Manifesto
for becoming indispensable
Kevin & Jackie Freiberg
“Your Choices Shape Your Life and Your Life is in Your Hands.”
MANIFESTO
A manifesto, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is “a public declaration of policy and aims.”
The word itself comes from the Latin manifestus, meaning “evident, unmistakable.”
For us, manifesto implies a desire to stand out by standing for something. In the pages that follow, it is a statement about who we aim to be. We hope it resonates with you and causes you to want to live it out loud too.
If something in you longs to do EPIC WORK and live an EPIC LIFE, the BOOM MANIFESTO, based on our book BOOM!, is your launch pad.
Enjoy,
Kevin & Jackie
EXTRAORDINARY HAPPENS WHEN ORDINARY PEOPLE DO WHATEVER IT TAKES
In the game of life, there are players and those who shrink from their God-given abilities. Players charge onto the field with passion, energy and a desire to win—sometimes they get their hands dirty, faces sweaty and their bodies bloody and bruised by giving their all to the game. Winning at work and in life starts with understanding what makes a “player” a player.
THERE IS NO “THEY”, ONLY YOU AND ME
Using “I don’t have authority” is an excuse for doing nothing. Leadership is not a title, nor is it a position; it’s a choice, an act of passion, purpose and influence. Your happiness, job satisfaction, sense of accomplishment and ultimate success depend upon YOU not THEM.
When you refuse to shift the responsibility for these things to someone else, you stop being a victim! Tribalism, us vs. them, and “it’s not my job” destroys teamwork, cooperation and competitiveness.
Being indispensable means recognizing that the REAL OPPONENT is out there among your competitors, not in here among your teammates.
ME-FIRST RARELY DELIVERS THE OUTCOME
The world is not here to make you happy. Your happiness comes from using your gifts to serve the world. If you dare to live beyond the boundaries of self-concern and self-indulgence; if you walk into work with an unwavering desire to enrich the lives of others, then your ability to make a difference would be far-reaching and profound.
And you would blow the doors off business-as-usual.
YOUR FUTURE ISN’T IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR
You can focus on what isn’t working, why it can’t be done, and who’s to blame, or you can focus on what is working, how it can be done, and what we want to achieve. You can be part of the solution or part of the problem.
To focus forward is to move from “YEAH BUT…” to “YES AND…” and “WHAT IF…?”
It’s your choice. Will you choose courage or comfort?
YOUR WORK IS A STATEMENT ABOUT YOU
Your work is your signature—make it a masterpiece. To know that your work counts is to know that you count. If you engage in work that makes you come alive, the world will beat a path to your door.
Defy mediocrity, make yourself indispensable and enrich the lives of others.
This is the key to doing epic work and leaving a lasting legacy.
SUCCESS IS THE REWARD FOR DARING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
No one is paying you today for what you did yesterday. When you stop bringing something of value to the game, the game is over! Become a junction box for knowledge, find a way to get smarter, better, faster.
Speak up, tell it like it is, think for yourself.
People who get it done don’t make excuses, they make things happen…they choose results over rhetoric and red tape.
THE WORLD ISN’T CHANGED BY THOSE WHO ARE UNWILLING TO TAKE RISKS
Life without risk and adventure is a life not fully lived. You will never discover your true capabilities unless you explore the boundaries and test the limits of what you can achieve. This is true for you and your organization.
Experimentation and failure are prerequisites to creativity, innovation and growth.
The land of intent is littered with “wanna-bes” and “could-bes” and “should’ve-beens” who pondered, planned and pontificated, but failed to act.
Life is not a dress rehearsal. Life is NOW. The key to blowing the doors off life-as-usual is to stop getting ready and do something NOW!
