Create the Experience of Fun and Joy: Interview with Lynne Twist, Founder of the Soul of Money Institute

I recently went one on one with Lynne Twist. Lynne is the co-founder of the Pachamama Alliance and the founder of the Soul of Money Institute. Lynne is also the author of The Soul of Money and the new book Living a Committed Life.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth? 

Lynne: There are three things that I want to share. First, the passing of my father the day before my 14th birthday was a tragedy that gave me tremendous pain but led me to discover the power of my inner life. At that time, I had a huge outer life of popularity and accomplishments in high school, but my grief led me to experience an inner life of reflection that was even greater. 

Number two, in 2008, our organization, the Pachamama Alliance in Ecuador, which had been tremendously successful in partnering with indigenous people to preserve the rainforest, got shut down by the government who had been tremendously supportive of us for several years. It was a tremendous setback to our work of empowering the Indigenous people to stop oil and mining projects. But it was clear that we were shut down because we were so effective; it was an acknowledgment of our success. We then stepped into a new space and created a consulting firm to do the same work we did as an NGO. We also started working to create a positive vision of how the Indigenous people could work with the government rather than just fighting against it. That strategy has created the Amazon Sacred Headwaters Initiative, a commitment to put this region of the rainforest in permanent protection. Out of what seemed to be a huge breakdown, we made a breakthrough that can mean a new future for the Indigenous people, for the country of Ecuador, and for the forests that are so important to life.

Third, in 1995 and 1996 I was struggling to discover how to fulfill what I thought was my life purpose of ending world hunger through my work with The Hunger Project. I been completely devoted to that organization for almost 20 years, but I was being called to take on the new commitment of working with indigenous peoples of the Amazon which was the beginning of the Pachamama Alliance period. I was struggling with trying to do both of these huge initiatives when I got very sick with malaria. For nine months, I couldn't do anything for anyone. I just has to stop completely. It was horrible at the time, but it turned out to be a tremendous blessing because it gave me time for reflection and rethinking the purpose of my life and service. And when I came out of those nine months of illness, I had a new commitment to the next chapter of my life, and I was able to release my work in The Hunger Project to the many wonderful people that I had trained. The illness was difficult, but without it I don't think that transition would have been as powerful as it turned out to be.

Adam: What do you hope readers take away from your new book? 

Lynne: It's my intention that the readers of Living a Committed Life recognize the crucial nature of the times we are living in and discover in themselves their own authentic response. I want to them to find a purpose that will have them step out of the pettiness or small concerns of their own life and become an instrument of what wants to happen in the world today. We need more people who are willing to take the extraordinary gift of their own life and put it in service of life itself.

Adam: What are your best tips for fellow leaders of non-profit organizations? 

Lynne: I hardily recommend that fundraising be considered a blessed opportunity of the NGO sector. Fundraising encourages you to be clear about your mission and to be able to communicate it powerfully. It enables you to bring into your organization partnerships and people who are invested both emotionally and financially in your mission. I suggest you make fundraising the most desired, exciting part of your organizational work, so that it draws the best people. For me, it's a joy and a privilege to ask people for money for something I believe in. Whether they say yes or no, the interaction serves the people you talk to, and it can be the most fulfilling part of any organizational culture.

Adam: Who are the best leaders you have been around and what have you learned from them? 

Lynne: Buckminster Fuller was a visionary who literally defined for me the power of a little individual’s commitment to living a life that impacts all of humanity. He spoke about that; he modeled that; and he inspired me to live that kind of a life. 

Joan Holmes, who was the president and CEO of The Hunger Project for many years was dedicated to always tapping into what she called Source. For her, Source was that well of being, that guidance from the universe, that allows you to be the instrument of something larger than your own wants and needs. She saw herself as someone who was only being true to herself when she was connected Source and she led from there. 

Werner Erhard, the founder of EST and the Landmark work and also one of the founders of The Hunger Project, will always be for me my root teacher. In working with him I discovered I could make a difference with my life, that I could contribute to making the world work for everyone with no one and nothing left out. Knowing that my life matters has been at heart and soul of my work, but also my marriage, my parenting, my relationships, and life itself.

Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level? 

Lynne: An effective leader is someone who gives their word and lives as their word. They are totally and completely accountable for saying what they mean, meaning what they say, and delivering on what they promise. Effective leaders care deeply about the wellbeing and experience of the people around them and are dedicated to creating environments and ecosystems that nourish and empower people to be their best selves. Another defining quality of an effective leader is someone who becomes the stand they have taken. In other words, they are the mission and vision in action, and their personal identity is in service of that rather than their own ego.

To take their leadership to the next level, a leader needs to be humble, knowing that there's always more to learn.  They welcome new challenges. They have the courage, resolve, and integrity to live their mission in every aspect of who they are.

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders? 

Lynne: First, once you set your sight on something that you want to accomplish, don't compromise and don't settle. Give it your all, and close off any alternatives to not meeting your commitments, so that you are literally boxed into your own greatness. 

Second, surround yourself with people who you admire and respect and know you can count on. Give them your trust and your love.

Third, constantly and unequivocally empower people around you with your appreciation and your affirmation. Let them know you see who they really are. Be their ally in mirroring back to them the greatness you see in them, and they will respond consistent with that.

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams?

Lynne: Create an environment for every voice to be heard. Make sure that people know that no one succeeds alone, but that collaboration and partnership are the true keys to any real success. Make sure you create the experience of fun and joy. If it’s the best game in town, everybody wants to play full on.

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Lynne: The great Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron says, “If your everyday practice is to open to all your emotions, to all the people you meet to all the situations you encounter without closing down, trusting that you can do that -- then that will take you as far as you can go. And then you'll understand all the teachings that anyone has ever taught.

Adam: What can anyone do to pay it forward? 

Lynne: Each of us has a role to play in ensuring the health and well-being of future generations. If we think of ourselves as ancestors to an age yet to come, we will take actions that are consistent with paying it forward. Living with that consciousness allows you to make choices and take actions that are consistent with your own integrity and the integrity of life.

Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?

Lynne: Any situation of breakdown holds the seeds of a breakthrough that's greater than the breakdown itself. If you know that, you will look for those seeds and water them. Then life gives you exactly what you need to evolve, to grow, and to make the difference that you want to make in the world.


Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.

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