The Illumify Game Changer

In this episode, Jonathan is prompted to answer the question by listening to his inner wisdom. Within mere seconds, he answers with a powerful declaration of what could be different. The conversation then veers into community, how it’s unified and fragmented, and explores unison and truth. It’s another big conversation. If you listen carefully, you’ll hear Moose, our beloved English corgi, settling into listen at our feet. 00:00 Illuminate Question 5 02:07 “I know that we could live together better. We have to stand on new ground.”07:03 While the vision itself must be entirely new, we need to take from our past what we know to be true.22:30 Ritual gains strength over time.28:00 More than tradition, there’s this wisdom. We know why it matters.33:00 A community is unified through its shared memories of the local football club.37:12 Nottingham City of Rebels: The story of a new vision emerging within the football stadium.50:54 Concept of “necessary fragmentation”54:00 Stumbling through life, we pursue wholeness and integrity and accept and understand our fragmentation.56:00 The idea that we pursue wholeness and integrity57:00 The moment of surrender when we cannot deny the truth that we now see, and realize that we have been going down the wrong path.1:04:00 The necessary intolerance of “Never Again” came after surrender.1:05:00 Unison: how does it fit into your vision?1:08:40 Unison vs harmony, and the time when we need to silence the Parliament of voices and find unity within ourselves1:11:58 “We can live differently together.”1:16:00 “Where we live together as a community, the recognition of our diversity is clearly not enough. Unity is necessary as well.1:19:00 Democracy’s own ambition makes it fragile.1:20:44 European Union is trying to reconcile competing visions and ideas of the good life.1:25:46 What’s on that new ground?1:32:48 “We need unity around Truth. When we are united in a single vision of why truth matters, then we can pursue it in our own way.”1:34:10 Final Answer

This next question proves challenging – so challenging that at one point Jonathan, the master wordsmith, is at a loss for words. And that’s ok because it reveals a lot about why resistance to change can come from deep within ourselves, even when we know something has to change. Fasten your seatbelt for this one as there are a few sharp curves in the road. But we have a few laughs along the way. 01:12                Reference Cards – why do we repeat, particularly words and phrases?07:45                Repeating’s role in changing thought and action11.35                Amplifying12.55                Two levels of “illumifying” –you and your meaningful change15:05                Illuminate Question 616:55                When we want deep, enduring change across a community, it needs to take root everywhere.20:53                An idea, a vision, may need time to reach everybody.24:03                The moment of creation of a vision is much more explosive within the person.25:12                The visionary’s need to be proactive.26:30                A story of resistance to change33:00                What the visionary does34:48                Everywhere all at once?41:20                What do YOU see as the opportunity for meaningful change from the perspective of where you stand?45:55 - 51:00.   Struggles to articulate what the opportunity for meaningful change is54:19                A new understanding of the truth and why it’s so important.56:20                Could it be some aspect of a truth that is currently invisible to them?1:00:25             What if there are certain individuals who have the capacity to help the many?1:06:54             Could you be the visionary shining the light on what needs to change but not the leader igniting it?1:08:15             Definition of “ignite”1:11:50             The risks of creating a vision as a group.1:14:10             Modesty vs superpowers vs gifted1:22:20             How does being lost for words feel?1:25:22             “I’ve never been at peace with my silence.”1:30:00             A story of what emerged while walking his dog1:35:51             The necessity of being heard, and pain of not being listened to1:39:40             Good conversations wake you up.1:41:38             A funny story about death :)1:46:35             “Know thyself” would be my t-shirt: Katherine1:47:37             A story illustrating a “David Lynch moment”1:51:00             The link back to “new ground”.1:55:30             Where we land

