April 6, 1919 India Came to a Stand-still

On April 6th, 1919, Gandhi's influence witnessed a country of 350 million people, without the benefit of internet communications act in a unified and peaceful way that saw India stand still. Given the nature of the governance in that time, it was called A Day of Prayer and Fasting. This was part of Gandhi's peaceful resistance movement to regain rightful ownership of India back to the Indian people.

Many others have been inspired by Gandhi, one of whom was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who is remembered today as well.

On another personal blog, as a result of blog-surfing, media reports, and the many travesties we've become familiar with around corporate abuses, political abuses, poor leadership, custodianship, and stewardship, I posted an entry suggesting a world-wide general strike. I'm not sure how serious I was about it when I initially posted it. It was sudden, half-baked, and without a clear agenda for any immediate action by any particular individual or party. Intriguingly, it has garnered considerable attention and support as people that are aware do see the value in awakening their fellow man.

As I spoke to a local friend of mine tonight, he made it perfectly clear to me that a focus seemed to be missing. I suppose that has something to do with the subversive nature of how I teach. I'm only just seeing this as I write and recall other previous conversations around my intent and desire to change the world. You see, while leaders do need to change, they are not the ones who will make any lasting impact. It is you and I - the people.

Were there to be a Worldwide General Strike, people everywhere would begin to recognize the power we have when we act in a unified and peaceful way to let our leaders know when they're doing a good job, and when they're not doing a good job. As I said, I've watched blog after blog, with all their complaints, and see little action. In conversations within my own personal blogging community, it has been expressed that many feel overwhelmed and powerless to bring about any lasting or meaningful change.

This is because we act only in small splinter groups, and depending upon our current state of affairs. We have been so complacent as people in a society that has grown fat and lazy, being spoon-fed politics by the media, spoiled by materialistic desires and entertainment, and find ourselves puzzled by the dullness we experience. Broad-brush, I know, but even I, without a TV, do feel this influence on many levels - in the supermarket, within business culture, having a conversation at the coffee shop. It has become so pervasive, we don't even realize that the wool is being pulled over our eyes.

We all want the same thing: Love, Life, and Happiness.

How that will look for each person will be different and so will our preference for our livelihood. In order to have the best opportunity to achieve these things, we need three main things from leaders in society, and leaders in business:

• Better Leadership: understand that a leader is a servant to ALL equally.
• Better Stewardship: manage and care for the resources of finance and people with greater responsibility and fairness for ALL equally.
• Better Custodianship: clean up our act so that our planet's health, our health, and our future generation's health will stand a chance.

So, were there to be a successful Worldwide General Strike, as proposed for January 31st, 2007, the message to these leaders would be that this is what you want. However, this is not the main purpose of the general strike either.

People, you need to also wake up and become more aware of your choices. You need to become more conscious about the power you have individually and collectively. You need to become more responsible for the impact you have for, or against the greater good.

This isn't an initiative to wake up the leaders though, this is a call to wake up the people. You put the leaders there and you're the ones who, even in your complaints, tolerate the status quo: War, Poverty, Homelessness, Pollution, etc. --- and all their accompanying side-effects on environment, social, mental, emotional, and physical health in so many different degrees and ways.

You want to make change happen? Be that change.

I'm a professional coach committed to being change. I start with my heart and I've done a lot of very difficult personal work over the past ten years. I've also encountered a lot of difficult personal, professional, and societal obstacles along the way. It's a nasty minefield for the novice and many give up along the way. I mentor young, middle-age, and older folks too. I invite you to inquire into my coaching and being challenged right down to the core of your heart to grow and challenge your perceptions and beliefs.

We're not looking for overnight change, we know that this will be the same task of patience exercised by farmer's at the beginning of every season.