The Anatomy of The Quest

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Anatomy Of A Quest

Anatomy Of A Quest

Putting The Idea Of A Quest Into Context

“The pursuit of a Quest requires great exertion on the part of the traveller. Overcoming many obstacles, typically including much travel, meeting and dealing with many cultures, danger and curiosity.�

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Introduction

Every Quest is an adventure. It starts with a purpose. A purpose means that there’s a strong and wholehearted belief in achieving something You have a cause, a burning ambition – you’re impatient. Things need to happen. You’ve set yourself a goal to go somewhere new, be something different.

You know there is somewhere out there that’s better than where you are right now. You’ve decided. You’re determined.

You know it’s going to be one of the biggest challenges of your life.

A Quest is always a mixture of excitement trepidation and challenge – a daunting thought – requiring you to go places you’ve never been before, to do things you‘ve never done before, or at least to do them differently.

This suggests you’ll come across the forbidden, the dangerous, the mystical and the frustrating – everything that challenges our ability to fulfil our purpose. It’s a true voyage of discovery.

A Quest.

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Anatomy Of A Quest

Equipping Ourselves For The Journey We know that without that purpose – one that inspires and motivates – there’s no chance of successfully tackling what lies ahead.

We know that any meaningful Quest demands fundamental values, capabilities and strong principles.

Real authenticity and fellowship at every step An eyes-wide-open mentality Hindsight and foresight – it’s all about insight Being in touch with all our worlds Thinking about the whole journey – for the long term In order to progress in life you have to push yourself. Make a move. Seek out the collective energy of others to help you.

To make that next step to achieve additional value you almost always have to inspire – and be inspired by – that band of fellow travellers as you seek, prod and poke about for the ‘inevitable’ riches that live at the edges of your experience.

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Equipping Ourselves For The Journey

“A team who would follow Frodo to Mordor and back if needed.”

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Anatomy Of A Quest

Taking The First Steps Ok, we need to get going Let’s imagine that our Quest relates to a social cause. It doesn’t matter which one at this stage, it just helps us to imagine our Quest and give it meaning.

The mission for this Quest is to raise genuine awareness and interest to a degree that something fundamental changes. We’re not simply talking about five minutes of fame and attention that creates short-term improvement for a few; we’re talking about wholesale and lasting change. We’ve decided that it has become ‘job number one’!

“The idea of ‘job’ comes from a time when we needed standard people for standard processes (i.e. 1900s). We now return to tasks, missions and adventures.” 21st Century Wizardry

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Taking The First Steps

What follows are the fundamental elements.

They are what will make the Quest successful

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Anatomy Of A Quest

A shared sense of what the right thing might be is a vital first step 8

Authenticity And Fellowship

Authenticity And Fellowship We have a picture in our mind’s eye that follows paths, climbs mountains, crosses rivers and bridges, confronts dragons and storms. These are our analogies for the steps we’ll need to take, the barriers we’ll encounter and the conflicts we may need to facilitate.

We also have a clear vision of what can and will be different at the end of the Quest. A vision that will be shared with many and stand the test of being told to folk along the way. Our vision will answer to multiple value systems, mental models and worldviews.

The players in this saga – followers, ambassadors and supporters – have to be joining this journey with the very purest of intentions. This collective has to put aside perceptions, myths and media hype, be willing not to take sides or pass early judgment on those who may appear to be ‘the enemy’ of the cause.

This is the band of souls who will follow Frodo to Mordor and back – for the sole reason of doing the right thing, whatever that turns out to be.

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Anatomy Of A Quest

Eyes Wide Open There’s no point expecting to make any kind of difference if you don’t really understand the true nature of the challenge.

Focusing on superficial or easy wins will not work. It’s simply not enough to create an ‘acceptable’ message – or to rely on the ‘face’ that generally gets displayed to the public during five minutes of celebrity air time, no matter how well intentioned and championed or how emotive and heart wrenching the cause.

What it means is knowing the real context, discovering what is lurking under the bridge and what problems that presents.

This (at the very least) means understanding the forest and the trees and the myriad rivers and streams along the way. Knowing who the folks are.

Who the important stakeholders are, identifying the eco-system that underpins this and where that ‘system’ is failing – where it is really failing.

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Eyes Wide Open

It assumes that we know – or can acquire the answer to all of these things

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Anatomy Of A Quest

One thing is certain, it needs fertile ground and, for this Quest, that translates to open, curious, mindful attention to all that’s going on around us

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It’s All About That Magical Insight

It’s All About That Magical Insight There is always a wise old man or mountain in every Quest. In this century the new pretender is made of data and shines out from a digital castle in the clouds.

It’s only possible to truly understand the living systems we collaborate by wisely using the raw materials that litter our landscape (data and information).

