|
|
Dec. 8, 2006
Give the gift of hope
Zentrepreneur lights a candle in the darkness.
MONIKA ULLMANN
Feeling a little down in the dumps lately and finding it hard to
get all fired up about gift-giving and Chanukah cheer? Too much
bad news about the war on terror, global warming, the excesses of
celebrities and the oppressive greed of the corporate world can
do that to you.
Fret no more. There's hope, optimism and a coherent vision of how
to live a harmonious life that serves not only your corporate masters
but also your innermost wishes and needs, coming to a bookstore
near you, with the launch of Zentrepreneurism: A 21st-Century
Guide to the New World of Business by Allan M. Holender.
Holender launched the book at the Canadian Memorial Centre for Peace
Nov. 24. Now in his early 60s, he has been a resident of Vancouver
for 35 years. He said he was brought up properly as a "good
Jewish boy"; complete with a typical Jewish mother. But in
the book, he recounts that he perceived the teachings of traditional
Judaism as something to be overcome on his journey to achieving
true independence and self-reliance. He now embraces the teachings
of Buddha, calling it "a practical philosophy of life,"
rather than a religion.
"The Buddhist is at a great advantage because he does not lose
sight of reality during the happy moments and he does not give way
to despair in the face of misfortune," said Holender, a former
entrepreneur and broadcaster who eschews the title of "guru,"
instead describing himself as a "fellow traveller on the journey."
Holender's vision for a new, improved capitalism is about harnessing
our cultural discontent and turning it into something positive.
It is, he said, about applying the wisdom of the "eightfold
path of Buddhism" to the workplace, where people generally
spend most of their waking hours and energies.
According to Holender, the dysfunctional corporate model is in dire
need of repair, rethinking and revisioning. He believes that wealth
does not equal contentment, functioning families or communities,
let alone a healthy planet. He suggested that Enron, Worldcom and
other disasters are just the tip of the corporate iceberg; beneath
is a culture teeming with exhausted and exploited corporate drones,
dysfunc- tional politics and troubled youth.
Holender said the American dream of success has become a nightmare
and he questions the values that drive it. His solution is to integrate
the Buddhist basics of cultivating compassion and freedom from anger
and greed into our daily corporate lives.
He said this is not only possible but is driven by a rising tide
of social awareness. "It's bubbling up," said Bruce A.
Stewart, who wrote the foreword to the book. Stewart admitted that
he was skeptical of Holender's "Zentrepreneurship" at
first, thinking it was just a "New Age fad" that wouldn't
stand the test of living in the real world.
Stewart said he spent his entire professional life in the corporate
world working in information technology for banks, the CBC, an international
company headquartered in Holland and as CEO of a software company
where "Zentrepreneurism was the opposite of my work experience."
He began encouraging Holender to write when he discovered that he
wasn't alone with his doubts. In true paradoxical Zen fashion, Stewart
discovered he enjoyed working with someone who didn't think he had
all the answers.
"It was refreshing to see his humility and so, in 2004, we
started meeting once a month for coffee and I became his sounding
board," said Stewart.
Two years, an editorial crisis and the tough decision to self-publish
later, the hardcover book is available at Chapters and Holender
is promoting it in cities across Canada. He said he found the audiences
in Toronto "unresponsive," unlike Vancouver people, who
immediately "get it."
Holender hopes that, in five years, "Zentrepreneurism is a
global movement with every country involved, young or old, and offering
the perfect opportunity for boomers to become free agents so they
can run their life and their business as they desire. And that Zentrepreneurism
is in the dictionary."
For more information, visit www.zentrepreneurism.com.
Monika Ullmann is a Vancouver freelance writer and editor.
^TOP
|
|