This episode begins with Jonathan reflecting on why he hit resistance with the last question, delving into pride, nationalism and the power of emotion to sway. He considers the importance of focused attention and its relationship to meditation. Then he answers the next Illuminate question,  diving deeper into what matters to him: the power of language, finding your true voice, and how humans don’t need AI in order to connect with each other. 01.06                   Reflections on Card 6 02:00                  “Resistance comes from your attachment to your identity. That’s why letting go is so hard.” 04:50                  A lot of this is linked to pride. It’s the death star. 08:22                  As the evidence stacks up that we were wrong, we double down and shout louder. 13:40                  I see more clearly how through our conversation together, we had made our way to a more unified image of what meaningful change is: language and its relationship with truth. 18:16                  European Union as a human experiment in our desire and need to reconcile competing values, competing interests, doesn’t deny our national identities. It holds them together. 20:08                  The slogan “Unity in Diversity” is brilliant, a brilliant attempt to reconcile the irreconcilable. 26:50                  Hammering people with the facts and ignoring the emotion 30:30 – 40:06     Reference Card Reading: focused attention, distraction, getting lost in what matters 40:07                   Illuminate Question 7 41:03                   “I have something to say.” 43:00                  Language’s ability to convey volume, force and fragility 44:50                  Why can it be so debilitating for many to use their voice? 49:13                  Importance of authenticity 52:46                  A story of speaking up 55:56                  “I’ve found the courage to accept that language is what I do.” 1:08:45               “Choosing the word that comes next is one of the most human things we do.” 1:12:13               Through language, we get to dig to get a sense of what it means to be human. 1:15:00               “The truth is in the words” has changed me 1:16:35               We have gone down the wrong path in so many ways 1:22:10               If we communicate through AI, what happens to our trust in language? 1:23:15               We tune out to leaders speaking with banalities and platitudes. 127:33                 Humans don’t need machines to help us connect with each other. 131:33                 Final Answer

This episode goes right to the heart of it, exploring the connection between joy and igniting meaningful change. It’s interesting that Jonathan, a self-described non-believer, is so attuned to the soul. 00.55 Reference Cards: The difference between “I think”, “I believe”, and I know” 05:40 Illuminate Card 811:00 There’s joy in being with the crowd. It’s uplifting.12:35 What does worship mean?15:25 Joy as an outpouring, going over the limits, uncontained16:00 Joy as the fuel of the soul18:40 Digging for dignity, where the human starts, the part that can’t be taken away.20:55 Feeding vs fueling the soul22:55 Is it possible to admire one’s self?25:00 Fully accepting all of one’s self is not easy29:30 Surviving vs. thriving35:00 “Come on then” -- A childhood story never told before40:55 “At some point, fear becomes intolerable.”45:29 Back to worship… A plea or a provocation?50:45 Going to a concert is a conscious desire to go beyond your limits.52:05 “As a non-believer, I am very comfortable saying that worship is healthy and necessary, and fulfilling some deep need that I don’t fully understand.”55:55. “When we’re radiant, I see it as the soul expanding at that moment and filling the person. At that moment, there’s nothing but the soul.”58:20 An anecdote of joy walking1:03:50 Joy is a unique emotion, deeply connected to the soul.1:04:44 Can we ignite meaningful change without tapping into our soul?1:11:50 Going back to the source where we refuel ourselves.1:13:00 What brings you joy? [“A moment of expansion when we become bigger than ourselves.”1:14:47 Lack of joy in state of survival 1:17:00 Final answer [“We just need to be plugged in again.”]

How do you distill your life’s purpose into just 5 words? Even for the wordsmith, this proves challenging. But if you want to spend your life doing what is most meaningful to you, you have to know what that is. As this episode reveals, even when we give ourselves clues, it can still be difficult to piece it all together.  01:05         Illuminate Question 9 10:30          Language and writing has to be a central part of the rest of my life. 15:17          Part of why I’m here is to bring people together. 16:06          Revealing the 5 words 17:48          “We need to turn Europe into a feeling. That’s why it’s at the heart.” 18:54          “If language is the lode star for the rest of my life, that has huge significance.”  21:40          Why could clarity spoil your life? 26:41          If we want to rally people around the vision, that’s through language. 29:20          “New ground is new words put into a particular sequence for the first time.” 31:14          “You build this inner voice within you when you know that something is not true.” 36:50          “You need the unity of purpose, to get things done at some point, and be unified around a vision. But the diversity is important.” 40:52          The metaphor of interplay between a conductor and the music 45:28          Vision begins as an expression of yourself, your truth. 47:55          Creating a sentence 49:23          We need to find a language for people who don’t have a home. 52:29          What is home to you? 56:00          Regenerating a notion of home which can thrive in deeply uncertain times. 1:10:33       Home is the part of the vision 1:17:06       Will that be the defining moment of your life? 1:21:55       A singular purpose or overarching vision? 1:31:00       Can you string those 5 words together? 1:35:00       The headline vs. the conversation 1:47:20       The stadium as a metaphor for illuminating 1:53:33       Final answer?           

