An Evolving Manifesto

1. Be 100% Dean. Anything less is acting, and quite frankly I’m not that good an actor.

2.Think big. Remove the mental barriers that arbitrarily places limits on what I can accomplish.

3. Push boundaries. My world will be as small as I make it.  Expand it by kicking the crap of my comfort zone.

4. Voice my ideas. Say what I think.  Create the conversations I want to be a part of and those I feel need to exist.

5. React with kindness. Make this my default reaction to those things that generally cause me to react like the Hulk when I am caught off guard.

6. Squash negativity. Don’t read newspapers.  Stop watching the news. Remove myself from conversations that are destructive in nature.

7. Be available. It’s one thing to say I want to help, it’s another to be there when someone needs it.

8. Be transparent. Tell the truth.  Admit when I don’t know.  Own up to my mistakes.  Share my fears. (modified Nov. 25th, 2009)

9. Believe. People with less opportunity than I have made impossible dreams come true simply because they believed they could. Be that guy. (modified Nov. 25th, 2009)

10. Have impact. Whether it be an email, a blog post, a smile or a conversation, act in ways that leave people better off than had they not encountered me at all.

11. Have options. They create freedom.  Having none, creates self contained prisons.

12. Laugh often. Remember Dr. Norman Cousins cured himself of a terminal disease through laughter.

13. Lead. Don’t be a passenger on someone else’s bus tour.

14. Let go. Holding grudges is toxic.   Remember that people do the best they can with what they understand about themselves and the world around them, even if that is in direct contradiction to the way I lead my life. (modified Nov. 25th, 2009)

15. Generate results. This is not the same as being busy.  Work less on the right things.

16. Grow. Engage in activities that cause active and constant reflection.

17. Leave the past behind. It was a me that no longer exists.  Catch myself when I am attempting to resort back to that person I no longer am, and simply set the thoughts aside.

18. Love. People, critters, nature, ideas.  Hate cannot exist in the presence of love.

19. Innovate. Flex my creative muscles to create new ideas.  There are tons just waiting to be discovered.  And they are free.

20. Eat right. Much of disease is fuelled by the crap we eat.  Eliminate processed foods.  Focus instead on a diet rich in raw whole foods.

21. Adapt. Embrace change and move with the times. ie. Social Media

22. Protect the helpless. Stand up for those who can’t defend themselves.  Speak for the voiceless.

23.  Stay the course. But wander in directions I don’t want to travel.

24. Re-frame “No.” They happen all the time.  Play the odds knowing it is a mathematical certainty that “Yes” will come eventually.  It always does.

25. Acknowledge others. So many do such great work, yet get little or no recognition.  Praise all people regardless of the size of the act.

26. Share. My ideas, my gratitude, my belongings, my earnings, my love, my soul.

27. Be active. Movement deters aging, the more rigorous the better.

28. Ignore detractors. No matter how noble the cause, there will always be detractors.  Jesus had them.  Gandhi had them.  Martin Luther King had them.  I will have them too.

29. Quit ruthlessly. Quit all things that aren’t moving me in the direction I want to go.  Think addition by subtraction.

30. Be hilarious. Be the bringer of giggles, guffaws, laughs, fits of hysterics, soup coming out of people’s noses.  Nothing highlights someone’s day like a great laugh. (added Nov. 25th, 2009)