The Path of Faiā
Written by George Siosi Samuels | July 30, 2018
The following is a note to my future self, as I think about my next steps, the next decade, and beyond. I share it as a way of documenting my journey, to see how well I keep to my path, or not. There is a stirring in my soul, a longing to explore. Dating back to the stories my grandmother and mother used to tell me, even further to wisdom passed down by my great grandfather, the time has come for me to go to where my inner voice has been calling me to. The world.
Once upon a time, my great grandfather held knowledge of the “old ways.” Then came the Christian missionaries who sought to convert everyone to the ways of Jesus Christ. Great guy. But towards the end of my great grandfather’s days, his daughter (my grandmother) told him to put the “old ways” away with him when he departed. He replied, “Fine. I will do so. But just know that, one day, my descendants will come back looking for the old ways.”
In 2019, I will start to do exactly that. I will be embarking on a journey to bring back knowledge of the “old ways” for the benefit of current and future generations in all areas of life - from the spiritual to the business world. It is no coincidence that all my seemingly “random” career choices - from programming and animation to business and community management - have all led to this point in time at the dawn of my 30’s.
Experiences Become Lessons
My past has taken me through the fields of programming, business, sales, marketing, animation, games, community management, and now even cryptocurrencies. There have been many hard losses and sacrifices - from experiencing my family break apart due to divorce, deaths of loved ones, and even my own divorce. However, despite all these trials and tribulations, it has only invigorated me even more to get back up and turn those experiences into lessons. The world is at a crossroads. What we decide to do now will set the tone of the next few centuries of the Aquarian Age.
Primordial Ancestral Wisdom
In 2015, I was sitting on top of Mt Pele in Hawaii (wrote a post about it here). Watching the lava boil from within its cavities. I could feel the fire of my ancestors brimming inside me. I asked myself, “If I were to choose one thing to master over the next decade, what would it be?” The voice inside me replied, “community.” It was so simple and clear. Yet, you may be asking yourself, “But what about community? It’s so broad?” Well, everything. Building community is building empires. A sense of community is the social glue that helps individuals feel like they belong, and can achieve more together than alone.
“The time of the lone wolf is over.” ~Hopi Elder
I personally believe that the world is capable of achieving a global sense of community (e.g. Facebook’s attempts), but we need help as not all problems can be solved by technology alone. Help from the wisdom keepers of the past like the indigenous and First Nations peoples. My foray into my own cultural history (Polynesia) when I was known as a “cultural animator,” found me connecting with the plights of many other indigenous and First Nations people. As such, the sense of responsibility I felt in bringing back the “old ways” accentuated even more.
The Mission
My personal mission in life is to help bridge divides between people and technology, which relates to a famous prophecy known as the Eagle & Condor. My message is harmony. The goal is to bring back wisdom of the deep past for the benefit of current and future generations, especially when it comes to harmonizing people, technology and nature.
It will also inform a unique methodology for my consulting company, Faiā, which is based around community and technology. From a business perspective, I see a huge opportunity for global companies to help build a stronger sense of community for both their employees and customers that move beyond ROI and profit. Strong communities can help ensure longer-lasting legacies, because relationships are hard to replicate. And communities are all about relationship - to people, place and things.
The Purpose
My purpose is to understand what ‘community’ means in the modern age, and how technology is impacting the pursuit of a “global village", from indigenous groups to corporations. What does the West need to remember in order to bring the Eagle and Condor back together? What can indigenous communities learn from the West (e.g. technology)?
Work has been done on this before, but I want to master it. I want to become a global community master, who knows how to lead, manage and direct global communities, especially in today’s hyper-connected online world. I want to bring back the wisdom of the ancients for the benefit of future generations.