This episode begins with Jonathan continuing to explore the meaning of home, all the while holding his ground on how to express his purpose. He then answers the very question that can determine whether or not he even needs to be a leader.   00:58– 1:00:30 Reflection: Jonathan shares his concept of nest, reflects on the state of disrepair inside and out, the need for protection, and the fundamental importance of trust.   1:00:35           Reference card reading 1:02:03           Illuminate Question 10 1:06:55           How we get to the truth matters 1:11:20           Final Answer

Jonathan is about to hit pay dirt after all the digging he’s done to surface the change most meaningful to him. In mere minutes, he expresses what he now sees that could be that doesn’t yet exist. His vision of it becomes even more vivid and compelling as he reflects.   04:15              Final Answer  07:02              The individual’s freedom can not be violated. 10:38              How do we reconcile individual freedom with our need for each other? 11:42              “Unity in diversity is perhaps the most difficult tension to reconcile. But we have to do it. How do we find the unity of purpose to take action together?” 13:15              This vision is the answer to the question, “What does it mean to be human?” 13:58              It’s a vision, and not a list. 15:10              Is it new? 17:40              It goes beyond Europe. 19:35              This vision starts with the idea of a shared home. 19:50              Is there a correlation between the concept of home and freedom? 20:58              Idea of home where you feel safe but not because we’re enclosed inside the walls of the house. 22:10              A bigger vision of home where we live together in a way that corresponds to our human spirit. 24:58              Reconciling our competing interests, duties, tribes and more in tune with our humanity. 26:58              Vision reconciles the fragmentation inside our selves with how we do that outside in our community. 30:35              Language as the life blood of the vision. 30:57              We need to rescue words and restore them to their original sense and value. 32:19              David & Goliath 34:01              The sculpture of David as a political symbol 35:01              My desire to be the underdog 35:07              Childhood memory of deliberately picking a weaker team 36:36              Doesn’t everyone like an underdog? 38:03              The sense that we would make up the difference. 40:37              Maintaining sacred dignity makes one not of the norm.  

Having a vision of change is how leadership begins to emerge. It represents the difference between what is now and what could be. It takes effective leadership to bridge that gap and that can be quite daunting. Could seeing into the future help?   00:58              Illuminate Question 12 02:38              There are people who are swimming against the tide because their inner life is not in tune with the values of society. 05:28              I sense a huge appetite for something different, something better. 06:30              Hope comes first. Regaining it. 08:42              What would it feel like if people could actually breathe life not fear? And be accepted simply for being themselves? 10:00              You’ve brought the vision down from the stratosphere into where we need to be – the ground. 11:25              The power of a vision to unify people 14:28              In its early seconds, a vision has to give hope. 16:24              There has to be evidence that the hope is valid. 17:45              The limits of the language 18:30              How do you convey truth when it may be unrecognizable? 20:22              The limits of hope in politics 22:30              Do you give yourself permission to know what can be? 25:00              “Today we break with the past and stand on new ground.”       28:38              The evidence of what I know to be true. 29:28              Allowing your voice to come through. 30:30              Final Answer.

