Episode 7 - Fixing What's Broken (with Chris Pappas)

I love the way that you put that.

We've all seen power corrupt seemingly good people.

So to keep that focus on where your heart is for the powerless, for those who don't have a voice.

I know personally, that's a big part of my Ikiga is speaking up for those who don't have a voice, bridging that gap.

And I think that has come through quite strongly in what you are saying as well.

Yeah, that's it.

And I think it changes, right? In the days now of social media and

now we've got

AI and So it evolves constantly.

So you've also got to evolve as an individual, a leader or an influential person.

You've got to evolve to make sure that you don't become powerless once again.

I think that's where power can be corrupted, is that either you realize where your limit is, because people do become, let me use the word, stale, irrelevant, times move on right and that's okay we get older new trends come in but i think people come desperate to cling on to that power when their power is actually changed or become different and if you try and cling on to that power when it's no longer your space to cling on to i think then you start to do you take desperate decisions you make desperate actions whatever it might be and that's where that's where issues start to to come in

So what helps you to keep that focus, to keep your eyes on that original passion within you, that desire to bring people together to fix problems, as opposed to as power grows, as influence grows, that doesn't become what it's all about.

I think setting goals helps.

I mean, not personal goals as in I want to get my master's degree and I want to do this, but the collective can hold you accountable.

So if I sit down and I want to achieve Chris Pappas' goals, then Chris Pappas' goals can shift, change, alter, be manipulated as I see them every day.

But if those goals and the vision is not mine alone, I think then you can be held accountable.

and it can be as simple as you know in the municipal space we must you know fix 10 000 potholes you know that's a number that you must achieve right or uh you know can be something a little bit more abstract like we must decrease inequality and then how do you achieve you know decrease inequality And you hold yourself accountable to that and people can hold you accountable to that.

But as soon as you try and make it about yourself, then I think you're in a dangerous space or start going to a dangerous space from a work perspective.

Obviously, you must have goals as an individual.

And I think if you don't listen as well, if you develop the inability to listen to either criticism or those who are close to you or want the best for you, listen to their opinions, views about yourself, your leadership, your decisions, your style, whatever it might be, then I think you start to close in a bubble.

And you see it in these American movies where the president or the general, whoever, suddenly doesn't trust anyone around them.

They make bad decisions.

Not only in the movies, I don't think.

And it's in real life as well.