Golden Civilization Conversation: George Kinder and Justin King

Yesterday, George interviewed Justin King, a trainer in the Life Planning community, a financial planner specializing in retirement, and is involved in the Life Planning community in the UK.

Listen at the link below to hear their thought provoking conversation about a vision for A Golden Civilization and the importance of community. Justin opens by explaining life planning’s ability to express his clients’ desire to make a difference in the world and how this authenticity could help start a movement toward A Golden Civilization. Against the backdrop of polarized politics in both the UK and the US, George and Justin discuss the humanity employed in finding similarities and community instead of division when faced with a problem in order to arrive at a Golden Civilization.

Justin is managing director at MFP Wealth Management and is one of the country’s most qualified Independent Financial Advisers with over 25 years’ experience. He is both a Chartered Financial Planner and a CISI Chartered Fellow. In 2018 Justin launched The Retirement Café Podcast. As host, Justin interviews guests on all manner of retirement-related topics to help people feel informed and confident in their retirement. Justin is co-author of “Ready, Steady, Retire!’’ written to share his experience of financial planning and help those thinking of retiring plan for success in the new age of retirement. 

You can read more about Justin here: https://mfpwealthmanagement.co.uk/independent-retirement-advisers/justin-king-ifa/

Golden Civilization Conversation: George Kinder and Mark Mazur

George recently interviewed Mark Mazur, a prominent member of the financial and life planning world, and cohost of a podcast about life planning.

Below is their conversation about the Map of Mindfulness, and its ability to bring to the forefront moments of freedom, elements of a shared vision for A Golden Civilization, and the recipe for an ongoing, sustainable Golden Civilization Conversation that doesn’t always have to be united in one action step or initiative. George and Mark discuss the recent Golden Civilization Conversation that they hosted together and ways to move it forward into the future.

Mark D. Mazur is a financial planner at San Diego Wealth. Mark has nearly 30 years of business and financial services industry experience and is a Registered Life Planner®. Mark co-leads the firm's life planning and oversees operations and the firm’s marketing and branding initiatives. Mark also cohosts a podcast with fellow life planner Aries Jimenez. called Health Wealth & The Pursuit of Happiness, where they help listeners live an authentic and inspiring life aligned with their true nature, through the exploration of life structures like routines, nutrition, spirituality, relationships, mindfulness and movement. They address key game changers like managing time, energy and resources; leveraging one's unique wiring and abilities; and overcoming obstacles like resistance, fear, bias and ego. 

You can read more about Mark’s background here: https://www.sandiegowealth.com/team/mark-mazur

Golden Civilization Conversation: George Kinder and Kate Bennis

Yesterday, George had the chance to interview Kate Bennis, a creative, life coach, and clinical social worker, about her response to the A Golden Civilization and the Map of Mindfulness.

Listen to their dynamic conversation to learn more about freedom, entrepreneurial spirit, identifying your role and purpose and finding peace with it. Kate Bennis opens the conversation by relating the vision of A Golden Civilization to her past creative director’s, Michael Warren Powell, advice to play the positive choice. They discuss leadership and one of her favorite lines from the book, “Great leaders inspire us to be better people than we are.” George closes with an explanation of the benefits meditation can bring to the practice of mindfulness and the role that it would play in A Golden Civilization.

Kate Bennis is an actor, writer, trainer, coach, and clinical social worker. Her presentation coaching practice focuses on helping clients to craft and deliver excellent talks and presentations, and to feel comfortable with cameras and the media. A professional actor with 30 years’ experience in TV, film and stage, Kate has coached senior and mid-level leaders. While with The Ariel Group, Kate delivered trainings around the world, developed training curricula, and served as Director of Outreach. Kate’s communication coaching practice helps leaders engage in high-stakes, challenging and important conversations with influence, grace and presence. A licensed clinical social worker, Kate has worked with children and adults in a private practice as well as schools and prisons.

You can read more about Kate here: http://katebenniscoaching.com/about-kate/

Golden Civilization Conversation: George Kinder and Kevin Chung

George interviewed Kevin Chung, a Registered Life Planner® and early participant of the Golden Civilization Conversation movement yesterday.

