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In This Issue
Welcome to the FLOW Newsletter
Welcome to the First Edition of the official FLOW Newsletter!
Thank you all for your support that has given FLOW auspicious beginnings, a limitless vision and realistic promise! We are excited to bring you the first of many updates on our journey to peace, prosperity, happiness and sustainability!
The FLOW newsletter is our monthly forum to share with you the latest updates on FLOW activities, events, member discussion and world news. It is written with a global perspective guided by your voices and needs.
We welcome your participation in the newsletter and invite your contributions and feedback for future editions. Please send your thoughts to or to any member of the FLOW executive team. Our online newsletter and forums will enable truly dynamic discussion and powerful access to resources, tools and people to support you on your unique FLOW journeys.
Special thanks to FLOW designer and member, Tim Munson of SugaiMunson Communications, for his world-class design of the FLOW corporate identity.
A Message from the CEO
Dear FLOW members,
Thank you for your interest, support, and patience. FLOW is an extraordinary ambitious project.
From time to time I am overwhelmed by our ambitions. Then I remember the horrible human costs of life without FLOW and the wonderful potential for humanity that is within our reach if FLOW succeeds. Your early confidence in this extraordinary project is deeply appreciated.
FLOW faces the challenging task of articulating an effective means of creating peace, prosperity, happiness, and sustainability in the next fifty years and, perhaps even more challenging, of gathering the collective support of thousands of opinion leaders, on campuses, in communities, at schools, in businesses, and in the media, needed to disseminate this message to millions of followers who trust and depend on these leaders.
We hope and trust that you will take a leadership position in this effort.
FLOW has been exceedingly busy in the background. We have been positioning ourselves vis-à-vis other movements and developing the organizational infrastructure needed to lead a community of (potentially) millions of participants around the world. The GetActive software through which you are receiving this newsletter is one such instance of our organizational infrastructure. We will introduce more elements later.
FLOW has benefited from the design skills of Tim Munson, whose graphic handiwork you see here. We have also benefited from the organizational start-up skills of David Caswell, who created our initial operations plan and developed the organizational infrastructure necessary to operate. David is continuing with FLOW as Chief Miscellany Officer in recognition of his special desire to create new initiatives within FLOW and his tremendous talent. Michelle Janette Gulman has just joined FLOW as Executive Director. Future editions of the newsletter will provide detail on the background of key personnel, including David and Michelle.
For the time being, we will continue our Yahoo! group for those of you who are interested in discussing ideas. In a few months we will move our discussions to discussion boards on our websites. We will have discussion areas that are more focused on those who are primarily interested in working on entrepreneurial solutions to problems. Eventually we will add our “Open Source Business Plan for Making the World a Better Place,” which will integrate intellectual, entrepreneurial, and activist efforts into one integrated whole. Our intention is to serve as the clearinghouse for an effective global effort that will finally provide realistic solutions to our most pressing global problems.
Please be thinking of individuals who may be interested in FLOW. Now that we have launched our official website, we would like for you to send the URL to as many people as possible. If there is anything about our website that does not seem suitable to a broad audience, please let us know. We don’t expect everyone to agree with us immediately, but we do want to be interesting and valuable to a diverse audience.
Thanks again for working with us.
May your work be a joy and may your joy be productive of well-being for you and for humanity,
Michael
CEO - FLOW, Inc.
FLOW Website Launch
Please join us in celebrating the official FLOW website launch at www.flowidealism.org and www.flowrealism.org!
These two foyers to the site celebrate the duality of FLOW, that is at once an idealistic and a realistic vision, with a common people, framework and movement supporting what is ultimately a single FLOW vision for the world.
This first version of the site includes FLOW corporate and movement information, articlesl, features, blogs, FAQs, and other content features.
We are concurrently developing a world-class online forum for our members to interact with one another, build communities, share ideas, discuss world events, collaborate on entrepreneurial ventures and enjoy many other exciting member services. These services will be available on the website to our members within the next couple months.
Please explore the website, share with others, and offer us your thoughts and feedback so we can continue to evolve FLOW to meet your needs.
Duke Conference Update
FLOW and the Institute for Humane Studies are jointly hosting their first college conference at Duke University on Saturday October 1st.
Our collegiate activities culminating in this conference mark the beginning of our official presence on college campuses, which we anticipate will be one of the most fastest-growing incubators of the FLOW movement.
The Duke conference will be quickly followed by college events and student-run clubs on campuses nation-wide, as we continue our FLOW college campaigns.
We have an exciting lineup of speakers for our first conference conference, including:
- John Mackey, FLOW co-founder and co-founder of Whole Foods
- Michael Strong, FLOW co-founder and pioneer in education, free thought and economic theory
- Cesar Nerys, co-author of The Open World Cookbook
- Vic Sarjoo, Chairman & CEO of the Radical Funds
- And more!
Learn more about The Institute for Humane Studies, our co-host for the Duke conference. Our thanks to Wendy Purnell for her active support and leadership in this exciting venture.
We are partnering with OpenWorld to bring scholarships to HorizonLanka from the ticket sales at the Duke conference. Our ticket sales from this conference will be responsible for funding many student scholarships at this fine institution. Thanks to FLOW member and co-author of the Open World Cookbook Mark Frazier for making this opportunity possible.