There is no lack of either but because the wrong questions are asked or the people providing the data have their own motives and limitations the real insights can easily remain hidden. Not everyone will see the complete picture and people have very different agendas – not everyone you meet on this Quest has the same end goal in mind as you.

The seeking of insight will be a constant and devilish preoccupation throughout this journey. An insight can show up in the most unexpected places and from the most unexpected sources.

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Anatomy Of A Quest

From all of this we will make the best decisions and find the best solutions possible

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In Touch With Our Worlds

In Touch With Our Worlds Parallel universes, subterranean and lost continents. Conscious and subconscious lands and cultures – strange and distant geographies galore. Each one a whirl of opportunity and wonder.

Mindfulness and awareness are going to be primary tools but frequently provide no more than useful snapshots in time.

We live in dynamic and chaotic times and don’t have the luxury of a firm map – neither a fixed plan of logical steps nor any certainty about the challenges we’ll face as we go along.

Any part of this Quest can – and probably will – change over time, including the cause itself.

Our Armour – will be our deep understanding of the moving parts of this system and our open and curious minds.

Our Faith – will be in our trust that we’ll find the right insights when we most need them.

Our Collective Belief – in the purpose will see that we overcome the challenges that we’ll meet and the knock-backs we’ll experience.

Every success and failure will teach us more about the system and its complexity, and we will be the wiser for that.

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Anatomy Of A Quest

For The Long Term Making our Quest something that becomes folklore is not in our gift.

Those who have benefited from it will have to give their permission for that.

Our crusade has taken us through many lands and impacted many people. They are the judges and will create the stories that live on – perceptions will inform the accuracy and authenticity of the tale and myths will be created.

We know that lasting solutions to most social problems only come about when the root causes are meaningfully addressed. We know that the people most affected (and therefore the most in tune with the system dynamics) must be engaged in securing a better future and given ownership of it.

The necessary changes will have been identified along the way and final conclusions will have led to many interconnected smaller solutions – this Quest will not magically end when the one ring falls into the fire.

A new and better future will not resemble our vision of nirvana, it will still need to deal with the harsh realities of life but it will be more in tune with those realities.

It will be a future where more people are more empowered and better equipped to deal with adversity and challenge, and with more ‘champions’ ready to support the cause where and when needed.

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For The Long Term

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Anatomy Of A Quest

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In Reality It’s About Commitment

In Reality It’s About Commitment Pushing yourself to be the best you can be, ready and able to deal with whatever happens, laying out the ever-shifting plan, making as sure as you can that the road ahead is the most likely to get you where you’re headed. Many critical questions will be called for along the way – some that apply to each individual and others that depend on the strength of the collective.

The individual – essential qualities Integrity – doing what is right and in keeping with core values, no matter what pressure is being applied to the contrary.

Authenticity – always being yourself and striving to be the person you want to become.

Determination – wholehearted in the following up of intention and promises and remaining completely focused on the challenge.

Persistence – never giving up, being willing to keep going even through particularly hard times.

Courage – to make hard decisions, and to face fear and uncertainty.

Openness – being honest and transparent in dealings with others.

Humility – to know when to seek advice, to listen generously to others.

The business – a Team Quest No single individual can reach the end of a Quest without needing to call on others along the way. Many Quests are group endeavours from start to finish.

And the best teams are made up of a unique but highly complementary set of skills and capabilities.

Combining those strengths so that the various contributions achieve the best outcome possible requires that everyone in the group appreciate each other’s contribution and ability and that they embrace difference – or at least respect the value in it.

The mark of a true band of souls is the ability to work for and with one another to make up for gaps or shortcomings so that overall the team moves forward.

Any setback or seemingly impossible task will open the door to doubt – a force ever present in almost everyone. Lack of confidence especially at the beginning besets everybody.

Doubt can be managed – it may never be realistic to hope that it will never present itself but it is possible to deal with doubt when it arises – to build belief in your own capability and that of those around you to find a way of overcoming the challenges that invited doubt in the first place. And then by remembering the moments of achievement along the way build confidence so that the next challenge is met with a different mindset and attitude.

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Anatomy Of A Quest

There’s No Perfect Alchemy Journeys like this are all about dealing with the new. A fresh decision to make all the time – every minute. Choices coming at you thick and fast. A bigger dragon, a more complex puzzle – so on what basis do you choose from all this newness?

How much time and space can you afford yourself to understand the implications of your decisions and test the validity of them? And how do you make sure that you continue to develop your awareness?

Those who push themselves to undertake such journeys learn things they never dreamed of. Lessons that turn them into leaders.

With decisions to make at every turn our senses become increasingly sharp and better prepared – even as we know that in reality nothing can prepare us fully.

Becoming ready and better prepared involves adopting a wholly different way of thinking – a new mentality equipped to deal with uncertainty, ambiguity and threat.

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There’s No Perfect Alchemy

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Anatomy Of A Quest Group Partners August 2013

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