Check out the video below to hear George and Kevin’s discussion about what they have learned so far through Golden Civilization Conversations that they attended together in Hana, Hawaii, San Francisco, CA, and Sepastopol, CA. Beginning the conversation by noting that in the different places, the conversations have describe the same vision and then differ on obstacles and action steps, George and Kevin delve into a conversation about the privilege of delivering freedom, relationship building, and hierarchies of power.

Kevin K. Chung is a Managing Director and Advanced Planner at First Republic Investment Management in San Francisco. Kevin has over 15 years of experience working with high net worth and ultra-high net worth families in designing their financial, estate and charitable giving plans. Prior to joining First Republic, Kevin was a Financial Advisor and the Director of Financial Planning at Jackson Financial Management and taught as an Instructor in the Personal Financial Planning Certificate program at the University of California, Irvine Extension Program.

You can find more information about Kevin here: https://www.firstrepublic.com/all-profiles/kevin-chung

Peace UCC in St. Louis discovers "A Golden Civilization"

Rev. Wendy Bruner invited George Kinder to spend the day at her church, Peace UCC in St. Louis, which is known for being progressive and having members that are very engaged in the community. George attended the early and late morning services, where Rev. Bruner connected the concept of a Golden Civilization into her sermons. During the adult learning session that took place between the two services, George spoke about his latest book and led a brief mindfulness exercise. After the 11:00am service, members enjoyed refreshments and George facilitated a Golden Civilization Conversation with the help of his good friend Lesley Wellman. See the pictures below for the results of their conversation. George will be returning to Peace UCC on Sunday, October 20 to lead a follow-up Golden Civilization Conversation.

Moving Forward on Golden Civilisation and Cultivating Wisdom

Our Conversation on Primrose Hill on Tuesday 10 September

We conversed on our intent and actions in the world:

•  Taking steps, showing courage, speaking truth to power

• Challenging ourselves to be more ambitious

• Our stance in our over-provided ‘first’ world (‘less’)

• Being accountable to our fellow human beings and other species on the planet

• Noticing that many who are much worse off than us are living wise lives

• The danger of elitism

• The importance of context and education

• Much that is challenging – and also grounds for optimism and momentum, for instance in the growing move from shareholder to stakeholder, the growing attention to responsible business, the accentuating importance of organisational and individual purpose

We noticed that, without collaboration, our individual and organisational efforts were constrained. We talked about listening, about truly understanding the needs of others, about common ground, about alignment. We talked about the importance of place, community, dialogue across diversity, common ground again.

And we explored our inner world, bringing our deep intent into being and action in the world:

• Our deep, profound inner resources

• Listening, attending, reflecting, digesting, embedding, choosing what to enact

• Our unconscious self, moving into consciousness

• The ‘prick’ of conscience, noticing what is right (do the words ‘ethics’ and ‘moral’ matter?)

• Some of the quotes that Jane brought to our attention (much more in her article):

  • Conscience is ‘the pearl of great price; it is both the instrument and the supreme realisation of visionary seeing….With the awakening of this eye, you no longer see Wisdom; you are Wisdom’ (Bourgueault)

  • ‘We are not treating the moral dimensions with the same respect we are treating the other Q’s (intelligences). It is really as simple as that’ (Jawad and Kakabadse)

  • Shwartz and Sharpe – psychological research has tended to focus on ‘moral skill’ (insight, empathy, perspective) rather than ‘moral will’ (commitment to the wider good) 

And Ali’s reading of part of Ben Okri’s wonderful poem, Mental Fight (title taken from William Blake):

“You can’t remake the world
Without remaking yourself.
Each new era begins within.
It is an inward event,
With unsuspected possibilities
For inner liberation.
We could use it to turn on
Our inward lights.”

“If – as a consequence of our work together and in league with other likeminded groups across the world - we, the human race:
·         Live in liberty, with truth, freedom of expression and justice at the core of our existence
·         Place the health and longevity of planet earth and all who live on it at the forefront of our attention
·         Delight ourselves and each other with our joy, humour, optimism and sense of fun
·         Live in harmony and compassion, embracing difference in a spirit of empathy, kindness, tolerance and love
·         Explore and deepen our wisdom, self-knowledge and creativity through vibrant dialogue, learning, science and art
·         Move forward every day with a deep sense of collective endeavour, courage, vigour and vitality to improve the lives of all on the planet…..

………How would that be?’”