, your engine, what motivates you to get up with illusion. Or, as you say, the story that everyone has to tell that lives inside them.

– That’s right! It’s that story that allows you to take the reins of your life and consequently the key to discover what lives inside you. But how? Knowing yourself in-depth, something that has taken me many years and dedication. But, finding and defining it, has awakened my interest in transmitting everything I have discovered throughout my personal journey, with the goal of demonstrating it through a concrete and simple methodology that makes working easier for everyone. You know that I define myself as a storyteller and I have been trained as a storyteller, well I have found an analogy between this process of personal knowledge with the narrative structure of a story.

– Really? Tell me more! I like that analogy.

Angel Maria begins to tell him how he has developed his methodology, which consists of three main blocks:

The first is called «hero», because the fundamental thing is to know oneself, in depth, with conscience, to discover what we really are, what we want, what we are worth and to discover our talents, as well as the power they have.

The second is the «world», the universe where the hero’s story unfolds, where he moves, what challenges he faces and what change he wants to see in his world.

And the last block is the «journey», the whole process, that path he has to go on, and also the goal itself.

–As Santiago Alvarez de Mon, who I had as a coach, told me: «The goal is the way» - Angel Maria points out - This phrase is very important to me, because I think it perfectly reflects the whole concept. What matters is the journey, the footprint you want to leave in the world and the transformation you want to carry out.

–Yes, I completely agree – Says Francisco – And so, have you started writing a book about all this?

– Yes, I have. After having developed this methodology, I saw that the best way to validate it was sharing it with people. I just started to write the first pages.

– I really like your idea and I find it very powerful. I think it connects perfectly with the concept of Massive Transformative Purpose, that Polar Star that guides people and organizations to the direction they really want to take. Why don’t you send it to me and I’ll take a look at it? I think it would be nice if we could combine our experiences and points of view.

–Sure, it would be great!

After that first reunion, which was not only enriching for sharing an excellent company, but also for bringing people together aligned on the same purpose, Francisco agreed to give his feedback to Angel Maria as soon as he read the material he had shared with him.

After a few days, in Angel Maria’s inbox there was an email with the good feeling that his methodology had left with Francisco. He says that it seems to him a very successful and well-designed idea, but he points out that it is missing an introductory step, something that reflects the awakening, how to make the reader aware of everything it talks about. An introduction where you can mention the concepts of the fourth industrial revolution and make people connect with them. After reading the email, they contact each other again and Angel Maria thanks him for his opinion, which is also very interesting to him, and proposes that he should be the one who writes that part, since his specialized vision and perspective can be very illuminating.

– Perfect! – Palao delightedly accepts – and I can provide information about the concept of MTP, since it is a term that, although many people have already included in their vocabulary, especially people related to the business and entrepreneurship world, there are still a lot of ignorance about it and it is necessary to get used to it.

Angel thinks it is a very great idea and they agree to meet again when Francisco has advanced in that part.

Throughout the next conversations, they continue proposing points in common to corroborate that «the more sugar, the sweeter». Both conclude that their objective is to help people to define their purpose and offer facilities for it; they want to attract their attention and pave the way for them as much as they can.

And as they continue talking, sharing ideas and making suggestions, they understand that they can still give more. Why not offer the practical part also in the book? Perhaps with the theory, it’s not enough, it’s not possible to transmit all the strength and potential that this methodology has. So Angel Maria is in charge of organizing and detailing the exercises that will be added to the theoretical part of the content, which will make a more complete and effective book.

Angel Maria and Francisco embarked on the creation of this book, based on Angel’s initial idea of sharing his methodology to discover which is inside each and every one of us. This book gives you a complete and detailed structure starting from the beginning of the journey to the end where you will finally be able to define your MTP and also know how to apply this methodology to help others.

PART I:THE THEORY

1. Wake up

Just a couple of weeks later, Francisco sent an email toÁngel María with the first chapter. In the email, he included an explanation as to what had motivated him to start the book with this specific chapter and title.

I will not elaborate on details, however I must say that Francisco’s message was almost as inspiring as the chapter itself, which will undoubtedly awaken your interest, your conscience and your desire to continue reading.

Part of a whole

We have all wondered at some point in our lives who created the universe or how it was created. However, in my opinion there is an even more relevant question … Why does the universe exist?

No one knows the answer to this question, but what we do know is that each of us forms an integral part of it. We are all part of a whole. A whole that began more than thirteen billion years ago with the big bang, a whole that expands pushing its own limits, a whole that evolves generating increasingly complex elements, including the very consciousness of our own existence. So perhaps, the question we should ask ourselves is… Why does each of us exist?

