Leslie Miller Personal Manifesto for Creativity, Innovation & Growth (A work in progress …)

By Leslie Miller
Nonprofit Studies Program, Rhode Island College
Providence, Rhode Island

I am inspired by the values presented in our discussions with Steve Dahlberg and through his Web site and resources shared with our class this week. I am not surprised that more government entities in Europe have been open to experiment with some of these principles than has happened here in the United States, but I believe we must start somewhere. I believe that change and growth begin with one person at a time. I have come to accept that progress is slow in our complex democracy. Instead of simply wishing that our state and local communities were governed on the guiding principle of human well-being, I am willing to accept responsibility to live in harmony with the principles I have learned thus far and to continue learning and being open to allow these values of creativity to sculpt my life. In fact, I have found that these concepts ring true with what I have learned as a 50-year-old woman who has returned to college and has experienced a renewed awareness of the person I was meant to be. I am excited to have learned better language this week to articulate these values I have been discovering in recent years. It is my hope that by living by the following values and principles of creativity, innovation and growth, that my life may attract others to join this movement to divert our global insanity of doing things the same old way and complaining that nothing has changed for the better.

1. I will follow the sentiments of the doctors’ Hippocratic Oath, to “do no harm” in all my dealings.
2. I will respect the culture and traditions that came and worked before me. I will strive to build up and not tear down others.
3. I will become a student of these values of creativity, and will take note of others’ and my successes, and will share about them with others.
4. I will continue to do what I love and will keep building a “web of relationships and interests.” I will introduce people and ideas from one endeavor I love to those from another, and allow the elements of one to pollinate and take root in the other. I will not try to control or manipulate outcomes, but will trust my instincts and those of my companions and learn and celebrate what grows out of such collaborations. I will not judge as good or bad such outcomes and will report these outcomes when I share with others.
5. I will embrace diversity and make it a point to meet new people as I go about living my life and will strive to forge new relationships and partnerships. I will welcome new people into my life and will nurture these new relationships.
6. I will focus on being authentic and fair in my dealings with others, and will strive to stay open to new ideas and ways of doing things.
7. I will put more emphasis on the well-being of others and myself, than on making money. I will trust that by continuing to embrace these principles and values of creativity, I will have what I need and extra to share with others.
8. I will continue to use and learn the language of creativity, and will live in harmony with its values that I now am and will continue to become aware of.
9. I will watch for and make opportunities to influence others in my scope of activity, doing my best to introduce these values whether through my music and writing; or, in my professional, community, and personal dealings.