Jackson Free Press

I can't tell you the plot of the 1,453rd episode of "Law & Order" I watched last night. I can't tell you about most of the TV I've watched because I usually don't commit too many brain cells.

In 1988, though, I watched a series of interviews that Bill Moyers completed with author Joseph Campbell shortly before his death, titled "The Power of Myth".

"Follow your bliss," Campbell said, and everything else will follow. Bliss, not to be confused with fleeting "feel good" moments, is the deep joy and long-term satisfaction of knowing you are doing the right things, that you are living the life you are meant to live. It can be far from an easy lifestyle, but bliss is a fulfilling, heroic path available to us all.

I've heard those words repeated often in the last 20 years. They made a profound impact on my life, even though it took every day of those 20 years to find out what they mean to me, and it might take another 20 years for me to trust them completely. Following my bliss is what has me writing today.

Conscious capitalism is businesses and business people who put purpose and passion—bliss—ahead of the bottom line, being responsible for their impact on the world. It's not that businesses don't need to be profitable; without profit, after all, "business" is no more than a hobby.

But businesses with no purpose other than profit are soulless, lifeless entities. And soulless, lifeless businesses produce soulless, lifeless products generated by soulless, lifeless people.

Case in point: I moved to Mississippi 10 years ago, lured by a paycheck 20 percent higher and a cost of living 40 percent lower than what I had in the D.C. suburbs. I went from a small money-grubbing business to a big money-grubbing business. Over the course of the next nine years, I lost every vestige of passion for my profession, but I made damn good money. At the end, I was sucked dry, as soulless and lifeless as the company I worked for, which, even after laying off tens of thousands, still robotically insisted that "our people are our most important asset."

Case in point: Companies without a basis in journalism own the majority of news media in the U.S., turning news into entertainment. Journalism, and its ability to present and analyze current events intelligently and in-depth, is at risk. When the stock market dictates journalistic success, the losers are journalists and the citizenry. Syrupy drivel is easier to take and sensationalism easier to sell, but "we the people" end up uninformed and easily manipulated. Ironically, major news corporations like The Tribune Company and Gannett Corp. have a reported 18 to 22 percent profit margin, according to the (independent) PBS newsmagazine Front Line, higher than Exxon Mobil or Wal-Mart. Word is, they will do most anything to keep it that way, down to making employees buy their own coffee.

Case in point: Halliburton, Dick Cheney's old hangout, made billions in Iraq with that "murderous dictator" Saddam Hussein. It continues to make billions in Iraq as a post-Hussein contractor. Halliburton is the epitome of soulless, profit-driven business; it doesn't matter how or with whom the money churns, as long as the churning goes on uninterrupted.

Conscious capitalism is diametrically opposed to the style of capitalism prevalent in Wall Street companies. Old-style capitalism is concerned primarily about the bottom line, and in "creating value for its stockholders," often at the expense of employees, the environment and society. In some bygone era when companies knew their stockholders, that position might have made sense, but today, stockholders are often little more than gamblers, playing the market the way a high roller plays the ponies. Loyalty to or from such a company is an anachronism. Marketing spin defines the business' "value proposition," the words carefully chosen for their psychological impact, making the company appear worthwhile and trustworthy, regardless of the reality. Marketing, by the way, was my former gig.

Like most people, I feel completely alienated by big business. Removed from understanding and connecting with companies, I am more and more distrustful and jaded to their messages. Yet, it's in my nature to trust people, so I go out of my way to buy from people whom I can look in the eye. My attitude is not unlike how most people relate to our government. You know the joke: "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you." Yeah, right. "I'm from Gannett, and I'm here to help you."

Bliss for business, it turns out, is a lot like bliss for individuals. Businesses that do the right things—for their employees, communities and the environment—can be as successful as those that do the wrong things. And chances are they can do the right things much, much longer. Inevitably, right-thinking businesses will attract and retain passionate, engaged employees who produce products that fill real needs instead of simply raising the bottom line. And if it holds true for individuals and business, can't it hold true for government?

Look, I'm not interested in preaching, despite the way this piece might read. Every era has its own challenges and makes its own mistakes. But all my life I've heard that this is a time like no other, and that the decisions I make today affect the future like no other. I've always expected that message to change. It doesn't, though, because it's true. At every moment I have the opportunity to do the right thing. So do you. And collectively, we have the power to insist that our businesses and institutions do the right things, too.

If we believe we are powerless to effect change, then we are. If we believe we can't make a difference, then we can't. Choose consciousness and consciously, with your wallet, your voice and your feet. And don't forget your bliss.

Ronni Mott is the operations manager of the Jackson Free Press.

Previous Comments

ID

75110

Comment

Excellent column, Ronni. I'd like to think this is why I walked away from so many so-called good jobs - following my bliss. Now, I'm happy doing what nearly all like-skilled people fear and loathe yet somehow I have very little fear of it, and love it. However, I'm supposed to be crazy or unaware of the blessings of those other avenues. I may not be totally aware of where I'm headed to, but I know what I'm avoiding, and avoiding it is worth it already.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-07-22T15:04:35-06:00

ID

75111

Comment

Amen Ray. Knowing what you don't want is half the battle. The really sad part for many people, I think, is that they end up blaming everything else in their lives for their lack of joy, never realizing that satisfaction is self-generated, not something that any job, person or new possession can give them. The other side of the coin, of course, is that misery isn't externally generated either; i.e, it's not being done to you. As you intimated, being out on the "skinny branches" of life is dangerous--why else would others fear and loathe it--but holds enormous payoffs if you're willing to play there authentically. Even if it doesn't work out "forever," the experience will change you. And a company full of people who play that way towards a common purpose... it's hard for me to imagine the limits.

Author

Ronni_Mott

Date

2007-07-23T08:31:48-06:00

ID

75112

Comment

Ronni, I forgot to tell you how much I enjoyed this article. I did the cubicle thing for years and felt like my brain cells were dying from a lack of being challenged intellectually. Although I did my job well, I felt limited. I was so tired when I got home that I never felt like doing much else. Although my current situation isn't perfect, at least I am now in a position where I can think for myself and choose my own path based on what I care about and enjoy.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2007-07-23T08:49:16-06:00