Guy Kawasaki

making meaning, building success

inspiration: Guy Kawasaki

Do you believe in your work? If not, why do it? If it’s routine or empty, or doesn’t challenge you to live up to your potential – then what’s the point?

Entrepreneurship:
"The first thing I learnt about entrepreneurship, sometimes the hard way, was that the core, the essence, of entrepreneurship is about making meaning."

From The Art of Start by Guy Kawasaki on YouTube.

In our view no one has better made the connection between work and motivation than Guy Kawasaki: entrepreneur, investment banker, venture capitalist and author.

The core of entrepreneurship is to make meaning. Those companies that are fundamentally founded to change the world – to make meaning – are the companies that make a difference, the companies that succeed.

So what is this ‘meaning’ all about then, Guy?

Making meaning is the most powerful motivator there is. (But) meaning is not about money, power, or prestige. It’s not even about creating a fun place to work.
      Among the meanings of ‘meaning’ are: to make the world a better place; to increase the quality of life; to right a terrible wrong; and to prevent the end of something good.

Preventing the End of Something Good

Every survey and opinion poll tells us that today's couples still seek marriage. As an idea, a sought-after goal, marriage is not dead but is still very much alive.

Marriage: Still as popular as ever
68% Proportion who choose ‘married with children’ as their preferred lifestyle choice. 90% Proportion of young people who want to marry at some point.
  Family and Marriage Poll, Mori, Britain (1999)   People’s Lives in Britain Today, Opinion Research Business (2000)
92% Proportion of teens who ‘believe in marriage’. 80% Proportion who support tax breaks for married couples.
  Online survey for the Bliss magazine, Britain (2004)   Centre for Social Justice Poll, Britain (2007)

But the choices today's couples are making in their lives also tell us something else: they want marriage they just don’t want the only version of marriage that’s available from the only people who currently supply it: the family law system.

If marriage is to have a future then it can only be outside the family law system, for the past tells us that marriage certainly has no future within it. What is called family law has 'protected' marriage to death. Life will come back to marriage when couples are enabled to create marriages that are protected from the family law system.

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“Believe me, it's not like we agreed on everything. But here's the thing. We loved, loved, loved each other so much when we were done answering the questions. WHETHER OR NOT WE AGREED WITH EACH OTHER. That was key. We felt so close.” – Susan Piver, The Hard Questions.