2 Manifestos Terminate the Past

Here’s the second in a nine part series looking at the Manifesto Manifesto principles with a view to creating your own manifesto.

Manifestos draw a line in the sand. They say ‘this ends here. Now!’ And a new context, a new era and a new beginning starts. Do this effectively and your results will accelerate and your old problems will fade away.

Three questions to ask yourself when you sit down to start writing your manifesto relative to terminating the past…

1 What are you saying ‘no’ to?

Sometimes, what we are saying ‘no’ to is not the real thing we’re saying ‘no’ to. For instance, when we say ‘I’m not going to smoke anymore’, we’re really saying ‘I’m going to stop unhealthy habits’. The more clear we are about our underlying core motivations, the more power in our manifestos – for ourselves and for attracting others.

2 What are you going to stop doing?

Given we all have limited time, attention and resources, when we take on new projects we need to give up or change something that currently exists. For instance, if I’m going to write a book (which I am), then I need to find the time to do this. Will I stop sleeping in, stop watching TV or stop spending time on another project? This applies to our money and other resources too. If I’m going to Paris for a month, it would be useful to save money and I can do that more easily if I stop buying a bottle of wine every night.

3 What is this the end of?

When we say ‘terminate the past’ that’s exactly what we mean. Drawing a line in the sand is a really powerful idea. It’s a chance to stop something once and for all. For example, quitting your job. When one job ends, the opportunity for something else is then created. And, this is the key to a manifesto – you have to end something to create something.

Work through these questions to start writing your manifesto. Share your results and/or ask questions in the comments below.