Three easy steps, that sounds cheesy, doesn’t? But what if this could be possible, and you really could create your personal manifesto in just three steps?

Let us first clarify what a personal manifesto is and how it is useful to you.

What is a Manifesto?

The word “manifesto” is derived from the Latin manifestum and means clear or obvious. It also means a statement in which you make your intentions or views easily recognizable to yourself and others.

Personal manifestos are declarations of intent that describe a value-centered life in your words. They are very different, just like the people who create them.

Some people distill manifestos into a handful of sentences. Others fill several pages with them, describing how they intend to act in every area of their lives. Regardless of their length, manifestos should be clear and concise.

Your benefits: Grounding. Focus. Priorities

A manifesto can help you to eliminate the gap between aspiration and reality.

A manifesto – when finished – is your literary life advisor. If you read it often, it will influence you to make good choices in your everyday life. If we do what we want to do anyway and should do according to our own values, we feel satisfied much more often. A much easier, grounded life becomes more and more our reality.

Three easy steps

1. Find a number of situations in your life where something was exactly the way it should be. What do these situations have in common? Find out what these situations are all about. These are things that are so important to you that they should become part of your manifesto.
2. Now find things that are an integral part of your life, but which always make you dissatisfied. Something that you are annoyed about more often. What do these situations have in common? That is the other side.

Now write down these parts of your life in equations. As an example you can find the Wondercards Manifesto here.

3. Check whether reading your lines aloud causes emotions and maybe even goosebumps. If so, congratulations!

If not, just start over again on another day. Or don’t do this exercise alone – together with others you can often find more appropriate images and metaphors.

A wonderful proof of this is the Facilitators Manifesto, a collaboration of over 50 people who don’t even know each other personally and some of whom were not even present in all sessions. Now completed, the Manifesto creates a feeling of belonging to a community and helps to make decisions and argue with customers in everyday life.

More examples

I once asked on Linkedin what people think of this manifesto formula in their work. Here are the contributions of the wonderful community that always inspires me:

• Doing over blabla (by Michael Zybarth)
• Eye level over hirarchy (by Sandra Khalil & Johannes Starke)
• Trust over control (by Sandra Khalil)
• Courage over status quo
• Evidence over assumptions
• Imagination and Creativity over sterile 1’s and 0’s (all three by Tatjana Tasan)
• Inspiration over facts (although that depends on the context, says Felix Handler)
• Mindset over methods (by Eike Oltmanns)
• Really understanding the question over half-baked solutions (by Felix Handler)
• Benefit over profit
• Inclusion over outlawing (both by Petra Neuwald)
• Diversity over homogeneity
• Irritation over ….. flow
• Monday over Sunday (all three by Johannes Starke)

I am sure, these examples are inspirational!

Nadja’s personal manifesto

My personal manifesto is the result of several years of work. I have looked at my values, reflected on my actions and told myself that there must be something that holds together all the different projects I do in my life. With the help of many of my friends, who know me so well that you have been very helpful in my reflection, I have revised the wording for my personal manifesto until it now offers me my personal orientation. It helps me to act grounded and focused and to always be able to make decisions according to my values.

I hope you already have a strong orientation towards your values. With your personal manifesto, you can add a crowning touch to them and always find your way around well in everyday life.