Metamodel Introduction
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
First, I’d like to offer special appreciation to the following people for their insights into the evolution of the LeadFromLove.io Metamodel over the past several months:
Marian Baker, Ayelet Baron, Deb Benning, John Blumberg, Heather Carper, Elsie Chang, Armando Davila, Chad Gabriel, Rikk Hansen, Steve Havill, Cindy Holtfreter, John Howe, Chris Johnson, Betsy Jones, Tim Kelley, Lori Lovens, Rebecca Lowrie, Susan Lucci, Katy Martin, Tim McDonald, Carri Munn, Brandon Peele, Riesah Prock, Ana María Salom Reyes, Beth Scanzani, Laurie Swindler, Jim Swindler, Guryan Tighe, Samantha Thomas
If I could point out all the people who influenced the Metamodel, I think the Internet would run out of pages. This is because I believe I have noticed a pattern of universal wisdom that finds its roots in thousands of years of published human history.
Most of our troubles boil down to one basic question that each person must answer: how can I build and evolve my worldview so that my life is safe and joyful in a way that doesn’t require marginalizing or hurting others? The Metamodel offers balanced macro and micro perspectives on focus points for life that may provide an answer to this question to which people should be able to relate in their own way.
A New Kind of Model
As I’ve studied and implemented human development and conscious business frameworks over the past several years, I detected a consistent pattern. I developed the Metamodel by aligning more than 100 frameworks spanning philosophy, conscious business, leadership, mindfulness, psychology, organizational behavior, personal development, literature, improv, religion and more. We’ll begin exploring the Metamodel from the individual, or micro, perspective before discussing how it scales to organizations at a macro level.
I hope that by providing alignment across so many different philosophies and frameworks that the Metamodel can be a unifying force in the world, accelerating the process of learning and growing so that we can spend our precious time and resources helping each other and co-creating prosperity together rather than accumulating more stuff we don’t need.
To this end, the Metamodel is presented under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License so that others may contribute and distribute with proper attribution under the same license to promote continuity. It also means that I welcome people to evolve, adapt, question or break it. For the heart of innovation is allowing ourselves to question what’s come before.
In 1987 George E. P. Box said, “All models are wrong, but some are useful.” That’s as true today as it ever was, with thousands of books being self-published. I celebrate all the voices and perspectives. Each one of them is precious in its own right with a unique story to tell. And yet I feel that these voices are not connected in clear ways that help us co-create solutions to the collective problems they raise, as many of us are sharing similar ideas and intentions in different ways.
My goal is for the Metamodel to create a reliable sense of commonality that will help people see how their ideas are connected and how the wisdom we seek exists within each of us. This will be hard at first, but will help us move on to a unified model of action rather than disparate groups fighting for trademarks on universal wisdom. I trust that this will lead me to find people who will help me build something that people find valuable.
I believe it is time for people with power, resources and time to help other people so they are not so susceptible to fear-based manipulation and systemic injustice. And in doing so, they will help themselves.
Metamodel Structure
The Metamodel consists of four movements. The circular presentation represents the continuous passage of time as we repeat these movements throughout life. This is not to say they are repeated verbatim. Rather each pass through the circle presents new ways to learn and express oneself in relation to the world around. While the pattern is consistent, each pass around the circle is unique, offering different paths of exploration. What may seem balanced on one pass will be quickly remedied on the next one. The key is to keep moving, learning and growing.
Each of the four movements is accompanied by two words that represent its essence, noted in italics below. This is not an attempt to oversimplify these truths that have been expressed through thousands of other words, but rather an effort to make them simple to express and remember. The art of sophistication is found in simplicity.
Movement 1: Learn to Learn
Open your eyes and heart to life’s infinite beauty with compassionate curiosity for yourself and the world.
Movement 2: Learn to Love
Cultivate absolute appreciation for every part of your whole being so you can share your overflowing love with the people you touch.
Movement 3: Learn to Laugh
Laugh with yourself and the people around you to celebrate limitless liberation.
Movement 4: Learn to Lead
Practice leading in your life and sharing your truth by making courageous choices.
The repetition of “Learn to” reminds us that we are always learning and to stay rooted in an attitude that leaves us open to new ideas and perspectives about ourselves and the world. Recognizing these patterns of growth has helped in my own personal development in the months of designing the Metamodel. They help me stay focused on what matters most and let go of the rest. I hope that others can benefit from the Metamodel in their own ways.
Fundamental to the Metamodel is the concept of “io,” which refers to our inner selves and the outer world. This is indicated on the circle with each “i” and “o” and it’s also embedded in the brand of LeadFromLove.io. In other words, Learn to Lead From Love and Laughter, inside and out.
The four Metamodel movements will be introduced in four separate posts that provide the foundation and categorical structure for this blog. I invite you to share your thoughts and personal stories to provide the richness of many voices to each movement.
