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In This Issue
Welcome to the FLOW Newsletter
Welcome to the First Edition of the official FLOW Newsletter!
Thank you all for your support that has given FLOW auspicious
beginnings, a limitless vision and realistic promise! We are excited
to bring you the first of many updates on our journey to peace,
prosperity, happiness and sustainability!
The FLOW newsletter is our monthly forum to share with you the
latest updates on FLOW activities, events, member discussion and
world news. It is written with a global perspective guided by
your voices and needs.
We welcome your participation in the newsletter and invite your
contributions and feedback for future editions. Please send your
thoughts to feedback@flowidealism.org or to any member of the
FLOW executive team. Our online newsletter and forums will enable
truly dynamic discussion and powerful access to resources, tools
and people to support you on your unique FLOW journeys.
Special thanks to FLOW designer and member, Tim Munson of SugaiMunson
Communications, for his world-class design of the FLOW corporate
identity.
A Message from the CEO
Dear FLOW members,
Thank you for your interest, support, and patience. FLOW is an
extraordinary ambitious project.
From time to time I am overwhelmed by our ambitions. Then I remember
the horrible human costs of life without FLOW and the wonderful
potential for humanity that is within our reach if FLOW succeeds.
Your early confidence in this extraordinary project is deeply
appreciated.
FLOW faces the challenging task of articulating an effective
means of creating peace, prosperity, happiness, and sustainability
in the next fifty years and, perhaps even more challenging, of
gathering the collective support of thousands of opinion leaders,
on campuses, in communities, at schools, in businesses, and in
the media, needed to disseminate this message to millions of followers
who trust and depend on these leaders.
We hope and trust that you will take a leadership position in
this effort.
FLOW has been exceedingly busy in the background. We have been
positioning ourselves vis-à-vis other movements and developing
the organizational infrastructure needed to lead a community of
(potentially) millions of participants around the world. The GetActive
software through which you are receiving this newsletter is one
such instance of our organizational infrastructure. We will introduce
more elements later.
FLOW has benefited from the design skills of Tim Munson, whose
graphic handiwork you see here. We have also benefited from the
organizational start-up skills of David Caswell, who created our
initial operations plan and developed the organizational infrastructure
necessary to operate. David is continuing with FLOW as Chief Miscellany
Officer in recognition of his special desire to create new initiatives
within FLOW and his tremendous talent. Michelle Janette Gulman
has just joined FLOW as Executive Director. Future editions of
the newsletter will provide detail on the background of key personnel,
including David and Michelle.
For the time being, we will continue our Yahoo! group for those
of you who are interested in discussing ideas. In a few months
we will move our discussions to discussion boards on our websites.
We will have discussion areas that are more focused on those who
are primarily interested in working on entrepreneurial solutions
to problems. Eventually we will add our “Open Source Business
Plan for Making the World a Better Place,” which will integrate
intellectual, entrepreneurial, and activist efforts into one integrated
whole. Our intention is to serve as the clearinghouse for an effective
global effort that will finally provide realistic solutions to
our most pressing global problems.
Please be thinking of individuals who may be interested in FLOW.
Now that we have launched our official website, we would like
for you to send the URL to as many people as possible. If there
is anything about our website that does not seem suitable to a
broad audience, please let us know. We don’t expect everyone to
agree with us immediately, but we do want to be interesting and
valuable to a diverse audience.
Thanks again for working with us.
May your work be a joy and may your joy be productive of well-being
for you and for humanity,
Michael
CEO -
FLOW, Inc.
FLOW Website Launch
Please join us in celebrating the official FLOW website launch
at www.flowidealism.org and www.flowrealism.org!
These two foyers to the site celebrate the duality of FLOW, that
is at once an idealistic and a realistic vision, with a common
people, framework and movement supporting what is ultimately a
single FLOW vision for the world.
This first version of the site includes FLOW corporate and movement
information, articlesl, features, blogs, FAQs, and other content
features.
We are concurrently developing a world-class online forum for
our members to interact with one another, build communities, share
ideas, discuss world events, collaborate on entrepreneurial ventures
and enjoy many other exciting member services. These services
will be available on the website to our members within the next
couple months.
Please explore the website, share with others, and offer us your
thoughts and feedback so we can continue to evolve FLOW to meet
your needs.
Duke Conference Update
FLOW and the Institute for Humane Studies are jointly hosting
their first college conference at Duke University on Saturday
October 1st.
Our collegiate activities culminating in this conference mark
the beginning of our official presence on college campuses, which
we anticipate will be one of the most fastest-growing incubators
of the FLOW movement.
The Duke conference will be quickly followed by college events
and student-run clubs on campuses nation-wide, as we continue
our FLOW college campaigns.
We have an exciting lineup of speakers for our first conference
conference, including:
- John Mackey, FLOW co-founder and co-founder of Whole Foods
- Michael Strong, FLOW co-founder and pioneer in education,
free thought and economic theory
- Cesar Nerys, co-author of The Open World Cookbook
- Vic Sarjoo, Chairman & CEO of the Radical Funds
- And more!
Learn more about The Institute for Humane Studies, our co-host
for the Duke conference. Our thanks to Wendy Purnell for her active
support and leadership in this exciting venture.
We are partnering with OpenWorld to bring scholarships to HorizonLanka
from the ticket sales at the Duke conference. Our ticket sales
from this conference will be responsible for funding many student
scholarships at this fine institution. Thanks to FLOW member and
co-author of the Open World Cookbook Mark Frazier for making this
opportunity possible.
