The Flourishing Manifesto: Principles for Living an Excellent Life

Excellence isn't something you achieve—it's something you live. After 120 episodes exploring what it means to flourish, I've distilled the core insights into The Flourishing Manifesto, a philosophy of life built on agency, virtue, mindfulness, and purpose.

This manifesto emerged while planning my upcoming book, Live Well and Flourish: Axioms for Living an Excellent Life. Though the words were crafted by ChatGPT from over 125,000 words of podcast transcripts, the thoughts are mine—years of conversations, research, and personal exploration about creating the conditions for excellence to emerge naturally in our lives.

Flourishing isn't about wealth, status, or fleeting happiness. It's about how you live, love, and grow. It's found in the ordinary moments most people overlook, guided by daily practices of virtue, and oriented by purpose that serves as your North Star.

The manifesto reminds us that flourishing is reciprocal—your growth uplifts others, their flourishing enriches yours. A better world is built one choice, one moment at a time.

These aren't just philosophical ideals; they're practical guideposts for daily living. What matters most isn't just understanding these principles, but living them. Start small. Choose one area to exercise your agency today. That's how flourishing begins.

Takeaways:

• Flourishing is not a mere destination, but rather a continuous way of being in the world.
• Excellence in life is cultivated through the deliberate practice of virtues such as courage, justice, and kindness.
• Mindfulness and reflection are essential for transforming experiences into meaningful wisdom that enriches our lives.
• To flourish, one must engage in daily acts of compassion and purpose, nurturing both oneself and others around them.
• The journey toward a flourishing life begins with small, intentional choices that align with one's values and aspirations.
• Ultimately, the pursuit of eudaimonia requires a commitment to live with virtue and a deep appreciation for the ordinary moments in life.

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Email Craig at: [e-mail]

All episodes are available online at the Live Well and Flourish website: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/

The theme music for Live Well and Flourish was written by Hazel Crossler, [e-mail].

Production assistant - Paul Robert

Episode Transcript

(00:10):
Welcome to Live well andFlourish, where I help you understand
what it means to live aflourishing life.
I'm your host, Craig Van Slyke.
If you're ready to thinkbeyond material and external success,
if you're ready to takecontrol of who you are and the kind
of life you live, if you'reready to flourish, this is the podcast
for you.

(00:31):
You don't achieve an excellentlife, you live it.
An excellent life emergesnaturally when you create the right
conditions, when you act withpurpose, embrace virtue, and remain
mindful of life's ordinary beauty.
These are some of the insightsI've explored over 120plus episodes
of live well and Flourish, andnow I'm kind of excited to share

(00:53):
them in a new form.
The Flourishing Manifesto theFlourishing Manifesto was created
while working on a new bookI'm writing, Live well and Axioms
for Living an Excellent Life.
My plan is to write the bookover the next few months, then make
it available through Amazon oras a PDF or an ePub document.

(01:14):
I may also release some of thechapters through Live well and Flourish.
Be sure to subscribe or followto catch these episodes.
You can [e-mail] by the
way, you can also sign up forthe Live well and Flourish newsletter
there.
I decided to write the bookbecause I kind of miss thinking about
how to live a flourishing life.

(01:36):
Since putting the podcast onpause, I haven't spent enough time
thinking about this.
So I decided to write a bookorganized around axioms or rules
for living a flourishing lifeof excellence.
Remember, excellence is ajourney, not a destination.
The axioms and the practicalwisdom they represent can help you
on your journey as they havehelped me.

(01:59):
After coming up with theaxioms, I asked ChatGPT to put them
together into an overallphilosophy of life.
The Flourishing Manifesto isthe result.
I want to be clear.
What follows was written byChatGPT, not me, but it was based
on more than 120 episodes ofLive well and Flourish.
I liked what ChatGPT wrote somuch that I decided to share it with

(02:23):
you.
Although ChatGPT wrote thewords you're about to hear, the foundation
for the manifesto comes fromover 125,000 words of live well and
Flourish transcripts.
Even though the words you'reabout to hear are not mine, the thoughts
are all right, here's theFlourishing Manifesto.

(02:44):
Flourishing is not a destination.
It's a way of being in the world.
It's not measured by wealth,status, or fleeting happiness, but
by how you live, how you love,and how you grow Flourishing begins
with agency.
You are not a passenger.
Your choices define your character.

(03:05):
Every act, however small, is athread in the fabric of who you are.
Flourishing is guided by virtue.
Courage, justice, kindness andwisdom are not lofty ideals, but
daily practices that repeated,become habits, and habits lived become
who you are.

(03:26):
Flourishing thrives in the ordinary.
It's found in small wins,quiet acts of kindness, and the between
times that most people overlook.
To savor the small is tomultiply joy.
Flourishing demandsmindfulness and reflection.
Without awareness, life passes unnoticed.

(03:48):
Without reflection, experienceremains unshaped.
Together, they turn momentsinto wisdom.
Flourishing embracesimperfection and impermanence.
Life is unfinished, transient, interconnected.
Beauty lies not in whatendures forever, but in what changes,

(04:09):
fades, and gives birth to the new.
Flourishing is oriented bypurpose, not a rigid plan, but a
North star, something toguide, to shape, to steady as you
adapt to life's shifting terrain.
And flourishing is reciprocal.
Your growth uplifts others.

(04:32):
Their flourishing enriches yours.
A better world is built.
One kind act, one choice, onemoment at a time.
To flourish is to live withvirtue, purpose, mindfulness and
compassion, practiced daily,embraced humbly in both the grand

(04:52):
and the ordinary.
That's the manifesto.
Back to my words.
These principles emerged fromyears of exploring what it means
to live an excellent lifethrough conversations, research and
personal experience.
They aren't just philosophical ideals.
They're practical guidepostsfor daily living.

(05:13):
As I develop these ideasfurther in my upcoming book, I'll
share my thoughts in newepisodes of Live well and Flourish.
I'd love for you to join me inthis exploration of how we can create
the conditions for excellenceto emerge naturally in our lives.
What matters most is not justunderstanding these principles, but
living them.

(05:33):
Start small.
Choose one area where you canexercise your agency today.
Practice one virtue mindfully.
Notice one ordinary moment.
That is how flourishing begins.
I produce Live well andFlourish because of my dedication
to helping others liveexcellent lives.
I don't accept sponsorshipsand I don't want your money.

(05:55):
The only thing I want is tohelp you and others flourish.
If you've received some valuefrom this episode, please share it
with someone that might alsobenefit from listening.
The best way to do that is todirect them to livewellandflourish.com
until next time.