Your Maverick Power

Being a maverick is what the world needs right now. And you will need the right ecosystem to thrive.

Do you question things? Is it your default mode of being?

Do you explore the world and the assumptions or beliefs that drive it more deeply than others?

Do you find it difficult to accept what you find, especially when it is wasteful or destructive?

If so, you might well be a maverick.

This might resonate but you might have lost touch with that questioning nature. It may not have served you well so you have fallen into just ‘getting on with life’.

This is what most people do.

I suspect that everyone is a maverick in that they know (at some level) when the human world is destructive or wasteful. Either they conciously know and find it difficult to be part of the story and also to be truly themselves.

Or things don’t feel right in some way which means that their subsconcious is letting them know.

This is where distraction and addiction come in to support us in ignoring those troubling feelings or thoughts. Until we can’t ignore them any longer.

Or retreating into the security of cynicism and, in the worst cases, nihilism. Life without meaning.

One way or other those feelings leak out. Suppressing or repressing them is not healthy and may well lead to illness. As the title of the well known book goes - The Body Keeps the Score (by Bessel van der Kolk).

This is why illness is often described by spiritual individuals as a teacher (and not a foe to be fought and resisted).

The danger of Maverick Power

Let’s start with understanding the nature of the maverick. The maverick wants to explore and understand and doesn’t accept the world at face value.

The original meaning comes from Samuel Maverick, a Texan rancher, who broke with tradition and chose not to brand his calves. So the calves were considered ‘masterless’.

This is a good analogy for modern society which wants individuals to comply or have a ‘master’.

The problem (for modern society) with mavericks is two-fold. They do not wish to be mastered. They also see it when it is happening so they may well communicate this to others.

This is problematic so a system of carrots and sticks have grown over time to encourage compliance.

Stories have also emerged over time that obscure the truth which makes it more difficult for the maverick to perceive the truth.

And there are stories that provide space for mavericks so their naturally rebellious energy is absorbed.

One such story that was a prompt for the idea and exploration of maverick was that of becoming a contractor:

I started work in 1991. I moved out of technology into a ‘business analyst’ role, working for 2 or 3 consultancies over this decade. By 1999 I realised that I didn’t like the corporate life. It seemed progress was hierarchical, following rules which are opaque. Most likely, they required one to be corrupted to some degree. Good work wasn’t necessarily rewarded and being a hero and a self-promoter was. I wouldn’t do very well in this and wasn’t drawn to the idea of increasing status although greater pay certainly was attractive (especially as I thought that might offer me a degree of freedom).

Moving into contracting was an easy choice. I dabbled in startups which were fun but knuckled down eventually to corporate contracting. Ironically this was the heartland of the compliance mindset but at least I was outside of the ‘politics’.

I suspected this ‘goldmine’ would not be here for ever. It has been under attack from a legislative and economic perspective for some years now.

Perhaps this is why my maverick energy has come to the fore in the last few years.

How can you use your maverick power?

The maverick power is often expressed in an entrepeneurial direction. There is a natural fit here. It does, however, carry significant financial risk.

It can also be heavily distorted by the possibility of financial gain.

The story of money and its continued elevation to be the most important source of power continues to distract mavericks.

This is something that I recognize. No doubt the need to pursue money in the form of the next contract has reinforced that idea by having money constantly in the foreground.

The power to ask questions and go constantly deeper is one to nurture and continue applying. This is what has helped me to discover this book needed to be written.

And composting the anger that emerges with the realisation of the brutality of our Western modern culture (physically, mentally, emotionally and/or spiritually) is a capability that needs to be developed. From this fertile soil, seedlings of vitality and great beauty will emerge. This is the job of pioneer species like moss and lichen - to break down rock into particles and create organic matter to become the first soil.

Fertile, living soil is important and the ecosystem that continually regenerates that fertility and brings in new resources (trace minerals, nutrients and water) is essential.

There are few resources available in mainstream society and often your views and insights will be rejected as crazy (see Plato’s Allegory of the cave) as the existing system continues to protect itself. This rejection often comes from those who have internalised the stories about the system being a source of security.

This is why finding your tribe or those who ‘get you’ and welcome your maverickness or, perhaps, see the maverick in themselves is essential. And resources that provide you with structure and process are also very important. These must support you in expressing and realising your vision in your way. They must honour your individuality, your unique nature.

This is why Business Unusual and Earthaconter support communities of mavericks. The Business Unusual community provides the ecosystem and community for those who want to express themselves and have a positive impact in the world. The earthaconter community provides the same for those who want to have a positive impact, believe in nature and practice reconnecting to nature so they can understand and express their own nature.