The Open Forum Foundation

What do you think? Is it too similar to some other organization that I’m not thinking of or unfamiliar with?

Here’s the whole vision statement so you can see how it ties together:

The Open Forum Foundation believes that all human beings should be able to freely and easily:

• communicate their views, opinions, and beliefs to pertinent decision-makers and leaders without fear of reprisal, as well as to each other.
• gain an understanding of the views, opinions, and beliefs of others, including people in their community, pertinent decision-makers and leaders, people on all sides of an issue, and people all around the world.
• participate in an open, vigorous, and all-inclusive debate that develops realistic and holistic solutions to the issues that concern them.

I know what you’re going to say:

“What about {insert something that gets completed – like making dinner}?”

And I have to respond:

You’re right. I’ve exaggerated the effects of everything changes. Sorry. Let me re-define.

All meaningful pursuits are ever-changing. Like this business plan I’m working on for my nonprofit – it won’t ever really be done! I will always learn more and the environment that I’m working in will change, and the expectations of the people I’m providing a solution for, etc…

How about relationships or creating a better life for yourself? What was it John Lennon said?

“Life is what happens when you’re making other plans.”

Yeah. It all keeps changing, so I’m giving up on the completion and going to move it into a format that is ever-evolving and easy to change. You know, a wiki or Google Doc or something – then the whole history is captured so that I can go back and retrieve what I thought I wouldn’t need but now realize that I do.

Anyway, ’nuff babbling – ciao.

You see, I’m working on something – the beginning of this nonprofit that I’m setting up. And the potential ramifications of it are, well, staggering.

Or maybe I just think that ’cause it’s my baby.

Ya’ know when you visit those places that famous people lived and worked, and you try to put yourself in their shoes — the house that Van Gogh painted in, or the streets where the framers of the Constitution walked, or the bar where the scientists that worked on the Manhattan Project drank at? Ya’ know that feeling? That desire to connect with the past, to connect with greatness? The way people pour over every letter that Einstein or Mark Twain wrote looking for clues about what they really believed and how they developed their unique view of the world?

At small points in my life, I’ve had that feeling but on the other side – you know the side like someday people will be pouring over everything saved on my hard drive looking for clues about who I REALLY was. Arrogance? Maybe. I’ve always kind of assumed that everyone has these sort of feelings. This sense that their uniqueness is going to significantly change the world one day. That their mark on society will be felt for generations to come…

Maybe.

And maybe my vision actually IS unique. I guess only time will tell.

Either way, I would like to encourage anyone reading this (and those that aren’t) to pursue and express your unique vision. To determine what it is that drives you and make it real. To create the world as you would like it to be by living the way that you think it should be. This is where real change originates.

Let me know what you’re doing in the comments.

This is perfectly descriptive of my current state of affairs. As you may know, I came to DC looking for work in the field of US foreign policy, but apparently that was not to be!

I have taken to jokingly saying that I’m no good at finding a job and so I’ve given up. The truth of the matter is that I’m much more comfortable being entrepreneurial than trying to convince someone to allow me to work towards their vision of how the world should be. Consequently, I’m setting off to do just that!

I’m in the process of forming a nonprofit organization and am terribly excited about it. The first project will solve both sides of a large problem in our country – communication between elected officials and their constituents. How will I do this, you may wonder? Stay tuned and it will all become clear.

See you in the back alleyways of the InterTubes!

You see, on April 14th around 8pm, I was sick of job hunting for the previous year, a little depressed, and going through my email, when I was suddenly struck with an idea – a concept – a new direction! The impetus? A call to action from UNA-USA to let my representative know how important it was to me that the US pay off their debts to the UN – $2 billion+ now!!! Crazy stuff. Well, I didn’t do it — but that’s a story for another time. The important part right now is that I gave up on job hunting – I’ve never been very good at it anyway (apparently), and am now starting my own organization. I still don’t quite have the name figured out, but the mission statement will go something like this:

“Based on the belief that the world’s people will take care of themselves if given the opportunity, the organization creates and maintains holistically-conceived tools that guarantee that opportunity.”

And of course, I have a first tool in mind, let’s call it Project One, but I really need to get it together a little more before I can disclose publicly what it’s going to be and how it will work. Needless to say, it’s really exciting! And my life is so much better now that I have something “important” to work on.