Manifesto 2019

About 5 years ago I created my first long-standing manifesto. Today I chose to revisit and revamp it entirely.

I’m in the process of clarifying some key areas of my life — but only briefly; I have a tendency to over-plan and under-execute.

Moving forward I want to reverse that: Taking significantly more action than planning.

This updated manifesto that I’m sharing is only a part of the long-term life vision that I have for myself, but I feel compelled to share it, and to take that small step forward.

The beauty of this “act, then adapt” philosophy is that I could change it completely in a week, but for now, this feels good enough to move forward.

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// Manifesto 2019

1 // Be the experienceographer of your life.
2 // Live fully in the arena.
3 // Speak and act with authenticity.
4 // Employ courage over fear.
5 // Always be evolving.
6 // Act, then adapt.
7 // Simplify

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1 // Be the experienceographer of your life.
Create experiences, don’t only capture and recount them.

(Experienceographer is a term I made up to encapsulate both the creation and pursuit of experiences + the documentation of those experiences through the written word, video, and verbal storytelling. It’s my intention to not only document my process of living life, but being proactive in creating (or graphing) the experiences I want to have in my lifetime.)

2 // Live fully in the arena.
Consult your inner counsel in silence and radiate outwards.

(See: “The Man in the Arena” by Theodore Roosevelt.” My mind has, for most of my life, defaulted to worrying about what other people think instead of seeking the counsel of myself/my intuition. Radiating outwards means to put out work and words that come from within, not filtering my inner experience or how I live life based on the outside world [others’ opinions/judgements, societal shoulds/should nots, etc.])

3 // Speak and act with authenticity.
Stand up straight with your shoulders back and stop saying things that make you weak.

(See: Jordan B. Peterson / 12 Rules for Life. I’ve had a tendency to not respond as authentically to people simply because my nervous system is so conditioned to NOT stand up for who I am or my own beliefs. [“Just smile and nod.”] The way I communicate to others [and myself] has a very direct impact on the way that I hold myself, how I present, etc. and vice versa.)

4 // Employ courage over fear.
Do “it” even when it’s hard. Fear has no say.

(I’ve been wallowing in a limited, lazy mindset for quite some time now. Courage is the answer to many of my challenges/issues [of which most are a mask of fear], from making an income, to connecting to people, being authentic, living unconventionally, and to striving for goals.)

5 // Always be evolving.
Be the creator of yourself.

(I strive to always be growing in some way. Also inspired by Dita Von Teese’s philosophy on glamour as a form of self creation. Article I wrote inspired by Dita, see #2: https://austinpranger.com/what-a-teese/)

6 // Act, then adapt.
Be grounded in forward movement, in execution. Course-correct only after you are in motion. Plan, yes, but plan less.

(Plan, yes, but plan less — was a message that came through while I was spending time at the cemetery last night. Planning is helpful and important, but it has diminishing returns for me. I have a tendency to over-plan and then not do anything. I am at the point where it’s better that I just start taking action and course-correct as I go.)

7 // Simplify.

(Minimize. Less moving parts, less things, less pursuits. Get to the core.)

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Image: JR Korpa