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A Dream for The World

3 PrometheusWe can dream poverty. We can dream wealth.
We can dream hell or paradise.
We can dream death, or a life that lasts forever.
It is all up to us. The world is as we dream it.

A Dream for The World

Mankind does not dream. It thinks and feels negatively. There is not one single book or movie imagining a happy ending for the human venture. Famine, illiteracy, wars, conflicts, criminality, human rights abuses, and pollution are only the material projections of our negative imagination – of our dreaming upside down. It is time to dream a beautiful dream.This article is about a most ambitious philanthropic project for the future of the world: the creation of a planetary school for a new generation of leaders who are driven by ethics and integrity. They will chart a new course for humanity.

The Myth of Prometheus

If you happen to be in Philadelphia, do not miss the chance to visit the Museum of Art. There you can admire among other masterpieces the huge, magnificent painting by Peter Paul Rubens, ‘Prometheus Bound’, that the author himself described as one of his most important creations. It depicts with rare symbolic power the punishment of Prometheus, guilty of stealing fire – the divine spark – from Zeus to give it to Man. This Titan can well be considered the ancestral father of humanity and its benefactor.
He steals the fire for bringing life to Man, the creature that he, himself, had forged, thus giving Man the means to evolve. For this, he was condemned to be chained to a rock, to have his liver ripped out and eaten every day by an eagle, only to be regenerated by night in eternal punishment. In reality, according to legend, the punishment lasted “only” three thousand years, until Hercules slew the eagle and freed Prometheus from his chains.

A Mental Revolution

This ancient myth is a message from the future – a story of compassion and love for mankind. Prometheus is the symbol of a rebellion against an unjust and tyrannical condition, and the first dreamer of Man’s possible psychological evolution.
It is time to steal a new sparkle of intelligence from heaven to bring it to a decayed humanity to change its destiny. This sparkle is integrity, the central quality of the future leaders for the world.
We live in a conflicted society where the predominant motivating factor in Politics, as in Business, is Money and it is a world where leaders gain their power at the expense of humanity and where politicians and corporate gangsters with criminal minds are in the service of the economies of disaster: from arms manufacturing to environmental pollution, from pharmaceutical production to organized crime. These are economies where decisions are not made in the rut of a beautiful dream about the future of mankind, but where choices are biased by Fear. Consequently, we are delivering to our children a world in worse condition that the one we have inherited.
We need a new way of thinking – a mental revolution – which is the only possible solution to the millennia old evils of the planet. We need to change.

A Most Ancient Truth

Change never comes from a system of beliefs, a philosophy, a revolution, or a political party. The myth of Prometheus, who can be seen as the archetype of the rebel, also reasserts this most ancient truth: change only comes through the personal efforts of a single, resolute individual, and from a luminous idea that starts as a tiny sparkle and then spreads like a wildfire capable of burning up the world.
Behind every human achievement, at the origin of every innovation, of every scientific or social conquest, behind the world’s greatest endeavours, business ventures, and all that is beautiful, useful, and wealthy, there is invariably one man – an individual and his dream. Throughout history, change has begun solely because of one committed individual who had the capacity to think outside the confines of time. Change comes from timeless leaders capable of thinking in terms of infinity, and not in days or in fiscal quarters. It comes from one who cannot be corrupted by short-term benefits, and who charts a new course for humanity.
The primary root of the millennia old problems afflicting our planet is the decay of moral values and the shortage of ethical, impeccable leaders capable of approaching business and politics as a sacred duty – as if they were serving a mission. A Dream for the World is a project designed to educate a new generation of leaders driven by ethics and integrity as the most strategic resource for all nations.

The DFW – Dream for the World Leadership Program

On the 2nd of December 2010, I left my position as Rector, stepped down as Vice President of The ESE Foundation in New York, and reduced any other commitments in order to create an advanced research center offering a Program centered on Integrity as the most essential quality of leadership. Furthermore, its mission is to inspire specially talented students, selected worldwide, to believe in their dreams and to act with fearlessness in all that they do, and to teach what no school or university, no parent or mentor has ever conveyed: a sense of greatness, unlimited love for freedom, and incorruptible integrity, as the central quality of a leader and the most important achievement of Man’s life. From this group, we intend to develop leaders for the future, the most strategic resource for the economic growth and human development of all nations. Without them, no progress is possible. With my friend George Koukis, a world corporate leader and great philanthropist, we have set our hearts on creating a Program selecting and preparing the independent thinkers, the revolutionary minds, the luminous rebels that the world needs – men and women of integrity. Any other alternative, or a continuation of the current practices will yield disastrous results.
After Florence (2010) and Como (2011), the next edition of the Program is being organized in Istanbul, from August 27 through September 17th, 2012. Participants will be carefully chosen and among all the applicants, only 30 candidates will attend the 21 day course. A pool of sponsors has instituted a scholarship program for the deserving students.

The FLW Program in Istanbul

A team of international teachers and the most prestigious key speakers will lead the Future Leaders to the discovery of their talents and what they really love. Art, Music, Drama, Philosophy, Psychology of Success, Creativity, Economics of Ideas, and Emotional Intelligence are some of the subjects of the Program, together with gym, wellness and team-building. Self-discovery, observing, studying and finally knowing oneself are integral parts of the FLW Program to restore Ethics and Integrity as the central qualities of an impeccable leader. FLW is a hands-on environment where, with the support of mentors (Corporate Leaders and Top Managers), each student will receive individual attention and directions for turning their aspirations into profession, and doing in life what they love – without any compromise. www.futureleadersfortheworld.com

Are You Ready to be a Future Leader for the World?

It does not matter from which of the five continents you come. Your nationality or upbringing, your background, previous studies, the social and family circumstances which bred you, your culture, religion, or tradition are not important. Just answer these questions:
One day mankind will be able to eradicate poverty, create jobs for everyone on the planet, make friends out of mortal enemies, and create a world with no pollution, and justice for everyone. It probably will not happen in my lifetime, and, possibly not within 100 years. But would it not be a great aim to Dream of such a world 1000 years from now? Are you ready to commit yourself now toward such a distant future?
Then write to me, and apply to the FLW Program especially designed to develop your potential as a visionary leader, and to discover for what you were uniquely born. The main objective is to restore Ethics and Integrity as the central qualities of future leadership.
Not everybody can be a leader, and there is nothing wrong with that. Once you decide to be one, however, you must love your dream, and believe in it with your entire being. It will come true.