Youtropolis Call to Action!
A Call to Action from Youtropolis Co-founder Elisa Charouhas
As a child, I imagined I could do anything except fly. My fantasy and hope was to cure cancer when I grew up, so I spent lots of mental time indulging in library medical journals that I didn’t understand and playing with the best of chemistry sets. Like most kids, I didn’t have to read books on how to be happy. I just imagined myself growing up and doing something I loved that would also benefit others. That made me happy.
Children are all about building their own benevolent and purposeful empire. It begins with backyard tree houses, homebuilt lookout towers, and makeshift tents, and it grows in young imaginations that put no limits on the future. Children are little emperors who believe in their hearts they have something good to give to the world and the world will love them for it.
Though we grow up and leave most fantasies behind, we’re still building empires by pushing ourselves out into the world and increasing our benevolent reach through our career, our children, our charitable work, community activism, social media, and through nurturing relationships with family and friends.
Pythagoras, the Greek mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, and musician, said, “No one is free who has not obtained the empire of himself.” It is a profound statement about the connection between personal growth and liberation.
Pythagoras understood that empires, by their very nature, must create and sustain enriching alliances to derive benefits, gain strength, and achieve their power. The empire of yourself, therefore, is not about being independent and aloof to the needs or wants of others—quite the opposite. It’s about rising up on the goodwill of others, and sharing an equal amount of your own goodwill in return.
As every empire must be ruled, the empire of yourself will ultimately reveal what or who rules over you. If time rules over you, you’ll have little time to build supportive alliances. If prejudice rules over you, you’ll miss opportunities to extend your empire and reap new rewards. If insecurity rules over you, you’ll lack the courage to grow. If intolerance and anger rule over you, you’ll push others away. But if your heart rules you, your empire will rise.
Rising and thriving is what liberation is always about, and it’s why people will go to war to achieve it. On a personal level, it’s about reaching new heights within yourself, conquering your fears, and nurturing the empire within. It’s about your own city on the hill shining its light into the world.
As a social platform, we offer fertile ground in which to grow your empire from the ground up, one action at a time. As a service, we give you free territory in which to stake your claim and cultivate your innermost resources to share with the world. As a member, you’ll benefit from a social safety net that aims to help you stay afloat.
Our liberation actions, sent to members on Tuesdays and Thursdays, are the foundation for growing your empire. They are pathways to a deeper level of connection with yourself and others, and above all, they will open your heart to a more enriching level of balance and self-fulfillment.
I would love to collaborate with you on your next wish, pledge, or poll—just invite me into your tribe (my city is Evangel). I’ll also look forward to reading any news or lessons you post, and seeing any items you add to your recycle bin. So, keep an eye out for your next Liberation Action alert, and give yourself a minute or more to live large and courageously by taking the action.
Here’s to growing your empire!
Elisa Charouhas, Co-founder, Youtropolis