Virtues 2.0 – A Model for Genuine Success

Buying a new car or house, or getting a way for a bit of winter sun on an expensive holiday are all classic signs of success in the western world. And they’re great, who doesn’t love new things and a winter tan? Plus it can feel good when other people look up to us and admire what we have or what we have achieved. The problem is the car and house age and the eventually the tan fades. Then we are left looking for the next new thing. Before long we are like a hamster on a wheel running fast to stay in the same place. For many people at some point the joy-of-stuff wears thin and they begin to contemplate what genuine success would look like for them.

Discovering our personal source of success is not as easy as it might seem. Most of our early years, when we are most susceptible to messages about who we are and what makes us tick, are governed by parents or others in loci parentis. Then of course there is the media telling us that a person can be measured by how they look and what they have. How is the child to sort out what truly matters to them?

There are, of course, some lucky individuals, who have always know the answer to that question. They pursue their passion from an early age and go on to make a living doing the thing they love. Often for them genuine success comes naturally.

Sadly, these people tend to be in a minority. For so many others Monday morning is accompanied by a feeling of dread. The good news is getting to a low point can be the catalyst that propels us to discovering what really matters, what for us is genuine success. The Virtues 2.0 model is designed to create a framework for exploring genuine success.

Virtues is a very old idea with lots of baggage. It’s frequently associated with the morality. Sadly, not as a goal to aspire to personally but more as a stick to beat others with. So in this model “virtues” has had an upgrade. A virtue 2.0 virtue has the following characteristics:

1.They relate to actions that align with human universals that promote social cohesion and success. (Human Universals refer to the activities and traits we see across the globe in successful groups.They include features, such as fairness, reciprocation, sharing, and empathy.)

2.They are characteristics which a person chooses to embody. For example Mother Teresa could be described as embodying compassion because of the actions she took to care for the destitute in India.

3.They relate to actions that can be taken regardless of resources, status or personal situation.

The model consists of 7 virtues:

	Ingenuity/creativity To create something new or solve a problem be it art, business, literature, science, engineering, medicine, social or academia etc.
	Compassion Understanding of other peoples’ suffering and your own. Includes seeing things from someone else’s point of view coupled with a willingness to help.
	Respect Includes an understanding of the value of each person and the willingness to let go of the belief that you are more important than anyone else. Avoiding a sense of entitlement. Developing an understanding of the power and satisfaction that comes from global unity. Includes a perspective of oneness (what effects you, effects all of us), equality and self-awareness.
	Appreciation Ability to feel appreciation for ideas, things or people and the things other people do coupled with the willingness to acknowledge or express those thoughts and feelings. Includes expressing gratitude and appreciation of nature.
	Forgiveness Willingness to forgive oneself and others for what has been done or has failed to be done. Includes skills of empathy, understanding and self-control.
	Courage Willingness and ability to standup and be counted. Includes taking actions that run counter to ones best interests in order to support another person or an ideal.
	Nurture Ability and willingness to take action to care for a person, animal or the environment either to alleviate a need or aid improvements. Includes teaching, nursing, child care, any helpful or kind action.