
A Voice For Nature In Business
Can nature show us all how to create businesses in a different way? Following natural principles, we have the opportunity to reshape the business landscape by creating businesses that thrive according to different rules. In this short talk, I share some shifts you can easily make to give nature a voice in your business and support it to flourish.
Transcript
At this point in history,
Business has created so much harm to nature.
Extractive,
Coercive and controlling practices are stripping our natural resources and decimating flora and fauna on land,
Sea,
Rivers and sky.
The basic elements of life are being destroyed by business.
And yet,
I believe business can also be the solution to the challenges we have created.
But I don't believe it can be done by tweaking the existing practices or global economic models.
There needs to be a complete overhaul in how we think and act in business.
And I believe that you can make that happen.
The vast structures that are established can't be effectively challenged head-on to create change at the speed that is needed.
But they can be challenged by giving nature a voice in business.
There is nothing in our world that is not an expression of nature.
This includes business.
But when anything stops following the principles of nature,
Imbalance occurs.
Earth's consciousness is changing and human consciousness is shifting in response.
And we find ourselves in a time of imbalance.
We feel uncertain and anxious.
The scale of the challenge feels too great or our contribution too meagre.
This is exactly when we can learn the most from nature about being nature itself.
Listening to and learning from nature makes it possible to develop business practices and structures that actively support nature by following principles that enable life to flourish.
Your business is a part of nature,
So these principles help it to thrive.
Nature-inspired businesses are designed to thrive,
Rather than follow a boom-and-bust cycle when the resources run out.
Businesses that are designed around nature's wisdom have all they need to be successful and valuable to others.
Nature's principles are pretty straightforward and easy to apply to business.
What is less easy is challenging our own conditioned thinking and finding the courage to take different actions.
That's part of our human consciousness shift,
And if we work together and support each other,
It becomes a lot easier.
The bottom line for all entrepreneurs is creating a business that is healthy.
This is not just about income.
The freedom to creatively express yourself,
Joy in your work,
Opportunities to grow,
And the ability to make a positive difference are all part of a healthy business.
These are all natural principles that we can apply to our own business.
These are all natural principles that are true for all life,
In uniquely individuated ways.
Our role in consciousness-responsive change is to restore these principles to all aspects of business.
Giving nature a voice in business is rooted in both thinking and actions that follow natural principles,
As well as advocating for nature in our choices and commentary.
Let's look at some principles we can work with immediately to put our business on a different footing and ready to thrive.
The first is prosperity.
Prosperity has become synonymous with wealth,
But it is quite different.
It is the state of thriving.
Prosperity relates to your entire state of being.
Prosperity in business includes your mental,
Emotional,
Physical,
And financial well-being.
We can begin to build prosperity consciousness and principles by ensuring that the way we work,
Connect,
And deliver on our business activities is looking after all these aspects of well-being,
For you as an entrepreneur,
And for your business itself.
You could do a prosperity audit by looking at your mental health,
Your energy,
Your income,
The community around your business,
And much more.
The principle of prosperity is that everything that supports you to thrive should be present in your business.
You could broaden out your regular reviews,
Quarterly,
Six-monthly,
Or annually,
To consider the full prosperity of your business.
It might be that you value the freedom as highly as the income,
For example.
Simply acknowledging this can relieve so much pressure to perform in an expected way.
Freedom of expression is a huge part of delivering a business that is rooted in your sense of self and contribution.
You are a uniquely creative being with a unique purpose,
As are all forms of life.
There is a reason you are here and drawn to the work you do through your business.
You may well question its value to others.
That's inevitable as you move into selling your work.
When the questions come,
It is tempting,
Or even feels logical,
To bend who you are and what you offer to what will sell.
What will sell is a perception,
And often a commitment,
To the value of what you do.
What you are doing is new because you are the one doing it.
Your value isn't diminished because of what the markets already know.
It's amplified.
As consciousness shifts,
What people need also shifts.
There is a constant opening of opportunity to speak to what is awakening in people.
What you are doing is new because you are the one doing it.