In one way or another, we all contribute to the evolution of the universe in general, and our environment in particular. For example, about two hundred years ago, Thomas Edison made an important contribution to our universe when he invented the light bulb and, as a result of his efforts, we have light even when there is darkness. We are all here for a reason; we are here to evolve in the world where we live, to leave our mark, to transcend our lives and to illuminate the lives of others around us and subsequent generations, in one way or another.

We all have a purpose in the universe and an important part to play. Either a revolutionary purpose, such as the case of Edison, or an everyday purpose, like the case of someone who cares for animals and spends part of their time taking care of abandoned dogs from animal shelters. All purposes are important and necessary.

Purpose is not something that addresses who we are or who we want to be, but the footprint that we want to leave on our universe; how different the world would be once we no longer exist. We are potentially in a historical moment where people and organizations are more aware of their purpose and dedicated to making it happen. What does this mean?

Basic needs

As we satisfy our basic needs or evolve as individuals and organizations, we develop an interest in contributing to our environment. The Maslow Pyramid describes this phenomenon very well in five levels of needs:

To have the necessary health to live properly.To have the resources that give you security to live.To establish and maintain the social relationships (partner, family, friendship, etc.) that allow you to live with a feeling of love and belonging.To have the self-love and self-esteem necessary to love ourselves.And finally, to develop the feeling of self-realization through the development of activities which make us feel as if our life has meaning.

Modern society, in general, has evolved in a way that has allowed most people to have their basic needs met and to focus on self-fulfillment, which is directly related to the purpose. Let’s do a very quick yet incomplete review on human history to understand this idea more clearly.

In Prehistoric times, the main challenge of human beings was to stay alive, since at that time there was no medicinal knowledge or technological advances that exist nowadays to heal diseases. We could say that those humans lived throughout a period of survival. At that time, the strongest humans were able to hunt for food, reproduce and consequently survive; in most cases, the only possible feeling of self-fulfillment was by having offspring.

In medieval Europe, your social position was determined by the destiny of the individual. If you were lucky enough to be born into a royal family for instance, then all your basic needs would have been met and you would have lived a comfortable lifestyle (as long as a jealous brother didn’t want to poison you in order to gain the throne!). If on the other hand you were born as a peasant, you would have had to serve the feudal lord in order to obtain the bare necessities in order to survive. Marriages of convenience were performed and dreaming of true love was only an attainable luxury for a very few. This era is referred to as The Casta System where one´s social status, level of taxation, and legal rights were predetermined upon birth.

In modern times, basic needs are generally met, and in most cultures people can now enjoy the freedom and fortune they choose and develop their own relationships and social position. Where the professional and economic status of each person is not predetermined by their social status at birth, but is directly related to the plans and decisions they make. If in Prehistoric times the level of your physical strength directly determined your destiny, in modern times the level of intelligence (rational and emotional) is the deciding factor in achieving success and happiness. This is the era of Meritocracy, where the economic goods and power are vested in individual people on the basis of their talents, effort, and achievement. If we look back, we can see that not only are these needs being met, but according to the Maslow Pyramid, the qualities that have determined the success of individuals or organizations have also evolved in the same direction. In prehistoric times, the most important factor in life was physical strength. During the medieval period, the social position of each individual was determined by destiny. And in the modern age, especially in certain societies (not yet in all), individuals have the basic support through education and resources which are needed to make decisions and carry out a life according to the intelligence of individuals and the decisions they make.

Exponential technologies

However, all of this is now changing due to the new technological advances. We are in one of the most extraordinary moments in the history of humanity, with the appearance of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, 3D printing, drones, nanotechnology, and genetics. Frequently, all these technologies are called «exponential technologies» because their performance doubles every one or two years, giving us an exponential growth (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, etc.).

Let’s demonstrate this with an example, so that the relevance of this is clearly understood. An average person advances one meter each step they take, therefore, if 30 steps are taken (one meter each one) they will advance 30 meters. Easy. However, let’s imagine for a moment that each step taken is exponential (as technology advances), therefore, the first step would be 1 meter, the second step 2 meters, the third step 4 meters, the fifth step 8 meters, the sixth step 16 meters; and so on. The last result of taking 30 steps exponentially would be more than a billion meters (specifically 1,073,741,824 meters), which means more than 84 turns of our planet Earth.

