Turnings

So I am returning to the original purpose of this blog and hopefully, between Mommy-ing, studying, cleaning, exercising, talking and all the other -ings I do from day to day, I can make it a priority to write about the books I'm reading and the insights I'm gaining.

I recently attended a TJED forum in SLC that was awesome. I wanted to share from my favorite speech --

Dr. Demille's
Rules of Success for the Next 20-25 years

His speech drew heavily from the philosophies of the book "The fourth Turning." If you've got a few days, read it, if only a few minutes, go to B&N, paruse the first 2 chapters and the last 3 chapters and you'll get 80% of the message. They hold that history goes in cycles about the length of one lifetime...80-100 years. They've broken this 100 year circle into 4...like a pie, and called each piece a turning. I say a pie, but a box might be a better visual, because at each shift, society completely changes direction.

The first turning is called "the Founding" phase. - This phase is when a people are just coming out of a crisis. (The last founding was after WW2) Structures are put into place to prevent what just happened-so if a good founding, all organizations improve. (If it's a bad founding, bad forms are put into place in government, family, business etc.) The people are usually humble, industrious, frugal, all those great attributes that get beefed up during trials, thus (in a good founding) they experience a high--happy days, good family life etc.

The Second Turning is called "The Awakening Phase". This phase is where the next generation, you know the one's that didn't go through the crisis, come of age and look at present structures and challenge them. The last one we had was the hippie movement in the 70's. It's when basic values are questioned and there is a shift.

The Third Turning is called "The Unraveling Phase". Our last one would have been through the 80s and 90s. This is when the forms that were instituted during the founding start to unravel because of the awakening.

The Fourth Turning is called "The Crisis Phase." This is the phase that Dr. DeMille talked about and the one that I am currently most interested in, because afterall, if you have an idea about the future, aren't you more likely to succeed in it?

In his studies of history, he has found that within the crisis phase there are usually 3 crisis.

1- The wake up Crisis

2- Economic Crisis

3- The Real Crisis - usually war on a major scale or a pandemic - sometimes together.

Of course this is followed up by another founding and the cycle repeats itself. Crisis are times that you can affect the change you desire in huge ways. The exciting thing is that if these cycles hold true, (you can trace them back for 3500 years), the next 20 years may be the greatest chance to to good for the last 100, possibly 500 years.

I think many of my generation feel this potential strongly, and have felt it from a young age. Almost like they were born for a time such as this... but back to the speech.

The great challenge of these cycles is that especially those people over 30 years old, tend to live by the rules of the last phase...and why shouldn't they...this is what we have known and experienced. The brain has an incredible ability to create multiple realities, but if all the reality we know is our current era, our brain has not created many other scenerios on which to draw. (Thus the inestimable value of history, from original sources of course.:) But, back to the speech.

We tend to live by the rules of the last phase, because that is the only definition of what normal is. Our nature tends to want to live in the past. However, in his opinion, those who will thrive in the next phase will approach it differently. (For many of the rules change and change fast...as we see daily in the news).

So the mini formula:

1-Assess new environment

2-Adapt effectively

3 - Lead out with the new reality.

It's what successful business men do all the time.


How to succeed in the Fourth Turning: He gleaned these rules from a man named C.E. Sargent- who wrote his book "Our Home" during the beginning of a founding. He'd just lived through a crisis.

4th turning - Community and Home - Built around connections and relationships. Your 12 nearest neighbors- build friendships and community with them now. Thrive with family and community.

The following would be the way to success in the other turnings...just FYI. I thought it was interesting.
1st turning - Home and entrepeneurship

2nd turning - Get a career with a big institution and stay there your working life

3rd turning - Get whatever career you can and have fun in the evenings and weekends...have some extra money and enjoy.

Failure - would be to live in the last cycle, Succeed by living in present cycle with an eye to the coming cycle.


14 Points of Success in 4th and 1st turnings...

1-Embrace the now and the new -
This is not a financial crisis right now---It's the new economy and those that adjust quickly will be the most successful. Forget the third phase goals and get excited about new opportunities. Let go of the money you lost, the bad things that have happened and look to creating something beautiful from those lessons.

2- Evenings and Sundays with Family - Strengthen and Build family relationships. (Have things that you enjoy doing together that don't require much... board games, singing and playing the piano, reading, art, etc. Decrease entertainment and increase leisure- in the classical sense.

3- Self-Culture VS. Pop Culture
Pop - Culture was when we spent alot of time and effort "fitting-in". Self- Culture is about realizing that there is a "self" in there! Burn the list of things that you did to impress others. Make a list of things that you wanted to do, be, pursue and then spend time doing those things. Cultivating the self - investing in what you know and improving abilities. In fourth turnings, it's more about what you are, then what you appear to be, or even what you have.

4- Individual Rules for life
Write out a personal list of guidelines for your life...what you are about.

5- Raise Adults. Teach children principles and raise them with skills and virtue. We need them to fight for freedom.

6. Meaning - Look for meaning. Everything that has happened to you, Does happen to you, and will happen to you has meaning. Look for it and Be grateful.

7. Widows, orphans, unhappy, sick and afflicted, these are the focus of 4th turnings. Look for ways to serve them. Practice seeking to serve now.

8. Marriage - Central Focus of Life

9. Initiative Education - Educate children to take initiative, problem solve, alternative solutions, creativity etc etc.

10. Entrepenuership- Living, thinking, action. Get to work and build something. (Then during the 1st turning build it big)

11. Produce Wealth for the needy (This could be financial, gardening-food production, education, product production, health remedies etc etc.) - During 1st then build new institutions.

12. Be Creative/ Be inventive...Frugal, productive. The new landscape will call for innovation and creative solutions. Look at the crisis as an adventure!

13. Be resiliant - Never Give Up. Stay optimistic and lift others.

14. Ambition

2nd turning - Personal Status

3rd turning - Good Job, High Paying

4th turning - Making Sure that good wins, Real, positive, lasting change.