One Voice: FLOW Mytho-Poetic
On Friday, June 10th, ten FLOW members
gathered at Marrakesh Restaurant in Washington, DC to explore
the mytho-poetic nature of FLOW. Participants were Michael Strong,
Chad Thevenot, Satera Thevenot, Clark Durant & Megan, Charles
Frohman, Michelle Janette Gulman, Michael Margolis, Jamie Wheal
and Julie Wheal.
The discussion was facilitated by Thirsty Fish Marketing President
Michael Margolis who provided this poetic report of our discussion,
and his interpretation of the FLOW mission:
FLOW MYTHO-POETIC
By Michael Margolis
FLOW is a nonprofit organization that promotes creative freedom
through the life-affirming power of entrepreneurship.
Change Happens For a Reason
Every true entrepreneur is inspired by change and the desire
to make the world a better place. John Mackey and Michael Strong
are two individuals cut from this cloth. Forged by common beliefs
and experiences, they have joined forces to launch FLOW.
John Mackey has a passion for healthy food. That passion led
him to create a small health food store, which eventually led
to the creation of Whole Foods Market as a growing enterprise,
now a company that is consistently rated as one of the top places
to work as it enters the Fortune 500 as one of the fastest growing
grocery chains in the U.S.
Michael Strong has a passion for learning. That passion led him
to create schools in which students also learned to love learning
while demonstrating world-class academic performance. Michael
wrote a book on his Socratic pedagogy and now consults for public,
charter, and private schools interested in Socratic and Montessori
educational methods.
FLOW’s collective vision sits at the convergence of two complimentary
value systems - where free markets and social well-being co-exist
in harmony. This integrative world-view is one that FLOW’s founders
believe is growing in demand, especially with visionary young
people around the planet. FLOW was created in response to this
unmet demand - the desire of passionate creative entrepreneurs,
ages eighteen to thirty-five, who are eager to build a more sustainable
and prosperous world.
Providing Meaning and Direction
Aspiring entrepreneurs need help transitioning from the idealistic
world of education into the pragmatic world of work. At present,
few institutions or rites of passage effectively guide our young
generations in building and shaping a meaningful life.
“The chances of today's college kids working in the same jobs
for the same companies for their whole careers are about zero.
In such an age, the greatest survival skill you can have is the
ability to learn how to learn. The best way to learn how to learn
is to love to learn, and the best way to love to learn is to have
great teachers who inspire.” – Thomas Friedman
FLOW’s purpose is to inspire idealistic individuals with pragmatic
tools for action. Our hope is to preserve the passion and determination
of youth while channeling these energies into creative and productive
pursuits. For many today, a growing tension exists between the
dominance of market forces and the growing desires for a sustainable
life. FLOW was created to help people reconcile these seemingly
competing trends. FLOW is eager to shape the new economic, social,
and political narratives for this emerging global reality.
Catalyzing a New Generation of Market-based Idealists
Great power lies in activating the latent creative and entrepreneurial
potential of young visionaries today. FLOW is poised to provide
a forum for the personal and professional identity-formation of
these up-and-coming leaders of tomorrow. By offering young professionals
an experiential base for entrepreneurship, they will become more
deeply engaged in society’s evolution. Such experiences can spark
curiosity regarding the root causes of global issues and the impact
of established norms and public policies. Ultimately, we believe
FLOW can infuse a new level of social and political consciousness
into the entrepreneurs of the future.
The FLOW Approach
FLOW will become a convergence point for a new network and generation
of market-oriented visionaries. FLOW’s strategy is to create new
opportunities for such aspiring change agents – providing guidance,
resources, and a community of collaboration in order to guide
them on their developmental path.
We believe in the creative possibilities of the market for reaching
one’s potential. Our goal is to bring our unique vision to life
by sharing real-life entrepreneurial models for how young people
can embrace (1) free markets and (2) social well-being. In addition,
we believe that a focus on entrepreneurship can catalyze the emergence
of a new story narrative and set of principles for experiencing
the fullness of life.
Our hope is that a new culture of identity emerges.
Phase One Programs:
- An online community with compelling content and social
networking tools
- College campus conferences and training programs
- Venture funding competitions to seed and support entrepreneurs
- Strategic partnership with micro-enterprise programs
around the world
A strong Internet presence will allow FLOW to initially engage
with its constituency via the arena they frequent most: cyberspace.
FLOW’s interactive web site will include published articles, blogs,
a member directory, case studies, and other social networking
tools to support the emerging dialogue. The objectives of the
web site include:
- Create a gathering place to facilitate relationships and
the exchange of ideas
- Profile and promote “up and coming” entrepreneurial strategies
- Publish content that points to new approaches, ideas, and
frameworks
- Bridge combative value-systems and worldviews into an integrative
discourse
Ensuring a Sustainable and Prosperous World
Imagine a newly organized generation and network of active, engaged
citizens who are using the market to support widespread human
flourishing while at the same time leading a full, rich, self-directed,
and fulfilling life. Such is the vision of FLOW: A peaceful, prosperous,
and sustainable future in which all people live rich and meaningful
lives.
Your Voice: We're Listening
FLOW is above all a forum of free exchange for its members in
the quest for peace, prosperity, happiness and sustainability.
We welcome your feedback to the content of this newsletter and
all FLOW activities and events. Please send your thoughts to feedback@flowidealism.org.
Thank you for sharing, and have a peaceful, prosperous, happy
and sustaining day!
The FLOW Executive Team |