One Voice: FLOW Mytho-Poetic
On Friday, June 10th, ten FLOW members gathered at Marrakesh Restaurant in Washington, DC to explore the mytho-poetic nature of FLOW. Participants were Michael Strong, Chad Thevenot, Satera Thevenot, Clark Durant & Megan, Charles Frohman, Michelle Janette Gulman, Michael Margolis, Jamie Wheal and Julie Wheal.
The discussion was facilitated by Thirsty Fish Marketing President Michael Margolis who provided this poetic report of our discussion, and his interpretation of the FLOW mission:
FLOW MYTHO-POETIC
By Michael Margolis
FLOW is a nonprofit organization that promotes creative freedom through the life-affirming power of entrepreneurship.
Change Happens For a Reason
Every true entrepreneur is inspired by change and the desire to make the world a better place. John Mackey and Michael Strong are two individuals cut from this cloth. Forged by common beliefs and experiences, they have joined forces to launch FLOW.
John Mackey has a passion for healthy food. That passion led him to create a small health food store, which eventually led to the creation of Whole Foods Market as a growing enterprise, now a company that is consistently rated as one of the top places to work as it enters the Fortune 500 as one of the fastest growing grocery chains in the U.S.
Michael Strong has a passion for learning. That passion led him to create schools in which students also learned to love learning while demonstrating world-class academic performance. Michael wrote a book on his Socratic pedagogy and now consults for public, charter, and private schools interested in Socratic and Montessori educational methods.
FLOW’s collective vision sits at the convergence of two complimentary value systems - where free markets and social well-being co-exist in harmony. This integrative world-view is one that FLOW’s founders believe is growing in demand, especially with visionary young people around the planet. FLOW was created in response to this unmet demand - the desire of passionate creative entrepreneurs, ages eighteen to thirty-five, who are eager to build a more sustainable and prosperous world.
Providing Meaning and Direction
Aspiring entrepreneurs need help transitioning from the idealistic world of education into the pragmatic world of work. At present, few institutions or rites of passage effectively guide our young generations in building and shaping a meaningful life.
“The chances of today's college kids working in the same jobs for the same companies for their whole careers are about zero. In such an age, the greatest survival skill you can have is the ability to learn how to learn. The best way to learn how to learn is to love to learn, and the best way to love to learn is to have great teachers who inspire.” – Thomas Friedman
FLOW’s purpose is to inspire idealistic individuals with pragmatic tools for action. Our hope is to preserve the passion and determination of youth while channeling these energies into creative and productive pursuits. For many today, a growing tension exists between the dominance of market forces and the growing desires for a sustainable life. FLOW was created to help people reconcile these seemingly competing trends. FLOW is eager to shape the new economic, social, and political narratives for this emerging global reality.
Catalyzing a New Generation of Market-based Idealists
Great power lies in activating the latent creative and entrepreneurial potential of young visionaries today. FLOW is poised to provide a forum for the personal and professional identity-formation of these up-and-coming leaders of tomorrow. By offering young professionals an experiential base for entrepreneurship, they will become more deeply engaged in society’s evolution. Such experiences can spark curiosity regarding the root causes of global issues and the impact of established norms and public policies. Ultimately, we believe FLOW can infuse a new level of social and political consciousness into the entrepreneurs of the future.
The FLOW Approach
FLOW will become a convergence point for a new network and generation of market-oriented visionaries. FLOW’s strategy is to create new opportunities for such aspiring change agents – providing guidance, resources, and a community of collaboration in order to guide them on their developmental path.
We believe in the creative possibilities of the market for reaching one’s potential. Our goal is to bring our unique vision to life by sharing real-life entrepreneurial models for how young people can embrace (1) free markets and (2) social well-being. In addition, we believe that a focus on entrepreneurship can catalyze the emergence of a new story narrative and set of principles for experiencing the fullness of life.
Our hope is that a new culture of identity emerges.
Phase One Programs:
- An online community with compelling content and social networking tools
- College campus conferences and training programs
- Venture funding competitions to seed and support entrepreneurs
- Strategic partnership with micro-enterprise programs around the world
A strong Internet presence will allow FLOW to initially engage with its constituency via the arena they frequent most: cyberspace. FLOW’s interactive web site will include published articles, blogs, a member directory, case studies, and other social networking tools to support the emerging dialogue. The objectives of the web site include:
- Create a gathering place to facilitate relationships and the exchange of ideas
- Profile and promote “up and coming” entrepreneurial strategies
- Publish content that points to new approaches, ideas, and frameworks
- Bridge combative value-systems and worldviews into an integrative discourse
Ensuring a Sustainable and Prosperous World
Imagine a newly organized generation and network of active, engaged citizens who are using the market to support widespread human flourishing while at the same time leading a full, rich, self-directed, and fulfilling life. Such is the vision of FLOW: A peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable future in which all people live rich and meaningful lives.
Your Voice: We're Listening
FLOW is above all a forum of free exchange for its members in the quest for peace, prosperity, happiness and sustainability. We welcome your feedback to the content of this newsletter and all FLOW activities and events. Please send your thoughts to .
Thank you for sharing, and have a peaceful, prosperous, happy and sustaining day!
The FLOW Executive Team
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