Today is Tylene’s birthday! :-)
And because we’ve got special plans to celebrate as a family – and because it’s Black Friday Weekend, I’ve decided to send today’s issue a day early.
(I’ve also decided to do something a bit different in today’s issue. More on that in just a moment…)
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Now, if you remember from last week’s issue [Issue #075], we talked about the idea of How to Craft Your Worldview with AI – and why having a comprehensive worldview is so important.
(“Heady stuff!”, as one reader put it to me…)
At the end of last week’s issue, I invited you to share at least one principle that’s deeply shaped how you’re seeing the world.
I received dozens of submissions.
(Thank you, BTW.)
In fact, the response blew me away.
And so, I thought in today’s issue, with everything going on during this Special Birthday / Black Friday Weekend…
I’d share a few of the many diverse submissions that really caught my attention – and after reflecting on these myself – ones I thought you might consider reflecting upon as well…
Ask yourself:
Where do you agree? Where do you disagree?
Remember:
“Deep Convictions, Loosely Held.”
And BTW – If you wrote to me this past week and don’t see your response included below, please don’t be disappointed. There were far too many excellent submissions for me to include all in one place and stay within my word count for this issue.
Thank you for your submission, even if it’s not included below :-)
Okay, without further ado, here are a few of the incredibly diverse submissions I received potentially worth reflecting on here today…
#1 : From Brad Did
The principle that keeps kicking my worldview?
“My body tells me when I’m lying before my brain admits it.”
What shaped this thinking?
Chest gets tight. Shoulder blades lock. That’s the actual data point… means I’m performing for acceptance instead of acting from what’s real.
#2 : From Kirt Varner
One principle that’s shaped my worldview?
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
What shaped this thinking?
Reading Aaron Ross Sorkin’s 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History – and How It Shattered a Nation* and seeing far too many parallels in the general thinking about current events.
*Note: Named a BEST BOOK OF 2025 by TIME, The Economist, and Bloomberg, and currently on my (ever-growing) reading list.
#3 : From Kristen Carter
Here goes: My current world view:
“People (humans) are neither all good or all evil. We all have the capacity to be both, sometimes at the same time! We all need to be on the lookout for evil when we see it, be discriminating, and keep it from infecting our lives.”
What shaped this thinking?
This view came from long ago, when my grandmother was always railing: “Are humans inherently good or inherently evil?” Since then I have read SO MUCH, including Harari, and many others, including anthropological psychologists, about the nature of humans.
BUT, one thing lately has brought it all together for me.
I went to hear Pete Buttegieg speak and one point he made was that people all want to feel like they BELONG. I think he (and others) have hit on something very basic that drives human decisions, both globally and individually.
BTW, is that not what ASK is all about? Making people feel heard and counted?”
#4 : From Andrew Skinner
One of the principles that shapes my worldview?
“Most people (99%+) are kind-hearted, curious, and helpful when encountering strangers on a one-on-one basis. They take people as they find them and treat them charitably.”
What shaped this thinking?
This view has been shaped by years of world travel, normally for business and normally solo. In these situations, I found myself often in need of assistance from people who don’t share my culture or language. All the hate and fear in the world comes from our ability to create “us” and “them”.
#5 : From Randel Porter
One principle that’s shaped my worldview?
“In this universe, nothing happens at random. Everything is cause and effect. If something happened – anything! – it is only because something caused it. When we do use the word “random,” it is simply because we haven’t figured out the pattern (or source) yet.”
What shaped this thinking?
“I learned this initially from physics but it came alive and gained magnanimous importance from numerous deep conversations with a nuclear physicist friend of mine, who happened to be the first person to make a stable alloy out of 5 metals.
This is valuable, as it focuses our curiosity on locating the source of any movement, change, or thought.”
#6 : From Damien Bohler
One principle shaping my worldview?
“I believe that the next iteration of humanity will be tribe 2,0.
As the world becomes increasingly complex, to go beyond just surviving into thriving will require an interconnected resource sharing collective of humans.
I think that within these groups there will be a vertical economy (we all provide and contribute generously to the organism of “us” and in turn it takes care of us as an individual) vs. horizontal economies (transacting between individuals).”
What shaped this thinking?
“I’ve developed this idea from Clare Graves / Don Beck Spiral Dynamics and the ‘turquoise’ stage of development and Ken Wilber‘s Integral Theory particularly the whole/part nature of holons.”
#7 : From Jane Olander
“As always, I’m deeply inspired by your newsletter. Provoked. Frustrated. Uplifted, that you have the ears of the wealthiest. The fact that they invited you, gives me tremendous hope – that they listen and give you a standing ovation.”
My current Worldview?
“A new balance – always darkest right before dawn.
I believe the world as we see it, is at the end of a long, tedious, repetitive cycle: The fight for territory, power and wealth at the expense of the common good – clean air, water and soil – healthy food – peace and safety in our communities and our countries – sharing the resources the planet we inhabit provides. It’s like mankind is still operating from a principle that ‘there is not enough’ and ‘therefore we must conquer more’.
Which means the world is right now spending even more on weapons and armies. The need to protect ourselves from man-made destruction has not yet ceased.
We need a new balance in a world that has become increasingly distorted, detached and dark.
We need a new vision – yes, a Return to Real.
With optimism, I see thought leaders like you, change makers, people who are not only in it for themselves.”
What is shaping this thinking?
“I see European leaders stepping up, uniting. I see Jacinda Ardern, Reese Witherspoon and many others, presenting the world with a new storytelling about women, a different kind of power. Not women who act and think and talk like men. It’s not that they are presenting ‘the perfect solution’ or have it all together – they just dare to speak up, believe differently.
I see AI as a ground breaking agent – but also that intuition, the ultimate intelligence, continues to be infinitely greater. My thoughts on AI is still that it’s based on the intelligence that has been accumulated until now. I too am convinced that we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg of its possibilities.
But is it genius? Wise? Healing? Built on a foundation of equally informed feminine/masculine input – and thus output? I don’t know enough about AI to answer this. All I know is that most of nature needs both the female and the male aspect to become, to grow, to multiply. To balance perfectly.”
Thank you for once again setting my soul on fire.
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Okay. I’ll leave you with that for today.
I hope you feel ignited to be the change you want to see in the world.
Have a great rest of your weekend…
Remember to hug the ones you love…
And until next week,
Ryan :-)
