Every child learns about the all powerful genie trapped inside a bottle or lamp. This genie needs a master to release it from the bottle. The master gets his or her one or three wishes and then what?
The genie does not want to return to the bottle and the master cannot force it to return. The genie MUST have purpose or else it becomes a nuisance to itself and to everyone.
We humans are not much different from the genie in the bottle. Most of us have some form of genius within us, but we have to discover it. All great achievements have been the result of the combined effort of unleashing the human intellect and spirit.
Historically this human spirit has been shackled by rulers, governments, family, teachers, priests, society at large. Exploitation mainly by employers has soared greatly since the start of the industrial era. The so called cure of violent trade unionism and misguided political legislation has only made the exploitation worse. Even so called modern knowledge based work such as teaching and service sectors also generally witness a command and control exploitive approach, often leading to poor outcomes.
The danger with exploitive relationships is that they are not much fun, can be extremely stressful because they are one sided. A seasoned exploiter also develops powerful and often terrible means to perpetuate their exploitive rule.
Nowadays there is intense competition for everything and resources are increasingly scarce. Centuries of exploitation has lulled people into a stupor and trapped them like the genie in the bottle. Frustrated leaders want people to change to adapt to the new paradigm and deliver more. They blame their people. Entire treasuries have been emptied to get people to perform and yet the results are dismal.
Just like a good harvest can take place only in favourable conditions, humans also need a positive approach to deliver the best of their intellect and spirit.
Most people come to believe that their exploitation is a fact of life and accept it as such, not realizing that each one of us has phenomenal potential once we are unshackled.
I am often asked to assist in motivating people in organisations, families and individuals. I am often successful and in that lies my failure. The people who sought my assistance often cannot manage the energy that is released and eventually everyone is frustrated, unhappy and often very very angry. I have learnt that the human spirit is like a passive volcano which looks harmless and even serene.
Once motivated and awoken, the volcano begins to erupt, spewing out enormous amounts of lava like energy. If untapped the intense energy of the eruption can cause immense damage. It requires leaders of skill, wisdom, and purpose to tap this energy towards a worthwhile purpose.
I am extremely lucky to also work with genuine people. Those who have great and noble aims. These are the people who normally do not try to control the fantastic power of the human spirit but rather seek to channelize it.
Sadly the problem in a majority of cases is that the master tries to control the genie in an exploitive manner. The genie is now free and very powerful and has to be treated with respect and intelligence.
If you want change then you must be the first to change. If not then it is best to leave the genie be and continue with your little exploitive games because once released the genie will never return to the bottle.
The problem is that most masters while capable of change refuse to do so, and are often consumed by the spewing lava. Partner with the genie and tap the enormous volcano like energy and you can achieve whatever you sincerely desire.
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