Don Brown did us all a favor back in the day when he wrote the book titled, Human Universals. Don and his dandy team of anthropologists traveled the world over to discover how much we humans are alike, in spite of our deep differences. My personal favorite among their documented discoveries was the fact that we humans are all afraid. Yup, it’s true. You and I are full of fear.
According to Don we share five big fears that pretty much drive us.
1. Fear of death. This might not be personal death as you may have made your peace with your own. You still fear death of a loved one, death of an enterprise, death of community, or even death of a country. The fear of death runs deep.
2. Fear of the outsider. This comes from pre-historic wiring. Do you see it? Humans still fear the outsider is here to kill us, because sometimes they still are. Most times not. We tend to remember the few, remember. This explains why in a country as diverse as America we have more associations than any other. We gotta belong and find at least a few in this massive melting pot who think like we do.
3. Fear of the future. Leaders, please pay special attention. You can be wrong about the future and your team will forgive you. You cannot be unclear. And, this is why in America we pay our financial planners mucho dinero. We fear our financial future more than any other.
4. Fear of chaos. This is why all tribes, when they form, establish structure and order via rules and regulations. Even the loosest of cultures have constraints to keep us at least just this side of chaos.
5. Fear of coming and going and NOT leaving a mark. Humans fear not being missed. Humans are wired for purpose and meaning. We want to live lives that matter. We want to leave a legacy. This is why the ones with power leave their name behind on buildings, monuments, and the like.
At BTL we believe Don did some dandy work. However, we think these top five are in reverse order. Humans are wired, we believe, by a God who created according to His design. His design was for us all to live a life filled with purpose and meaning. You see, we’re all wired differently, diversely, by divine decision. Our job is to figure out our own and then get busy getting together with our team. Remember, we are meant to become the original we already are. AND, belong to at least a few. Humans are wired to belong and become, thank God for the “and.”
Lit by this energy within our CORE, we embrace living just side of chaos, create the future, embrace the outsider, and die singing our song – our OPUS. Distinct and deeply connected here we come. This is why becoming ONE is everyone’s aim whether within or with another – it runs deep, doesn’t it. And, this is why so many humans run away and choose distraction over distinction. Yikes…
Do you know who you are? Are you becoming the original you always have been but have been too afraid to play? Are you giving away what you can never possess? Do you belong to another? Do you? Are you?
Good…
BUILT TO LEAD 
So great, Chet. All of us are uniquely designed for a paradoxical purpose–to find our gift and give it, to accept our self (good and bad, light and dark) and transform it into the full creative expression of our mature potential. I say, “The will of the Designer is found in the design.” Study your design and you will begin to see the purpose you were uniquely created for. Where your core temperament and talent overlap, pay attention. It’s your deep, effective competence trying to emerge. Where your effective competence and inspired causes overlap, pay close attention. That’s your “flow zone” trying to express itself. Where your flow zone and the needs of others overlap in a potential value exchange, zero in on that. That’s your life’s EPIC Purpose–the convergence of your Effective, Principled, Inspired Contribution, aka “What I’m designed to love most and do best for the highest benefit of the world.” Imagine a community full of such people. Heaven on earth.