3 Laws of Prosperity - Expression & Enrollment

In my previous episode I commenced a new topic “3 Laws of prosperity” and covered one law “Integrity” and in this episode I would like to give the perspective of how these 3 laws interconnected and work miracle in those life who believe and practice.

What is “Prosperity?

The final outcome all of us expect is the prosperity, the effect of the root causes which make them happen. The law of “cause and effect” says that we have a no control on the effect and need to work on the causes that make them. In our context the prosperity is the effect which is caused by the 3 – Laws which act as the root causes.

The word “prosperity” has several connotations to each one of us depending on our paradigms, age and state of mind. For those in their teens it may mean settling in life with lots of money. I wish to illustrate an anecdote here to clarify this point:

“Few years back I happened to attend Shree Shree Ravishakar’s Art of living session in which the master asked the aspirant what the aim of your life is. Many people answered in many different ways to this question and one of the aspirants in his late twenties said “3 M is the aim of his life” The master asked him to elaborate the “3 Ms”. The gentleman said “Mansion – Money & Mercedes!”  He did not mention which model of Mercedes, how much money and where & how big the mansion is!! I am sure with this pursuit he is going to be perennially unhappy as the moment he bought a C-class Mercedes; he will start thinking of E-class and so on.  If we would have asked this question to Lord Buddha, he would have said “Enlightenment” as he had more than 3 M’s equivalent on those days which he relinquished at the age of 29 in pursuit of finding an answer for the question “Who am I?”.

All human beings without exceptions wish to reach a state of happiness and avoid sorrow. We believe that “Money” can make this possible and give us a false sense of security in spite of seeing even the richest people could not avoid death! The folly of human being is the “un-willingness to learn from facts of life!” We all believe that “Prosperity” means amassing wealth and I wish to accept this definition and proceed further with the 3 laws which have helped people to achieve it although I still believe “Happiness is a state of a being and does not need any material object to make it happen”. In this article, wherever “prosperity” appears, we are referring to becoming rich through fair means.

The Rationale of IEE: (Integrity – Expression – Enrollment)

The pursuit of prosperity in our context is earned wealth, health & happiness in an ethical manner which will not be harmful to any fellow human beings. Swami Chimayananda once explained the word “Shreyas” which is a Sanskrit word for “prosperity”. Prosperity is the nearest translation which runs short of its ability to import the real meaning of “Shreyas” because it means attaining prosperity for self and all fellow human beings. In today’s context all political leaders’ achievements are not “Shreyas” which will amply clarify what Chimayananda really means. May be invention of penicillin by Alexander Fleming or electric bulb by Edison or motor car by Henry Ford may fit in “Shreyas”, I guess as this has brought prosperity in many people life including themselves.

When we are passionate about a vision to reach an end state we are ready to articulate our ideology and vision to the people around us. First and foremost step in this IEE approach is to ensure “How serious we are in reaching the future state, which takes care of the first step “I – Integrity”. When we are not really serious, our expression misses the mark! However may be your articulation skills, still people can figure out your lack of authenticity. I wish to quote from Swamy Sukabodananda:

“If you carry a Jasmine flower in your pocket, others can find out even you have not expressed in words. Similarly your intentions are like the smell of the flower which others can find out even if you are clever in hiding through your expression. The Vasanas are your intentions and all your actions will manifest from your Vasanas. The foundation of all spiritual journeys is purgation of Vasanas. Be pure in your intentions”

I suggest the first step in your cleansing process is to straighten up your “Intentions” so that you will be authentic in your expressions. Having done that let us move on to the next step “Expression” which refers to your ability to articulate your ideas and goals to a larger number people so that you are able to get their buy-in and garner their support.

Expression:

 I have extensively talked about expression in my previous episode and urge the reader to refer it before reading further. However for the sake of continuity I am giving below the synopsis of Expression for my new readers.

The Lexicon has several synonyms for self-expression as “expressiveness”, “articulateness”, “eloquence” and so on. Let us examine what is self-expression and what relevance it has with the leadership and prosperity in life? My interpretation of self-expression is the ability of human beings to express them to make a difference in this planet. Each one of us has different degree of ability to make the World to know that we “exist”. Some of us are very articulate to express our ideas and some of us chose to be silent even when we have valuable ideas to contribute. Such of those who are very articulate are noticed and those who are silent gets ignored and taken for granted.

I am not referring to aggressive behaviour to get your things done; it is the confidence with which we express to make a difference is what matters. In our 3 laws Expression comes as the second law which helps the leader to communicate vocally to all those who need to support him to achieve the vision which becomes a shared vision of every one. If integrity is there, people will see the conviction of the leader and be willing to follow his path. This is the approach all great leaders have followed.

What is Enrollment?

The final result of Integrity & Expression is “Enrolment” which means the voluntary engagement of every one for the cause the leader has chosen. Whether it is Mahatma Gandhi who tried for the freedom of India or Mc Nerney who tried to transform Boeing, all of them needed the buy-in and support of all those masses that have to act for realizing the vision of the leader. If the vision remains as the leader’s prerogative alone the people are not going to act until it becomes the shared vision of every one. As Mc Nerney said “I am one and they are 75,000”. This means that the desired transformation will happen only when the mass is in alignment with the leader.    

The following anecdote shall illustrate this aspect:

Mahatma applied IEE in the process of getting freedom for our country, not with an intention to become the prime minister! His Integrity was un-questionable. He expressed his vision to the masses through several ways which ultimately brought enrolment of everyone in the country at that time.

Mr. TK. Balaji took over the reins of Lucas-TVS in early 80’s as an young CEO from IIM-A during the time the company was almost monopoly in auto-electrical in India. He felt the organization need to change its mind-set wrt its customer orientation, manufacturing systems and all support functions. All the people in Lucas-TVS at that point in time felt that why the CEO wishes to change the system when it was fairly established and they were the best. For a young CEO it is an uphill task to overcome this obstacle. He applied IEE law what I am talking about here. He had the clarity & conviction and believed in his goal and end state. The next thing is “Expression – articulation of your ideas” to all those who were ready to support him. The third law “Enrolment” of people became a reality slowly as the leader had the “Integrity” & “Expression”.

IEE is a power house of Change management irrespective of transforming a nation or an enterprise and its starts with the conviction of the leader and manifests in the transformation.

In summary:

·         Prosperity is the outcome everyone of us are pre-occupied with and its is the “Health, wealth and happiness for everyone - Shreyas”

·         We need the engagement of everyone to achieve our vision – be it a nation or enterprise.

·         Everything starts with a leader who comes up with an agenda for Change – Mahatma Gandhi for Indian freedom, Mc Nerney for Boeing or Jack Welch for GE.

·         The Conviction and Integrity of the Leader decides the enrolment of the people to support him without which the leader cannot achieve the vision.

·         The expression of the leader through communication is the next step in the process so that everyone can visualize his authenticity.

·         Once people see the fair intention, communicated authentically enrols them for the cause – it become a shared vision.

·         Finally it brings “Shreyas” for everyone.

Jai Gurudev

NC