When you see what could be that isn’t yet, as Jonathan now does, that can be a change in itself. You’re now in a different place, at a fork in the road. Where do you go from here? Do you stay on the path you know, the one that promises more of the same? Even when less than ideal, there may be some comfort in that. Or do you step off that well trodden path into unfamiliar territory, knowing that the path to your vision doesn’t yet exist and will have to be cleared by you? This episode questions whether Jonathan is willing to do what it takes to ignite his meaningful change.   01:25              Illuminate Question 13 02:10              “I’ll work until I’m dead on this.” 05:46              I have a deep desire to save myself.         08:29              Finally becoming intolerant towards yourself so you can save yourself by living your truth. 09:00              How do the people in your life accept this new version of you? 11:54              What I’m beginning to feel is a way of finding rebirth and regeneration. 15:10              On this day, I perhaps lose the fear forever that I’m on the right path. 16:30              This isn’t therapy. It’s the power of conversation. 23:10              Following your path, even when not obvious. 26:30              Examining what it feels like to find your path. 28:31              You know it’s the only thing that counts. 31:25              Have a love affair with your path. 32:50              The elevated state of poise and calm. 36:30              Final answer

In this episode, Jonathan surfaces what is essential to standing on that new ground and breaking with the past. He’s starting to see more of the big picture, and how to express it as a leader. In answering this next Illuminate question, he then reveals that his vision means we look at each other differently as we walk the city streets. REFLECTIONS 01:11              Expands on his vision and where language fits into it. 06:57              Today we break with the past and stand on new ground. 10:25              Expressing leadership. 14:00              What leadership is.                                       18:15              How leaders make powerful declarations.                                   27:29               What makes the new ground fertile are values and beliefs. 32:45              A story of holding to your values. 38:00              The importance of listening and treating others with respect. 42:15              Your responsibility as a leader. 43:50              How does it feel to have surfaced your vision? 49:58              The chord of resonance. Honouring the visionary. The weight of the vision. Acceptance of leadership role allows the vision to expand. The words compose the chords. 52:38              One ask of the visionary: be willing to accept that you know which chord to pluck to reach them. 54:32              The leader as curator making hard choices without hardening. 59:17              Values and inner wisdom. 1:01:50           A story of the curator’s journey. 1:03:40           What it means to “break with the past”. CARD 14 1:04:26           Illuminate Question 14 1:09:13           My vision is of a world where we feel less lonely and less anxious. 1:10:22           Today we leave the path that led us to loneliness and despair. 1:12:20           To feel less lonely is to feel we all belong. We are connected, and begin to see each other again. 1:14:29           We will have a new understanding of how important it is to be with each other. 1:16:58           Looking each other in the eye without the fear. 1:19:28           To move away from fear, we want to move towards trust. 1:23:02           On the street of a city, we flirt through our eyes. 1:24:35           Flirtation and the spark of light as recognition that “I see you.” 1:26:15           Rescuing the word “flirt”. There’s something more at stake: a light heartedness and innocence. 1:28:42           It can only happen in a culture of trust. 1:30:57           Eye contact in light of cross-cultural differences and diversity. 1:34:14           Being seen. 1:37:45           An uplifting story of seeing. 1:39:45           Final answer.  

Jonathan began his Illumify Game Changer experience protesting that he’s not a leader. And yet after a lot of what he calls “digging”, he has illuminated a vision of a change that could be meaningful not just to him but to countless others in Europe and beyond. Challenging the status quo is no small feat though. This final Illuminate question asks if he has what it takes to lead. We’re still in London so you’ll occasionally hear Moose, the iconic English corgi, stepping into the conversation.     01:24          Reference Cards:  A better sense of Illuminate.     09:58          Bringing the vision to light lets go of some anxiety, moving beyond it towards action.     11:53          Becoming whole again having found your truth.     14:22          This is what fills me. You’ve pulled me up. We all need a sense of identity.     17:04          Coming home vs. homecoming.     18:10          Illuminate Question 15     22:02          Some fortitude down there has kept me going.     24:00          How does courage play into respecting your vision?     28:25          Where do you access courage?     36:07          Not doing what you know is true is a form of self-imposed violence.     39:02          Self-acceptance requires courage.     41:08          The truth you’re holding is bigger than you.     42:08          Difference between a change that’s just for you and igniting one that’s in service to the collective good.     46:42          Leadership as a huge commitment.     50:50          Sometimes courage comes from the anger that comes from care.     59:12          Leaders have a distinct voice that can echo.  1:03:29          Relationship between courage and faith. Your faith in your own vision requires courage.  1:07:58          The payoff of courage.  1:10:48          Individual stories of courage.  1:23:28          Courage and leadership.  1:29:44          How to replenish courage.  1:32:58          Recycling strategy of converting courage.  1:35:23          Leader as a transformer.  1:40:32          Final Answer            

