World Blu RSS Feed: What are Demcoratic CEOs Up to Now?

[RSS FEED-from consistent personal brands]

My RSS Feed, Traci Fenton, is a Thinker and Has Just Posted the Following:

Brian Johnson was the Founder and CEO of Zaadz, a WorldBlu List 2007 awardee and the first website in the world committed to creating a community around conscious capitalism. Last summer, Zaadz was sold to Gaiam and its’ name changed from Zaadz to Gaia Community. Brian then went on to start Philosophers Notes.

I had the opportunity to meet Brian and other members of the Zaadz team last spring when I was in San Francisco. Brian and I became fast friends and he has continued to be a source of inspiration to me. I thought you might enjoy hearing what this democratic CEO is up to now. . .
What inspired you to launch PhilosophersNotes?

I’ve always been passionate about understanding what makes great people great—that .0000001% who really go out there and give themselves to the world. After studying Psychology at UCLA, working as a consultant at Arthur Andersen, dropping out of law school and building and selling my first business, eteamz, (as 24-year-old dot com boomer of ’99), I fell in love with the idea of a “philosopher” (simply “lover of wisdom” in Greek) and read as many books on philosophy, psychology, mysticism and optimal living as I could.

After a few years as a philosopher, I felt called to create Zaadz.com (think: MySpace for people who want to change the world). After selling Zaadz to Gaiam last summer, I decided I wanted to give myself my own Ph.D. in Optimal Living and I’d give myself a Masters when I’d distilled the wisdom from 100 of my favorite books.

Then, earlier this year on a flight from Tokyo to LA, I opened SkyMall to an ad for a company doing summaries of business books for business executives and had one of those “Hallelujah!!” moments and realized someone should do summaries for self-development books… and that someone should be me.

Combine that with a deep sense of knowing just how busy people are and how little time we often have to really tap into the wisdom we know could improve our lives, and, here we are. . .

What role does self-knowledge play in being a successful business person?

I think it plays a huge role. I can’t think of anything more important than knowing who we are and knowing how to bring our highest selves to the world.

You were the Founder and CEO of a democratic company called Zaadz which was also on the WorldBlu list of Most Democratic Workplaces 2007. How do you think what you’re doing now is relevant to democratic leaders and people working in democratic companies?

When I was running Zaadz one of the first things that seemed to go was my leisurely reading time. I realize how busy we can get as we passionately give ourselves to our work and our lives and I hope that the 6-page PDF and 20-minute MP3 PhilosophersNotes will give us a quick and easy way to consistently tap into the wisdom of the greatest teachers as we to create their ideal lives!

What is your vision for Philosophers Notes?

We’re excited to have 1,000 titles and to serve one million “philosophers” (a.k.a., subscribers) in the next two years. I’m also excited about creating relationships with major corporations and non-profits and getting the Notes into the prison system and other places of need. And I can see PhilosophersNotes offline in places like Barnes & Noble and Whole Foods.

Can you give us a personal example of how you’ve worked with ideas from one of the books and how it impacted your leadership style as a democratic leader?

The one thing I’ve noticed about all these great books and teachers is that they pretty much all say the same thing—to show up authentically, fearlessly and with an open heart as we strive to give ourselves most fully to the world.

So, it’s hard to pin down one particular lesson as I find myself being inspired by a Big Idea from this book or that book and then having fun finding ways to integrate the idea or practice into my life. And THAT approach is totally transforming every aspect of my life—in my business, relationships, health, everything!

What else are you thinking about these days?

How to train our little puppy!!

Thanks so much Brian!

I also want to thank YOU for your vision and inspiration. Keep up the awesome work!!

I encourage you to sign up for PDF and MP3 samples and consider subscribing to Philosophers Notes as well. It’s a fantastic and easy tool for all committed to freedom-centered leadership and organizational democracy.



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