The tech industry (and capitalism / imperialism / domination at large) strips creative & intelligent people of their agency and vision. 

Think about it: the concept of a workforce is somewhat dystopian. It's dystopian to ask children "what do you want to be when you grow up?" and expect that they will answer not with their values or beliefs, no, with a profession.

By and large our culture crucially fails at educating our young ones on the truth of their belonging and responsibility to the global earth community. 

When I talk about vision, I don’t mean “a five year career plan.” 

I mean “what does your heart long to see in the world, and what is your distinct, sacred contribution to that?”

Everyone has a part to play in the ecology. That’s why we were born.

Innately, we know that our contribution belongs, but that sense of worthiness was stolen from us. It should have been reinforced by our families, our communities, our culture.

Instead, we were taught to feel unsafe, insecure, and unworthy, taught to claw our way to the plateau of societal belonging by succeeding in a militarized school system, by claiming a professional path, and by internalizing a strategy of competition, where it’s totally acceptable for some of us to be left behind while others “progress” into new realms. 

When I slow down and tune into my own vision of a just, vibrant, thriving global culture, I see a world where each of us is shining in our unique wholeness, and we are each contributing in some way to the collective. 

It's a world where everyone is included. 

What does this stir up in you?

I insist, take a moment to connect with the innocent voice inside yourself that innately knows that we collectively deserve better and ask them: what might my vision be?

When vision is permitted to flow freely, it takes shape in creativity, in one’s communication style, in relationships. Think of your favorite writer. What draws you to them? Do you have a clear sense of their vision? 

When vision is suppressed, things become more short-sighted. You contract into survival mode. Resources feel scarce instead of abundant. Competition abounds.

Sometimes I struggle so much to tap into that more expansive sense of vision. I feel like a caged animal again, knowing I’m meant to run free, yet bound by the walls of false enclosure. 

In my past life in the corporate world, I did get to exercise my vision, but it was always within the confines of "what would help this organization win more capital?" 

I am longing to live in a world where the concept of “winning, such that others lose” is entirely dissolved. There are ways to win that create for everyone.  

And of course, we live under capitalism. I doubt I will see a world that has completely resolved the intricate dynamics of guilt, prestige, transaction, etc. that underpin our economic and ecological crises. I’m in it too, since I charge money for much of my work. 

But I didn’t come into the world longing to make money, and this is important to me. I didn’t become a teacher, an artist advocate, an organizer of new systems just to make money. Even when I joined tech companies, eyes wide open, I hoped we would stir up insurgent currents that re-shaped the global order of domination.

I didn’t join them for money. I wanted to see the world heal, and owning that as a core mission statement in my life makes decision-making a lot easier. 

So, how do we get our vision back? I think it starts by talking about it and being seen for more than who we become at work.

We need spaces where our visions can be freely shared, so I’m hosting one. Know someone who should join us?