The Seed of American Synergy is You

The Seed of American Synergy is You

I think I have always wanted to be a very smart person in the way that I see myself or the way others see me.  The truth is that I understand things on a very simple level.  Sometimes I see great depth in simplicity.  I truly believe that wisdom is something we can only see at times and not necessarily something that we own. 

I once read a book by Robert Kiyosaki where he was describing content and context.  He said that content can be compared to what is inside a glass, like water for example.  If we talked about water you might wonder, ‘Do you mean sea water or drinking water or like a swimming pool? What kind of water are they talking about?’  Then he said that context could be compared to the glass itself.  Context helps us see the big picture behind the little piece of the puzzle so we know what they are talking about.  I had always wanted a way to describe this idea, but I hadn’t found the vocabulary for it until then.  It has stuck in my mind ever since. 

In order that we might come to relate to one another through a common language, I turn our attention to an amazing little book called Inteligro Math.  The mental media of our lives that we read feel and watch establishes a common language and a medium through which we can come to relate to each other.  This book helps us understand the context of learning truth from life and through life.

If we desire to rise to a new level of thinking by learning more information, where in the world do we begin?  How do we sort through the mountains and mountains of information we come across or have access to on any given day?  There is so much information in the world today that it seems what we need is not more information but a way to understand what we have.  I like to think of learning what is important like looking for the unseen roots of life, or truth if you will.  There is information that is like the branches of a tree where sometimes we see buds, sometimes we see leaves, and sometimes we see bare branches.  It is constantly changing.  Other things we come across seem to be more like the trunk of the tree and give us the stable concrete truths we can rely on that help guide our lives; things that build our character that shape our very core.  Going to the deepest level of information, we find the roots of unseen truth.  These things are not visible without putting in a great amount of effort.  They are precious and hard to come by.  As we continue to seek, we come to know things like who we are and what we have been born to do.  When we learn these truths, they sink our very soul deep into the bedrock of truth and we gain the stability we need so that no wind that comes along, no matter how it rages, can sway us from our purpose. 

Context to me is vision.  I have a dream that one day the American people can work together in synergy.  I remember the first time I learned about synergy.  I was going to school at BYU working in the Student Leadership center under a teacher by the first name of Brent.  He facilitated a lot of Steven Covey leadership seminars and I was privileged to learn from him as his employee while he taught other students.  As he talked about mission and vision and especially synergy, something began to stir in my soul.  I love the idea of synergy.  The more I learn about it, the more I love it.  For some reason even way back then I could grasp the concept behind it.  Covey defines synergy by saying ‘the sum of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’.  It seemed my soul understood the idea behind this concept.  It brought to mind a childhood church lesson about two oxen.  I think they were relating it to marriage at the time.  They said that one Ox might be able to pull a load equally proportionate to his weight.  But when you pair one Ox with one more, then the two of them would be able to pull 10 times their weight.  The mathematical equation would be 1 + 1 = 10, or 10 + 10 = 100.  The math of course does not add up, and that is the point of synergy.  The sum of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts- Like Jafar in the movie “Aladdin” when in disguise he tells Aladdin, “But together we could be more!”  Synergy is something that breaths in my soul.  It motivates me and calls to me.  Striving for it is part of my life’s quest, and reaching it will be our victory.

I invite you to explore this book with me: Inteligro Math.  Then together we could be more.