Declare Your Personal Manifesto
by Angela R Loeb
Do you believe that you are here at this time and in this place for a reason? That your birth was no accident?
Do you want to attract the people who resonate with you and your life’s purpose?
If so, then it would serve you well to have and declare your personal manifesto.
When you know what you stand for, you gain a good understanding of why your life has a reason. You understand what kind of mark you want to leave when passing through during this lifetime. When you declare what you stand for, you attract the people who can help you carry out your life’s purpose, especially those who will be served by it.
It’s also extremely empowering to have a manifesto. That’s because when you’ve sifted through the loads and loads of beliefs that have been poured into your brain since you were an infant, and you decide to consciously choose what to believe, it instills you with an unshakable confidence and strength. Who you really are becomes better defined, and when a storm is raging around you, when the drama of life is beating at your shores, your core knowledge of who you are and what you stand for will give you strength.
What Exactly Is A Personal Manifesto?
A personal manifesto is a declaration of your beliefs. It’s a series of statements about your motives and intentions. It’s a big picture thing. What do you stand for? What do you believe in, and as a result of what you believe in, what will you do about it?
Because it’s about the beliefs you choose and because it’s about your motives and intentions, a well-composed manifesto as two basic parts. The first is a statement of principle, and the second is a bold call to action or a commitment of intent.
Zach Sumner says in his article, How and Why to Write Your Own Personal Manifesto: “By causing people to evaluate the gap between those principles and their current reality, the manifesto challenges assumptions, fosters commitment, and provokes change.”
So, what will you declare besides your belief or principle? You will declare your intention to provoke change; either internally, inside yourself, or externally, in the world, by the conscious thoughts and actions you choose to have and take every day.
Sumner says that he started off by focusing on three areas: how he wanted to treat his girlfriend, how he viewed hardships, and how he viewed his right to vote. You can choose different domains such as body, mind, and spirit. You can use different areas of your life, such as how you’ll be in business or your job, how you’ll be in your family, and so forth. You can even break it down using something like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Pyramid, looking at your physical, intellectual, social, emotional, and spiritual needs.
You can have as many statements as you like in your manifesto. It can be as short or as long as you’d like.
Manifesto Examples
Gandhi’s manifesto was brief, but powerful. Notice that it’s written in the affirmation style and that each statement declares his intention for action while at the same time stating a guiding principle. He called it “Resolution.”
Let the first act of every morning be to make the following resolve for the day: I shall not fear anyone on earth. I shall fear only God. I shall not bear ill toward anyone. I shall not submit to injustice from anyone. I shall conquer untruth by truth.
And in resisting untruth, I shall put up with all suffering.
Marelisa Fábrega shares her manifesto in her article, How to Write a Personal Manifesto. Like Gandhi, she uses “I shall” statements, but she follows each one with a quote by someone else, which gives context to her manifesto statements. For example, her first statement is: “I shall cultivate peace of mind. I know that I can change the way that I feel at any moment, simply by changing my thoughts.” Her companion quote is from Buddha: “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”
Frank Lloyd Wright’s manifesto, which he gave to his apprentices, includes very succinct statements such as:
An honest ego in a healthy body. Capacity for faith and rebellion. Fertility of imagination.
For further ideas, check out a website called “The Manifesto Project” (www.1000manifestos.com). You’ll see a list of 200 manifestos that have been collected there so far. You’ll find everything from lyrics to songs like John Lennon’s “Imagine,” to manifestos from movies like “Carpe Diem” from Dead Poets’ Society to, yes, even links to that most famous manifesto of all, The Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels.
Now, it’s your turn! What do you stand for? What would your manifesto statements say?
Unleash yourself, and be sure to write it down so it’s not just pinging around inside your head.
Then, when you agree to make the commitment to live your personal manifesto, watch what happens. It sure will be interesting to see what and who you will attract.
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About the Author
Angela Loëb is an author, speaker and self-development consultant who loves to study, teach, and write about mind mastery, spirituality, career, and life purpose. More at: http://www.angelaloeb.com
