Creative Activism:

The 50-30-20 Ratio

Are there days that you feel like Chicken Little?

Chaos, destruction, corruption. This fascist regime is following the Authoritarian Playbook at warp speed. They are constantly flooding the zone. They want us to be overwhelmed, so we quit!

And the horrible, cruel things they do! The level of lawlessness and insanity! It’s one thing after the other!

Every day there is an emergency, a horrible event. If it's not ICE raids, it's concentration camps, breaking the law, those crazy executive “disorders,” Epstein perversity, constant grift and now war. Not just with Iran, but imperialistic, illegal attacks on other countries. And now elections!

How can you stand up to this regime and not go crazy or collapse in exhaustion?

That’s when creativity comes into play. We need to access the wisdom of Creative Activism. There are several principles that I include with this approach.

1. We need to understand the balance between our Warrior and our Artist
2. It does not hurt if we understand the importance of responding to chaos with focus.
3. It’s also vital that we add to this the wisdom of the Shaman Self. Because we need to understand how energy and attention work. Which leads us into the 50-30-20 Ratio.

We’ll take a look at the three principles, but this last one is where we will focus today.

Since I’ve been studying the work of the Progressive Democratic Congress people, let me share an interesting pattern that I see on how many of them work.

Bernie Sanders: Superman?

Let’s take the example of Bernie Sanders. What is he working on?

He has been doing his Fight Oligarchy Tour for 1.5 years. So how can it be that he now is head-on working with the dangers of the emerging technology of AI and robotics?

It seems obvious that he has done lots of research in the area in order to educate and warn us about this technology. He has amassed partners and resources. How could he do all of that while touring 26 states with his Fight Oligarchy Tour?

Not to mention that he is also doing his legislative job and opposing many of this regime’s policies.

What is he, superman? At 84?

Well, he does have a team that works on research, logistics communications, so there’s that.

And he is one of the most committed leaders I’ve met, so there’s that too.

But it’s not him alone.

I follow the work of three of my Democratic superheroes: in congress ~ AOC, Bernie and Pramila Jayapal and they all have this pattern.

They are all confronting the madness of the Destroyer in the White House every single day.

And yet…

They also address certain causes and priorities that they are committed to and that affect their constituents. They are creating change, saving democracy, serving the people.

Not only that, but they also look forward to create blueprints for new solutions. That’s why they are leaders. Because they look ahead to lead the path.

How do they do all of this?

Because they understand the 50-30-20 Ratio, though their numbers may vary.

The Twin Law of Energy and Attention

It all starts with the wisdom of the Shaman Self. S/he knows the Twin Law of Energy and Attention. This principle goes like this:

Energy follows Attention.

The Shaman Self, who works with energy, transformation and manifestation, understands that energy is life. You create something by pouring energy into your strategy, dreams or visions. You pour energy into it and it becomes a solid reality.

But how do you pour energy into something that does not exist? You use your attention because energy follows attention. In other words, that which you pour your attention into, grows and becomes a reality. That which you neglect your attention from, that will diminish and disappear.

The problem is that many of us have been trained to focus on the problem, pouring all our attention in the problem. We are trying to solve it. But we actually feed it!

So what am I saying? Are we to ignore the problem? What nonsense is this?

Are we to become alienated and avoid the political crisis our country is suffering? That is alienation, denial or spiritual bypassing, but it’s not activism!

I hear you.

That’s why we need a ratio.

How much attention do we pour into the problem? Enough to find a solution. A good solution that satisfies us.

That means that we need to pour attention into a place that can contain that solution, right?

For something intangible—like a solution that is not yet manifested—to become tangible, it needs to occupy time and space. Therefore, we need to pour our attention into a time and space that can then hold the energy of our intellect, imagination, vision, intuition and instinct as they work together in the birth of new solution.

And that’s where we summon our Artist Self, our creative aspect.

The Artist Self

The Artist Self opens a space and time to imagine, explore and envision potential solutions.

She needs to dream into it. To listen deeply to what is wanting to birth out of the ruins of what has been broken.

She is listening for the potential that is inside the destruction, because chaos is the process whereby something old breaks in order to birth something new.

The point where the break takes place looks like chaos because there is also a birth taking place simultaneously beneath the death.

And the Artist Self listens to both. And then releases the old while receiving the new.

That does not happen on command, but in receptivity.

The Artist intuitively knows what to do. Rest, or recreation? Sleep or dream? Play or experimentation? Silence or conversation? Listening or speaking up? Walking in nature or skating down the street?

And from that state of receptivity and the actions that follow, the vision arises, bringing the possibilities, connecting that which is dying with that which wants to be birthed. A Golden Egg is created. It’s still empty, but it’s a container.

And the more attention is poured into that Golden Egg, the more energy goes inside, until the new being, the new solution is ready to be hatched.

This works is very different to the work of the warrior.

The Warrior Self

The Warrior Self is our activist. S/he looks at what the Destroyer is breaking and she blows the whistle.

