PREFACE
Adam Jefferson, a divine manifest of Adam Smith's materialism and Thomas Jefferson's idealism, is our troubled modern day hero. He awoke in the middle of his life - broke and lost. A serial entrepreneur, his life was a never-ending quest for material success. At age 38, as Joseph Campbell forewarned humanity, Adam had "climbed the ladder of success, only to realize it was propped up against the wrong wall." Alone, with nothing else to lose, Adam Jefferson climbed down off of the ladder and searched for the wall of his future. This led him on a 100-day odyssey to start the ascent of his new life, an epic journey which called him across the world discussing today's challenges and opportunities with the great minds of our past - Carl Jung, Mary Parker-Follett, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mohandas Gandhi, Albert Einstein, and many others. An act of their collective genius and magical combustion, a psychological and sociological theory for sustainability and success was formed. Like all heroic quests, Adam ended where he had begun. Prior to his expedition, Adam had an unforgettable encounter with one of the great minds of the 20th century. One freezing, early morning on January 17, 2009, Adam Jefferson met the famed Harvard psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They walked the beach in Winthrop for hours, discussing morality and the questions one ponders in the solitude of despair. They exchange woes - "You tell me yours, and I will tell you mine." Adam found an uncanny comfort in the company of misery. One hundred days after this encounter with Kohlberg, Adam returns - almost - home. As he crossed the bridge from Cambridge to Winthrop, he could see planes taking off and landing at Logan Airport, circling and cutting across the open space of Boston's harbor. This refreshing April morning stood like a bright, book-ending foil to the last time Adam was in Cambridge, pining the loss of dreams sought with his friend, Kohlberg. Although, they had only met that once, there had been a certain knowingness in their brief relationship. Tales had been told - some of them secrets, for sure. Adam told Kohlberg about the time he had taken his father's 22-caliber hunting rifle, and shot dead a little bird perched on a corral fence post. His stomach turned remembering the lifeless bird - the touch of warm soft under-feathers, the glassy stare of possibility removed. Adam had never hunted again, or so he thought.

By contrast, Lawrence's stories were not filled with regrets or forlorn longings. That day, he had spokes like an objective biographer - resigned, detailed, with an attention to obscure points which had provided the retrospective texture of the present. This sense of peace attracted Adam, and felt it something to aspire to, really. Maybe, this day, 100 days on, he would find his old friend. There were many stories to tell. Adam walked for hours, and once again passed the spot he had last seen Kohlberg, hoping to see a glimpse of his friend. Just as he was about to give up the search, a discordant image on the horizon caught his eye. Shielding his eyes against the sun, he could just make out an outline of a man. As Adam moved closer, he saw the blackcloaked figure was hunched over locked legs, as if teetering on the surface of the water, little waves rolling across his feet. Disappointed, this was definitely not Lawrence, unless he had gone completely grey in the past few months. Mystified, Adam called out across the water and waves, "Hey there! Do you need some help?" A whirl and a twirl, the black-cloaked chaos of white, wiry hair spun around, with a belly laugh and joyous whoop: "I just knew I would find you here!" he said. Through the dim haze of recognition, Adam was very relieved to see that the man was standing on a row of bricks, like a little bridge neatly hidden under the rolling waves. 'At least I'm not losing my mind," he thought. Over the past few months, Adam had gotten used to mind-bending, fleeting fantasies, but this surpassed them all. Here in front him - seemingly standing on the rolling stillness of the sea, water splashing over his blackened-leather, wing-tipped banker shoes - here, there, now - stood Albert Einstein. A frozen mythical stag on the edge of a night-fallen lake, Adam Jefferson stood still. Battling against his astonishment, Adam Jefferson took a deep breath and managed to walk across the little bridge towards his beloved physics tutor. Before Adam could fully close the distance between them, Einstein had already begun: "So, tell me! What did you learn from your great journey?" Adam's mind was reeling, trying to remember where they had left off. So much had happened since they last met. As Adam relates everything he has learned, he has suddenly become the teacher, Einstein the student. Einstein hangs on every word, writing in a journal, sketching, scratching things out, before scribbling furiously once more. Finally, with a glance of gratitude, Einstein hands Adam the journal.

Adam looks down at the black book, still warm from his tutor's touch, but before he can raise his questioning eyes to his friend - Albert Einstein steps on the silent moment between two waves of the sea. Lifting both of his arms, Einstein waves his hands, laughing, and shouting, "Thank you. Thank you, dear friend." "Hey! Wait a minute... I still have a lot of questions." Trying to follow Einstein, Adam's foot slips beneath the watery surface of the sea, soaking him all the way to the bend of his knee. Echoing in the distance, he hears Einstein saying, "Remember, we teach what we most need to learn. And, look at what you have taught me!"

He stood in the water, transfixed, until the black, swan-like figure was eclipsed by the distant horizon. It was then that Adam started to peel carefully through the pages of the journal that Einstein had given him. He read the entries until the words and images were carved into his eternal flesh and the sun had met its daily fate. As Adam turned toward home, Lawrence Kohlberg was nowhere to be seen, but heard in the stillness between two more waves in the sea. The following pages are from Albert Einstein's journal. A transcription of these papers is available in the Appendix.

APPENDIX
Cover
Theory A

The following is a transcription of Albert Einstein's papers.

A Unifying Manifesto for Our Next Generation of Leaders Inspired by many teachers and learners...