This brief minisode from episode 16, The Leader’s Courage, unravels the intricate layers of courage, particularly in the realm of leadership. In this segment from our conversation, Jonathan delves into moving towards a vision to let go of anxiety and embrace action.   Listen to the full episode here: https://www.illumifyinstitute.com/podcast-the-illumify-game-changer/season1-16

Jonathan is at a crossroad in his leader’s journey. He’s completed all of the Illuminate questions and surfaced his vision of meaningful change. In this episode, he reveals how it feels to lose himself before finding his true path. As he embarks into the next phase of his leader’s journey, I explain what it means to “Amplify”, and then ask him what he’s bringing with him of all that he’s illuminated.   01:50              The power of conversation to bring things to the surface. There is a good and necessary confrontation in each question. 06:50              You’ve captured what Illuminate is all about – clarity. 07:29              When it’s just out of reach, you sense the ground falling away and you’re in free fall. For a moment, we lose ourselves. 10:54              “I’m keenly aware that I’ve discovered pathways and chambers that I’ve never been in before.” 12:26              “The conversation is the thing.” 18:05              The paradox that we have to lose ourselves before we can find ourselves. 26:01              A “shared home” is the beginning and the heart of the vision. 29:09              There’s nothing worse than the idea that you reach a moment in your life and you realize you have not lived your life well and it’s too late to change that. What an awful feeling that must be. 31:25              A mother’s anger. 35:13              Knowing your north star can be a powerful compass to the good life. 37:45              The leader arrives in Amplify 38:00              Having found your path, you’re no longer travelling solo. 38:12              What are you bringing with you from Illuminate? 41:14              They need to feel why this is necessary, urgent, why the past was intolerable.         42:29              You yourself are not the vision. You’re the emissary for it.            

Having completed all of the Illuminate questions and surfaced his vision of meaningful change, in this minisode from episode 17 Jonathan reflects candidly on how he has found his path through moments of despair. He shares the mantra that has guided his life so far: “There is no one secret to life here”. Listen to the full episode here: https://www.illumifyinstitute.com/podcast-the-illumify-game-changer/season1-17

Surfacing what matters most to you that doesn’t yet exist takes a lot of self-inquiry. In answering all of the questions so far, Jonathan has delved deep with courage and tenacity. He has a vision, and now has to turn his focus away from himself onto those who can help him realize it. In this episode, he discovers some of what’s involved in leading them. Leadership is not for the faint of heart. So before we move forward into “Amplifying” his vision, he’s asked one more time to reconfirm his commitment to igniting it.   01:05              Introduction to Amplify 04:30              Reference Cards: introducing Enleaven    07:14              “I feel that my own consciousness has expanded into a new space that we’ve created together through the conversation.” 13:07              Michael Angelo’s David and expansion. 15:25              “Even before we get to Amplify, I do have a sense that we have expanded to get to the vision.” 18:25              To rise up, you have to leave behind what’s holding you back. 27:55              From gaining clarity and confidence and expanding yourself, we move now to enabling you to lead the collective that can help you ignite your vision. 47:45              A story about nesting (and pockets). 49:37              The moment we wake up is not as part of the economy but as individuals. 55:22              A shared culture that can produce trust. 1:01:29           On the new ground, the economy can be embedded in the nest of dignity. 1:04:38           Why do we not have truth embedded in our constitutions? Is it too vast? 1:06:45           Amplify Question 16 1:11:35           A sense of purpose and return of confidence go hand-in-hand. 1:17:00           Declarations that change social reality. 1:22:30           The effects of shame and judgment on you. 1:33:58           Is there anything you’re not willing to change about yourself? 1:42:46           Re-examining, and rescuing, the virtue of humility. 1:51:42           Do we need to stay open to challenging even things within the core of truth? 2:01:17           Being open to a replenishing of values. 2:03:32           The vision needs to reflect diversity. 2:05:08           Final answer. 2:17:11           Where integrity fits.  