Going back to the concept of exponential technology, this kind of growth has a very relevant effect on technological advancement. For example, the power of the computers has grown exponentially since its inception (this is due to the so-called Moore’s Law) and thanks to this, we now have computing-based devices, such as our own mobile devices, with a computing power a millions times greater than the computer that carried Apollo XIII to the moon more than 50 years ago.

Another very relevant example of the exponential development of technology is solar energy. Over the past few years, the efficiency in the way that solar panels can collect the energy from the sun has also evolved exponentially. This is why it is expected that in a few years time, energy will be completely free and freely accessible to everyone. In addition, all other forms of technology that can be imagined are being affected by the effect of exponential development: Artificial Intelligence (soon we will have systems equally or more intelligent than any other human being), 3D Printing (soon we will be able to print everyday objects at home), Genetic (the cost of reading the first complete human genome exceeded 10 billion dollars, today it can be done in a few minutes for less than a thousand dollars).

How will all these technologies affect us in the future, or rather, from now on?

Some examples of exponential technologies

The information below demonstrates some concrete examples of exponential technologies which are currently beginning to affect our society and, ultimately ourselves.

Exponential Technology

Impact

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is advancing in leaps and bounds, and at some point in the near future, we will have devices (like our mobile phones) that will be smarter than us and will be able to help us not only in simple tasks, but complex ones too.

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)

AR and VR may be technologies that are only associated with the world of gaming and entertainment. Nevertheless, they have applications in the fields of medicine, architecture, construction, education, and aerospace study. In the near future, it is expected that there will be more events of Augmented Reality than physical reality.

Autonomous vehicles

A quick look at the pioneering companies in this field, such as Google, GM, Toyota, Tesla, and Volkswagen, already show us the great potential of this market. This market is expected to be worth $65,3 billion by 2027. More importantly, when the vehicles are autonomous the number of accidents will be drastically reduced. Someday it will be forbidden to drive a car without the help of Artificial Intelligence.

Blockchain

A way to eliminate the third party in all kinds of transactions, maybe the most well known is cryptocurrency. Lacking the need of an intermediary or regulatory entity such as a Central Bank. We are certainly only at the tip of the iceberg of what this technology can represent and disrupt.

Big Data

Data is referred to as the new oil of the digital economy, but its impact is underestimated.

Data will continue to be the key to the global economy. LinkedIn identified a Data Scientist as one of the fastest-growing jobs in the world, showing the prospects it offers.

Biotechnology

The biotechnology sector is fueled, among other issues, by the growing interest in slowing down or stopping aging completely. The power to build human parts, to replace defective organs and tissues, or to treat diseases of the human genome, which could eventually lead to the possibility of immortality.

Internet of things

Internet of things (IoT) is a global web of interconnected devices, provided by the new high-speed connections, counting on the rapid expansion that portable and personal devices have had, which makes everything connected.

According to Statista, the number of devices connected to IoT is expected to exceed 75 billion in 2025.

3D Printing and Digital Fabrication

3D printing is an exponential technology with a much more disruptive potential than many people think. Its main implications are already outside of domestic use. 3D printing could reinvent traditional manufacturing chains, which, according to Andre Wegner, represents an opportunity of 1.7 trillion dollars. In addition, in the future we may be able to print objects of different types in our homes.

Robotics

Robots and drones are becoming more affordable, efficient, and collaborative, which allows an unprecedented growth in the robotics industry.

Robots that work safely and collaboratively with humans are at the forefront of development, and we will soon stop seeing them only in the industry, and find them in every home as well.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is the explosion of different exponential technologies. And as it happened in the previous industrial revolutions, we are observing how different industries and companies are affected as a result of the technological changes in the environment.

As Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler perfectly described in their book «Abundance», technological progress is generating abundance in different areas. Nowadays, there is an abundance of information thanks to the Internet and access to resources like Wikipedia that provide updated information validated by experts. There is an abundance of content available, such as music and movies, thanks to services like Netflix. The abundance of essential resources in our everyday lives, such as energy, as mentioned before is also progressing.

The transition from scarcity to abundance is having a very strong impact on the different industries. In fact, most of the traditional organizations that were optimized to sell scarce service and/or products didn’t know how to transform, as is the case of Kodak (whose business model was based on selling rolls of photographs, which was somewhat limited, since each roll allowed us to take a certain number of photographs). And, as a result of this new industrial revolution, companies emerged which disrupted traditional industries, taking advantage of a business model adapted to abundance, as is the case of Instagram (whose business model benefits from an abundance of photographs that are taken and shared on the Internet continuously).