There is a constant opening of opportunity to speak to what is awakening in people.
The markets are always changing,
And you can lead that change by fully expressing yourself through your business.
Consider your niche to be the intersection of what you are capable of delivering,
What your sole clients need,
And what you want to create through your business.
Your people will find you if you focus on being your full self,
Bringing your skills into play,
Especially the ones that live outside your label,
And crafting a field of one.
A business founded in soul energy is working towards a purpose.
What's in your sight is generally a fraction of your real contribution to collective evolution.
You're solving an immediate challenge for someone,
But the ripple effects of this go far beyond that individual or group.
The work you do changes the field of possibility.
This is a natural principle.
Everything has a role in the maintenance and thriving of the ecosystem.
Knowing the bigger picture impact of your business points your nose in the right direction,
No matter what comes up to distract you.
Here's an exercise for you to try.
What is the impact of what you do for the individual or group you do it with or for?
How does that impact their immediate circle?
Friends,
Family,
Colleagues?
And how does that ripple out to their communities?
As communities are impacted,
The ripples go further out to change regional culture.
And a shifting regional culture impacts global culture.
So how does global culture lead to shifting collective consciousness?
And what does that mean for the well-being of life on Earth?
The work you do with an individual or group has a ripple effect that travels out to impact the well-being of life on Earth.
It doesn't matter how far out you can take that exercise.
All that matters is that you go further than the immediate impact to appreciate that your work has real,
Deep value in the world.
And it changes the trajectory of well-being and consciousness.
Labels can be helpful in creating a sense of identity and a sense to others.
But they also come with preconceived limits.
Our natural inclination as humans is to grow and evolve.
We're curious.
We like to learn.
And you are here because the call to evolve your consciousness and that of those around you is strong.
Your business will only support you to grow if it isn't limited by a label.
It is a common experience to reach a certain point on your career-defined path where you have outgrown your label.
Your business no longer holds all of you.
It doesn't have the capacity to express who you have become.
Now,
If nothing gives,
You're going to want to burn it to the ground.
Now,
This is rarely necessary.
But it is still a very strong inclination.
It is guided by making space for who you are in your business from the outset.
A big part of this is learning to lose the labels without losing the clarity.
Your niche is the intersection of who you are,
What your sole clients need,
And what you want to create.
If you design your business to evolve with you,
Your labels will change over time.
And you will find a deeper expression of self through your work without any existential crises.
Ultimately,
You will be honouring your true nature through your work and presence in your business.
One of the strongest natural principles is joy.
While our work can bring us an abundance of joy,
The way we structure and design our businesses rarely does.
One of the most common complaints I hear from clients is that their businesses are hard work and they don't get the joy out of their experience.
The easiest way to rebalance your business on the side of joy is to simplify it.
We create these incredibly complex systems to achieve our goals that take so much time and energy to maintain.
Sometimes the simplest solution is the best.
Having a simple suite of activities that you can deliver in a manageable way will keep your energy and joy quota up.
Keep your tech ped back to make it even easier to maintain and require fewer resources.
This will sustain your energy better and allow you to grow on your own terms.
The more you you are,
The more you are following your nature.
And the more you follow your nature,
The more you become a voice for nature.
Giving nature a voice in business starts with giving yourself a voice.
Business is a reflection of who you are,
Your nature.
Building your business around this rather than a group of notions handed to you is the first step to giving nature a voice in your business.
A business that gives it this voice demonstrates a clear appreciation and value of all life and the interconnectedness of wellbeing.
Economic principles have eroded the wellbeing of people and planet.
We need to responsibly restore the balance.
The more we use the principles we find in nature to shape our thinking,
The more opportunity we give nature to show us how to live in truth.
Nature is our teacher at this time.
Intuitive,
Energetic awareness is on the rise,
But it sits so uncomfortably with much of the thinking and cultural norms that have been created.
It is important that we stay open to nature and learn how to create in harmony with the earth,
To build businesses that restore life,
And to help each of us to bloom into our fullest expression.