We all hear the call and show up to do what’s necessary. We fight. We clear the rubble. We block the move. We delay, disrupt, sabotage, or make it backfire.

We think strategically. And then we create a counter-tactic.

And that’s about planning and doing.

That gives us the win.

So when we see Bernie in his Fight Oligarchy Tour, we recognize the activist, the Warrior. He planned it and now he executes it.

But when you are a leader, you are not just a Warrior. You need to lead. And in order to lead, you must see ahead to what’s coming at your people, and you must research the danger and then come up with some solutions that can be discussed, developed and voted on by the people.

And that’s when the Artist comes in.

If you are only responding to what your enemy is throwing at you, you are in Reactive Resistance. That’s another topic for another day. But basically, your enemy is leading you.

So you take time to strategize, calm down and respond strategically. That’s the Warrior.

The Warrior flips his enemy. He uses strategy to move ahead of the enemy, so that now he is leading the enemy.

Good move.

But where are we going? What’s the future? What’s the exit? What is the potential here?

That’s the job of the Leader. And the Leader needs the Artist.

Here’s the thing: while Bernie was going state to state, he was also exploring AI and robotics with his team. His team researched. He studied the finding. They discussed the issues. They assembled a group of experts: Nobel-prize winning scientists and technicians, technical geniuses that were insiders, whistle-blowers. In fact, I saw Bernie interviewing Open AI about feasible solutions! (That was spooky.)

How did he do all of this? How did he get ready to confront what is coming with AI and robotics while touring the country?

Because he set aside time to do this.

Bernie, like many leaders, knows how to divide his attention to multiply his capacity. And that’s the opposite of fragmented attention.

Which brings all the pieces of the puzzle together.

The 50-30-20 Ratio

This is an empowering, uplifting strategy that can not only speed up solutions but keep you sane.

This regime's MO is to flood the zone to keep you overwhelmed, unfocused and exhausted. But when you focus your time wisely, you refuse to allow the chaos and destruction to fragment your attention.

Imagine that~after working and taking care of the family~ you have 12 hours a week left to do your citizen work of fighting for democracy.

Those 12 hours are 100% of your democracy work, not counting emergencies or mass events.

Instead of going all over the place with all the destruction this regime creates, you distribute your time and attention wisely using the 50-30-20 ratio.

• 50% of your focus is in your work in resistance and noncompliance. You are focused on what you are doing to defeat the regime and on the victories of the People for democracy. This is your Warrior You are planning, strategizing and responding strategically. This is the work where you focus in your main cause or priorities.

For example, my democracy cause is Free Speech. I'm writing a book, articles and doing videos and I have the Storytellers.Indivisible Group. These are the strategies I use to inspire and mobilize people to use Free Speech so they do not lose it. Therefore, the planning and implementing of creating content and communications towards this goal would then take 50% of my time.

• 30% of your time goes to research what the regime is doing, fact-check, assess alternative media and political analysis and discuss the impact of the regime's actions. Instead of doom-scrolling, you could be doing research on those issues connected to the area that you are prioritizing in your activism.

Examples:

For Bernie this was about coming up with the strategies and implementing the responses to all the crazy policies that the Destroyer in the White House comes up with.

For me that would be also to create content to help others come up with solutions for any violation of free speech.

Of course, both Bernie and I need to stay informed of most stuff in order to do our job; but by having a focus, we have certain criteria; so that we don't get lost in the endless chaos of this regime.

• 20% of your attention moves to envisioning solutions. You are observing those fresh new shoots of life emerging from beneath the ruins of what has been broken. You are growing quiet and reflecting on how, where and why our democracy is breaking and what that reveals.

These quiet moments or creative conversations have been instrumental in growing the strength of my faith because they help me SEE and FEEL the future we are fighting for. I am pouring my attention into a time/space container that I am then filling with energy.

For example: That’s how Bernie developed his presentation for our nation on the emerging danger and potential of AI and robotics—a scientific development that was kept quiet even though it was already sneaking into our work spaces. But they did not want us to know what was about to hit us like a ton of bricks. Now Bernie could articulate it clearly so we can understand it. He can present the evidence and has ready interviews with experts that help us trust this new crazy thing that sounds like a science fiction movie; but is deadly real.

Had Bernie not taken time to prepare this, we would be clueless and it would be disastrous.

But he was ready for the future because he had travel to meet it in his 20% time for envisioning solutions.

When you stop simply responding to what life throws at you and instead use the 50-30-20 Ratio, you can become a Creator Being. And that’s the next evolution of humanity.

That’s when we all become leaders.

When you step into the shoes of the Creator Being something magical happens: you stay positive, curious, energetic and motivated.

You divide your attention and time in ways that multiply your capacity instead of fragmenting your attention.

My Invitation

From now on, I invite you to focus your attention in this 50-30-20 ratio.

This is key in ensuring that you are nurturing solutions, potentials and possibilities to evolve democracy, instead of just focusing on what is broken, which is what this regime wants.

Because~ remember~ we feed our energy where we constantly focus our attention. Let's feed the solution, not the problems. Let’s feed the world we want to create.