We have written a great deal about what this my manifesto journey has meant to us. We now want to take this opportunity to write about the wonderful support and encouragement we have received from our roadtesters.
This group of my manifesto mates have been there for us at every turn – nothing was too much trouble. This was such a boon because even though we created this process of manifesto- making for ourselves, always beneath the surface, our deepest motivation was to offer something of worth to you, to all of you. The roadtesters enabled us to know if we had achieved that.
We would like to share with you some of their feedback comments from along the way. The journey was not necessarily easy! Look at this: “I had to overcome a few psychological hurdles to get into the swing of completing this manifesto.” Yes, many of you had to wrestle with your demons as our questions prompted you to dive deeply. Thank you for persisting!
Had we just received comments like the above, we may have faltered in our resolve to continue. We might have thought we were inflicting suffering on our readers, and wondered if there was enough compensation for it?
But look then at this: “You have co-created such an inspiring and empowering book which was a wonderful experience to read and work through. I actually found myself savouring each chapter and looking forward to the next chapter, to help me uncover another piece of me and my manifesto.” These words reassured us that on the other side of this effort can come the savouring. You may have to work hard and persist when you meet personal resistance, but if you continue, the rewards are there to be had. Phew!
It is also possible – evidently – to surprise yourself: “I really enjoyed the process, and I found some things that surprised me, gave me a new perspective, which I liked.” It is so interesting for us to be reminded that we human beings don’t always know what we know. It is oftentimes in the drawing forth of our innate knowledge to a conscious level that we become aware of what we know. And when we are aware, we can act on that knowledge, we can choose to live our lives intentionally. This is what we had hoped for.
For some, the chance to create their manifesto by working through the seven steps, was timely: “…thank you so much for enabling me to do this deep introspective work; I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it at this time…” In times of decision making – either the minutiae of daily decisions or those in times of significant transition – a personal manifesto becomes the guide against which to calibrate your decisions. With it in hand, you can leapfrog the existential crisis of, “is this the right decision?” to land directly on the decision which is congruent with your self-created guide. How good is that?
Perhaps it is important to come back full circle to the difficulty that some had, and you may have, when working through the seven steps: “I got stuck and was unable to finish. Do you think you might say somewhere – for people like me – that it is okay to skip some exercises, and you don’t have to do everything in order, and it is still possible to have a successful outcome?” Of course, dear roadtester! Thank you so much for allowing us to see the dilemma of someone who really wanted to do the ‘right thing’ but cared too much and so got stuck along the way. You won’t be the only one, we are sure of that! With your words in mind, we will add some extra encouragement to the book to help you and others such as you. We want you to continue on your way and experience your success.
In appreciating this sample of diverse comments from our roadtesters, we know you can see why we continue to believe in the impact of our book. For us then, they, the roadtesters, are the heroes, the wind beneath our wings.