Salim Ismail dedicated several years to analyze why this was happening and what was the new company model that was taking advantage of this environment denominated by exponential technologies. He called this type of company «Exponential Organizations»the same as the title of the book in which he described all the details:

An Exponential Organization (ExO) is one that is capable of connecting with abundance and managing it in such a way that it grows exponentially, just as technology does. But growth is not the only factor to consider. In fact, ExOs are not only those that grow exponentially, but are organizations whose impact can have an exponential scale because they have a very clear definition and also because they are remarkably committed to the Massive Transformative Purpose.

Some examples of these companies are Instagram that, as we mentioned before, connects to an abundance of photographs; Google that connects and manages the abundance of information that we find on the Internet; AirBnB that connects to the abundance of available places to stay and offers them to tourists. All of them have grown exponentially, such as AirBnB, which a few years after its emergence became the largest accommodation company in the world.

When Salim Ismail and his collaborators analyzed the specific elements, which normally characterize Exponential Organizations, they discovered there are eleven characteristics, called ExO Attributes, which are the elements that the Exponential Organization always implement. Some of these ExO Attributes are focused on connecting with the abundance and others are focused on managing it to grow exponentially. All Exponential Organizations do not always implement the eleven attributes, but depending on the company, some will be implemented more than others.

Nevertheless, among all the ExO Attributes there is one specific area that is implemented by this new generation of Exponential Organizations without exception. It’s precisely the Massive Transformative Purpose (MTP), that describes the reason why the organization exists, and how it pretends to positively affect the world.

The purpose places organizations on another level, in many different ways. On the one hand, it is clear that today the greatest business opportunities are those associated with solving the great challenges that humanity faces. Organizations go beyond just economical results, and strive to find a purpose which moves them forward, generating communities around them, ready to help them achieve their purpose. A perfect example of this is TED, an exponential event organization that has mobilized millions of people around the world in just a few years.

The Massive Transformative Purpose is a complement to the vision and mission of the traditional organizations. Exponential Organizations no longer want to define what they want to become in the future (vision) and how they will achieve it (mission), but they also define why they exist in the world (purpose).

Exponential Organizations and those that adopt the ExO Attributes in some way or another are becoming the next generation of companies that are successfully emerging from this Fourth Industrial Revolution and replacing traditional companies.

The First Evolutionary Revolution

The explosion of new exponential technologies has and will have, if possible, an even greater impact on people than it has had and will have on organizations.

As Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler described in their book «Bold», the effect of the technological progress can be encapsulated in the famous 6 D’s, which describe the practical implications of exponential technologies in our real lives: Digitization, Disappointment, Disruption, Demonetization, Dematerialization and Democratization.

The first of these is Digitization, since it is the first thing that happens when applying technology to any domain, and, in fact, today most of the activities done are affected by digitization in some way. Next, there is the phase of Disappointment, not finding the expected results in the short term after the implementation of the technology in a new domain. But, by the principle of exponential evolution, sooner or later everything ends up Disrupting, owing to the eventual success and the change that technology generates in the way things are done in that domain. The next phase is Demonetization, since technology makes everything much cheaper or even free. On the other hand, technology also generates a Dematerialization of objects, simply think about how many devices that were previously physical that are now available on mobile devices (flashlight, calculator, notepad, etc.). Finally, and the most important phase is: Democratization. Since sooner or later the new technological advances end up reaching the whole world, this gives us all the possibilities that were previously unimaginable for a large majority.

Everyone has mobile devices with greater processing power than the largest supercomputer NASA had 50 years ago. In addition, these devices are becoming more intelligent and help with day-to-day decisions or complex decisions. In a few years, 3D printers will be available in the home and will possess the capabilities of printing different types of objects or, simply, used to educate children in the design and manufacture of different elements. And of course, very soon there will be a cure to all complex diseases through the power of genetic editing. This will see the beginning of the improvement of the human species. Stop to think about it for a moment; the evolution of the human species is no longer governed solely by natural selection, nor by the trial and error of genetic mutations in nature, just as animal species have evolved to this day. Human beings are now complementing their functions and abilities with technology; for centuries, improving with the use of natural skin for clothes, moving faster with different types of vehicles, etc. The speed with which these new types of technologies are being adapted is accelerating rapidly. There will soon be an increase in our intelligence with the use of Artificial Intelligence. In fact, this is already being done naturally with the use of a mobile device when searching for information or, simply, when doing a complex operation using the calculator. Editing DNA will shortly be a possibility for everyone.

