So it was late in the evening here at Eben Pagan’s Advanced Learning & Teaching Program and my brain was on shut down. He surprised us by inviting a friend of his on stage, Nathan Otto. This young man is the grandson of Bill and Vieve Gore, the founders of W. L. Gore & Associates, a $3 billion family-owned company. After creating and selling two internet-based companies, Otto founded the business consultancy Plenable Solutions and teaches inheritors about how to align their contributions with their core values.
Bright young intellectual, as he was introduced as one of the smartest people Eben knows! Frankly, Eben is one of the smartest people I know so this guy is REALLY smart…
Nathan Otto got my full attention and my brain stood to alert when he talked about his book, “Give Peace A Deadline – What Ordinary People Can Do To Cause World Peace In Five Years” Turns out that he and his co-author Amber Lupton are on a mission to attain World Peace in 5 years.
Now what blew me away is that they got this idea in February of 2008 and it’s now December 2008 and here is some of what they have accomplished in 10 months…Book Done, Film in the works, Speech given to 40 Former Heads of State in Prague, Endorsements by the Dalai Lama and FW Deklerk, former President of South Africa. This and more done in 10 Months.
So of course the natural thing to think is “well, he is rich and well connected, of course he can do THAT”. However, when he got on stage, the 1st thing he discussed with Eben was “Highest First”…which means…
if you are going to eat the best food: eat organic
if you are going to exercise….do the most effective exercise
if you are going to solicit a corporation…go to the CEO or the Top People in the Corporation
if you want to do something with our Govt…go to the President
if you want to learn something…learn from the best experts in the field
Bottomline, always go to the top, the highest, the best….FIRST!
Then it hit me that all he did was have a Clear Vision, Think Big, Place No Limits on himself and got to the Highest People First…and Fast! As Eben said: “Clear Visions Create Causes”
If you are clear on your vision, for whatever endeavors you have, you can make things happen. We simply have to Think Big, Be Bold, Be Confident, and Place no Limits on ourselves. In addition, having the Confidence to go directly to top decisions-makers and influencers is key.
THAT is all that Nathan Otto did…he connected with the top experts on PEACE in the world and they are now planning a Conference on Peace in Kenya in April 2009 and working towards a GLOBAL Peace Treaty…which currently does not exist….WOW!
I realized the power of having a clear vision and then really putting your cause into action, with speed. Everyone can do this! We must consciously STOP putting limitations on ourselves and making excuses. “Think Big” as Donald Trump says! You or I could have taken the same actions as Nathan Otto since February 2008 if we had the same Belief in “Highest First” & World Peace in 5 years!
Once I REALLY GOT this AH-HAH of “Highest First” my BIG VISION for my business and personal goals got a shorter deadline, has no boundaries or limitations, and most of all, I now know that I can draft anyone I chose to for my cause. Stay tuned!