This minisode from episode 18 is one of our favorite moments from this conversation, as Marianne and Jonathan explore the metaphorical process of digging not just downwards to unearth the truth, but moving forward into new spaces of understanding. Tune in to learn about the growth and expansion of consciousness through the power of words.   Listen to the full episode here: https://www.illumifyinstitute.com/podcast-the-illumify-game-changer/season1-18

We are each on our own journey. We can travel the very same roads and yet see very different things from one another. And even when something draws our attention, we can choose to turn away or not. That’s what makes the leader’s journey different. There’s no turning away. Once you see it, you cannot unsee it if you know that changing it matters. In this episode, Jonathan shares the story of how his vision of meaningful change emerged as he journeyed through life.   01:21              Amplify Question 17 03:02              It’s the life I wanted. 04:22              I wouldn’t have felt this opportunity for change 20 years ago because the world was in a place of deep optimism. 06:20              It’s new ground but not a new planet. 10:50              One of the urges in my vision is to find a way of addressing how we find ourselves fractured across a fractured community. 13:33              The vision of change comes from scanning the landscape with acuity, and feeling it. 19:35              It comes back to my story of what Europe is and can be. 22:30              My vision speaks to the idea that there are people who feel uprooted, disconnected, alienated even within their own home. 25:28              There are people who have not left home but still feel uprooted. 27:42              No human being can get to the perfect definitive truth about themselves because there are mechanisms of denial and delusion within ourselves. But do we want to try? 29:30              A moving story of a film sparking you to say “Enough! This can’t go on.” 33:37              Seeing the false note in the realm of truth enables you to see the patterns. 37:09              When you can’t reform your way out because the soil needs to be changed. 37:55              The power of the storyteller.

Today’s minisode comes from episode 19, where Marianne and Jonathan explore the discovery of the need for significant change. Tune into this clip as we unpack what it means to work from new ground and its role in a vision… and that we don’t need to escape to another planet to stand on it.   Listen to the full episode here: https://www.illumifyinstitute.com/podcast-the-illumify-game-changer/season1-19

There are lots of things in our lives that are important to us. But “important” is all relative. Something can be important to us right now but be easily replaced by something else tomorrow. Our willingness to keep it or protect it when it’s threatened is a measure of its importance to us. And that’s for things that exist already. When you instead have a vision of what doesn’t yet exist, there’s another measure. Why does it matter? And not just to you but to those who could help you realize it. If it doesn’t matter enough to both you and them, a leader has no chance of igniting it. Jonathan’s big vision rests in large part on his answer to this next question.   01:35              Reference Cards: Illumify Definition; Enleaven; Guidelines 03:25              Amplify Question 18 05:56              We have to tell a story of ourselves which is truthful. 09:54              Why does my vision matter? Because, at the heart of it, in what it’s trying to repair. 13:44              1984 and a personal story illustrating the power of mother and memory. 18:22              Why it matters is the loss of dignity in the world where we need to break with the past. 21:50              The loss of dignity both inside and outside the house, and the need to be willing to defend it from those who seek to destroy it. 32:26              Is this leadership that is meaningfully challenging or meaningfully resisting challenges? 37:44              We can build an economy nourished by trust and respect for each other. 41:28              If we sign up to this vision today, it’s important that we declare and celebrate victory as it happens 42:13              How leadership emerges through words and actions. 46:34              Final Answer.

In this brief minisode from Episode 20, Marianne shares how leadership emerges and what makes it credible. And Jonathan speaks to the power of the possible.  Listen to the full episode here: https://www.illumifyinstitute.com/podcast-the-illumify-game-changer/season1-20