The Foundation

According to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, a manifesto may be defined as, “a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer.” So what are my intentions, motives, beliefs, and values? Initially, I thought answering these questions and creating a manifesto would be easy. However, expressing my beliefs and values in a way that was all encompassing, inspiring, and actionable proved to be a tremendous feat. I think that the majority of people believe they are self-aware. Unfortunately, most individuals’ perceptions of themselves are inaccurate. They do not have a concrete understanding of their personalities: beliefs, values, motivations, strengths, and weaknesses. Often, our perceptions of ourselves do not align with the perceptions of others. In creating my personal manifesto, I had a revelation. The way in which I had been living my life did not coincide with the legacy I wanted to leave behind. The manifesto was convicting in a sense. If I was going to publicly declare that these statements were an accurate representation of my life, I needed to live them out.

As a disclaimer, I am a man of faith. Thus, the majority of my manifesto is centered on Christ. If you don’t believe in God or haven’t accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, that’s okay, I still love you (even if you decide to unfollow me because you think I’m some sort of Jesus freak).

Pretty awesome, right?! I still get chills every time I read it; my beliefs, values, and motivations out there in plain sight for the world to see (and for some to judge, but it’s all good). Now that the “foundation” had been laid, it was time to start building.