What is happening?

What’s really happening is the First Evolutionary Revolution, since it is the first revolution that not only affects companies and industries, but has a direct impact on all of us: all of humanity. The question now is… What should be done to properly navigate this revolution?

As demonstrated before, at different historical stages, human beings have managed to survive or succeed as a result of a number of different factors. And therefore, in this new stage which is dominated by technology and characterized by the integration of new exponential technologies in life and species, the success factor will be different from the previous ones. At this time, physical strength is no longer relevant (since we live in a civilized world in which violence does not dominate our day-to-day life and hunting is not necessary to obtain food), nor is the social position in which a person is born (since we have social structures that meet the most basic needs). And soon even intelligence will not be so relevant (since we will all have access to Artificial Intelligence systems that can extend our own intelligence).

The Maslow Pyramid will be used as a reference in order to understand what will differentiate successful and happy people from others. In a world in which the most basic needs within the model are covered (and even the intermediate ones), it is precisely the purpose that differentiates the individual who lives a meaningful life from the individuals who don’t.

Nowadays, people who have their needs covered (and occasionally those who don’t) and do not have a clear purpose in life, often feel empty and lost. As Marcus Aurelius expressed centuries ago: «A person who does not know what their purpose is in life, does not know who they are or what the universe is».

However, when a person is aware of their purpose in life, beyond their work (although sometimes it coincides), what we observe is a passionate person, a person with an energy and vitality that enables them to develop to a higher level than others. The new generation of leaders and youth are deeply marked by this trend; they are people with a clear purpose and strong determination to make something happen, even generating some controversy. A clear example is Elon Musk (CEO of Tesla) who, beyond the economic objectives of his company, has the clear purpose of taking humanity to the next level, developing new models that allow us to have free and available energy. Or developing a new technology that not only allows us to reach new planets (like Mars), but also allows us to transport ourselves much faster and more efficiently.

Another example that has inspired me is the American teengaer, Jack Andraka, who, at only 14 years old, found a new diagnostic method for pancreatic cancer, significantly improving the previous methods. All of this was accomplished by the investigations he did through the information he found on Google.

Also worth mentioning is the case of Greta Thunberg, who has a clear purpose of saving the planet and is dedicating her life to this cause, with numerous appearances in the press and on television despite having an autism spectrum disorder.

This new generation of leaders is not new; people with a clear purpose have always existed. One of the common elements of people with a purpose is that they often develop skills aimed at achieving their goals. Purpose-oriented people will always have a competitive advantage over those who are motivated by an imposed obligation, by economic reasons, and by external impositions against something that comes from within, the purpose.

And, finally, what is clear in this First Evolutionary Revolution is that the new evolutionary criterion, which will differentiate successful individuals from those that are not, is the purpose. Not even intelligence is going to be such a determining component, since technology will be readily available and will increase and improve everyone’s ability to make decisions. Therefore in order to have a successful career or a full life, it is now imperative to find what gives meaning to your existence and the reasons why you are in this universe.

Then, if the purpose in life is still not still not clear, the next question to answer is… How do I find my purpose?

Connecting with your inner child

Some children and teenagers have a very clear purpose in their lives and there is no doubt that they were born to achieve these goals. However, there are still a large number, who are not so clear about their purpose in life, the legacy they want to leave behind, and how they would like to transcend. At some point in our lives we all knew what we wanted to become, the problem is that we have forgotten.

The educational system trains us to be productive machines. Since childhood, we are trained to have a profession, to earn money, to earn a living. Dreaming is only optional. We are surrounded by people who look out for our safety and advise us not to take risks, advise us to find stability and to follow a predetermined path because in most cases it «works.” Steering away from that path is deemed as too risky.

We live in a society that defines what is right and wrong. Where we are made to feel different, penalized and guilty if we don’t follow the established rules. However, every one of us is different; we have a different set of skills and interests. The problem is that over time, our education, our social environment and our culture hide our true selves, and our true identity. This causes us to end up living the life that is expected of us, but not the life that each one of us is supposed to live. In the end, we forget who we are and end up sleepwalking through life.

To find our purpose in life, it’s essential to first wake up, reconnect with our inner self and feel that the universe has put each and everyone one of us here for a reason.

If you ask a child what they want to be when they grow up, they will not hesitate for a moment to answer. Millions of ideas, illusions, and dreams will flood their head, and they might have a concrete answer or bombard you with numerous possibilities; all of them wrapped in a world of illusion.