Minisode 1:03 - “Politics is about the choices we make.” – The Leader’s Intolerance for What is Now

05/31/24 • 5 min

Jonathan has spent a lot of his professional life in the political realm. Perhaps as a result, he sees beyond what politics is now to what it could and should be. In this minisode from Episode 3, he shares his perspective on politics, and discovers that it’s part of what makes him and his leadership distinct.

Listen to the full episode here: https://www.illumifyinstitute.com/podcast-the-illumify-game-changer/season1-003

Listen to the full episode here: https://www.illumifyinstitute.com/podcast-the-illumify-game-changer/season1-003

Previous Episode

Season 1: 03 – The Leader’s Intolerance For What Is Now

This episode begins with Jonathan sharing his reflections on the last question where he grappled with the prospect of being significant. This next Illuminate question gets to the heart of him seeing what perhaps only he can see that needs to change. But first he has to wrestle with intolerance and how words can serve the truth.

01:01: Reflections on last card: Significance
09:40: Reading the Reference cards
17:30: The second Illuminate question
20:32: Intolerance as aggressive
23:34: Decisions as an act of intolerance
25:11: Commitment to excellence
32:48: “What triggers me is that we live in a post-truth world”.
34:50: Why isn’t truth in the constitution of democratic societies?
41:30: Is it possible to accomplish this without being significant?
42:55: “It’s the truth inside the words that matters.”
44:58: Words matter, despite what the body language experts say
47:07: You can articulate what you see through your mastery of language.
49:01: Giving people a choice to act or not to act
50:10: “I recognize the anger within me.”
52:00: “Vision is absolutely fundamental. Your starting point. It’s why you exist.”
55:18: The importance of a vision and how it’s articulated
1:03:00: A different awareness of relationship with vision?
1:04:00: “I have things to say, and I want to say them.”
1:06:14: The legitimacy of the European Union
1:08:00: The thread of his vision emerges
1:12:50: What does the word “visionary” mean to you?
1:19:40: “I do want to create a new way of seeing Europe.”
1:21:16: “Politics at its most fundamental level is about the choices we make.”
1:24:45: Recognize your unique capacity to ignite meaningful change.
1:27:00: Truth with a capital T, and how values influence it
1:37:40: Connection as sharing, unified with each other
1:50:14: Does a visionary need to be a mechanic?
1:57:57: Is it an advantage to have multiple voices in your head?
2:07:50: “I often see my own mind with its different voices as a Parliament.”
2:09:58: Consciousness, tea bags and the visionary
2:13:19: We all contain multitudes but do have unity through memory.
2:16:00: Are we able to unify all those voices into a common vision?
2:23:11: The power of conversation to slow things down
2:28:12: Final Answer to Illuminate Question 2

Next Episode

Season 1: 04 – The Leader’s Heartache

This episode focuses on the heart to help point Jonathan to what he cares about that needs to change. He speaks of dignity, wholeness and heartache, all while experiencing a wide range of feelings coming from his heart.

00:58 Illuminate Question 3
05:07 What makes my heart ache is the suffering of children.
08:18 Dignity not always the word in the Constitutions but the digging takes us to sacred dignity.
10:10 In every newborn child, there is a dignity that doesn’t need to be earned. It’s inherent in the spirit, the soul, of the child.
13:22 The word “wholeness” is important here. We can borrow religious language into our secular life.
25:27 Our journey is one of repair. We are walking down that road to character, becoming the better version of ourselves.
31:32 The two ideas of dignity and brokenness can co-exist. I think there is a sanctity in the human soul. It lies below wholeness and sin and is inviolable.
42:40 Even just seeing it, the child suffering produces enough heartache for a lifetime. We carry it around with us.
44:44 The heart also aches because your own idea of the world, what you believe in,is being violated at the same time.
47:34 The book “1984” signals the extinction of humanity, that it could happen.
49:09 We have to understand the power of ideas to mobilize people.
54:08 What’s inspiring about the European Union is that it’s a constant, a permanent, attempt to reconcile all these competing voices. That’s what makes it heroic. Trying to reconcile competing visions of the good life.
59:06 I’ve got things to say and want to say them. What am I waiting for?
1:11:43 Digging together, you feel this is the only thing that matters because of the power of conversation.
1:19:45 Consciousness is the page.
1:27:17 Father Europe vs. Mother Europe
1:37:38 Revival or stagnation?
1:46:02 Final answer