A Unifying Manifesto
Each person, group, and society is comprised of extraordinary mass-energy, mostly, because of the brain's electromagnetic energy and mirror neurons that hardwire us together. Based on the laws of physics, we know that mass-energy bends and shapes the continuum of space-time - like a bowling ball rolling across trampoline fabric. Ergo, consciously or unconsciously, we shape the fabric of space-time. Through the power of free will, we choose to focus our energy on the interests of self or others. Energy focused on self interests results in turbulent and unstable equilibriums in the physical world; conversely, focusing on the interests of others creates stable and sustainable psychological and sociological systems over time. In sum, focusing our energy on the interests of others, in balance with our physicallyencoded need to survive and thrive through self interest, we individually and collectively have the power to reshape the space-time fabric and co-create a more stable, sustainable, and successful future for everyone.

Principle #1
There is a space-time continuum. This fabric connects each of us to our past and future. [FIGURE]

Principle #2
Each being, relationship, group, community, and society is comprised of a singular, group, or collective mass-energy. [FIGURE]

Principle #3
Each human being’s "mass“ is rooted in now. For today, at least, this we cannot change or control. [FIGURE]

Principle #4
We choose how we focus our energy in relationship to future and past events. Wherein, energy is either focused on the interests of self or the interests of others. [FIGURES]

Principle #5
We create stable or unstable psychological and sociological equilibriums, based on our mass' interconnected relationship to our energy's focus. Stable Equilibrium [FIGURE] Unstable Equilibrium [FIGURE]

Lesson #1 - On Truth
Individuals and groups seek the Truth through an array of ways and life paths, also referred to as journeys. That said, beware of paths and people that promise certainty. When a person or group declares they "know the Truth" or the Truth is theirs alone and not others, they are speaking from a place of fear or to preserve self interests. In the physical experience, Truth is a function of perpetual aspiration, not an attainable destination. As such, Truth can be "defined" as, or is equal to, infinity ([infinity symbol]).

In this place of "infinition," there is one Truth, where no one person, group, or country holds providence. The journey to this place is sought by focusing energy on others, through love, caring, and service.

Lesson #2 - On Narratives
Each human being is born with one perceived, if not ill-conceived, belief that self exists. Most of us spend endless amounts of energy and journeys across the space-time of our lives in an attempt to "find one's self." By doing so, we seek the only thing in the world we are guaranteed to never truly see - our own face. This discordant and imaginary purpose creates the psychological (individual) and sociological (group or collective) construct we refer to as "Ego." Ego is narrative - the stories we tell ourselves and one another, by which we inspire growth and, conversely, decay in our lives. We focus our energy on the interests of self or others through the stories we tell about our past and future. Therefore, the friction between self and Truth that the Ego creates can either be positive or negative. Warning: the Ego doesn’t know the difference. So, be careful, as your Ego will happily drive you off the "cliff of self-interested promises." Human beings are finite; that is, there is no such thing as one-half of a person. Since self does not exist, in absence of other, it is simply a construct of Ego. Through this perspective, we understand that each Being equals one and the Ego's definition of self equals zero.

Lesson #3 - On Truth & Narratives
[FIGURE]
On the bright side, Ego that is consciously crafted, through “Points of Purpose” focused on the interests of others, allows individuals and groups to achieve exponential growth over time. Be patient, though, this can take some time - always longer than we desire.

Lesson #4 - On Exponential Growth and Decay
“The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest.”

Compound interest is when interest is calculated based on the original principle and interest already accrued. Interest can be both positive and negative, which results in exponential growth and decay, respectively, over time. An example of this is an investment account, where the interest is positive or negative. The next two graphs show the behavior of an initial investment of $100 compounding at a 10% positive and negative interest rate. Exponential Growth with 10% Compound Interest [FIGURE]

Lesson #4 - On Exponential Growth and Decay (continued)
Exponential Decay with -10% Compound Interest [FIGURE] Note, it is impossible for principle to decay to zero, yet quite possible and inevitable that it will, eventually, exponentially grow to infinity. This explains most system problems and solutions, whether they are financial, political, environmental, psychological, or sociological.

Lesson #5 - On "Points of Purpose"
Points of Purpose are narrative-based constructs that we use to change our behavior. Examples of Points of Purpose are: goals, learning objectives, strategic plans, financial indicators & algorithms, computer programming, games, manifestos, mission statements, to-do lists, ideal height-to-weight charts, and love letters. We all experience Points of Purpose in our lives. To change in meaningful ways, we must become conscious of these constructs and how their narratives inevitably shape our behavior over time. Typically, if future Points of Purpose are unconsciously accepted by an individual or group, these constructs are a direct reflection of narratives associated with past events, which are theatrical in nature - the Ego loves a good drama.

Lesson #5 - On "Points of Purpose" (continued)
The easiest way to change future behavior is to recognize that we construct the "theatrical events" of our past and have the power to change that narrative, too. It is here where we "suspend belief" in our self-constructed theatrical events, which are simply rich narrative interpretations of how we perceive ourselves and others. Don’t confuse the terms "past" and "future" as being only distant events or points in time. Rather, the past and future can be measured and tended to on the scale of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, and lifetimes. To visualize behavior change relative to a Point of Purpose, imagine behavior as the temperature in a room and a Point of Purpose as the thermostat setting.

Lesson #5 - On "Points of Purpose" (continued)
The following diagram demonstrates how temperature changes over time in relationship to a thermostat setting. This shows the temperature’s behavior over time when the thermostat is set twice to hotter settings. Changing Behavior Over Time [FIGURE]

Lesson #5 - On "Points of Purpose" (continued)
Of course, here we speak of temperature and thermostat setting as metaphors – divine tensions between Truth and narrative. Here temperature is individual, group, or collective behavior, and thermostat setting is a Point of Purpose. A caveat: most people go across their lives unconsciously enduring the discomfort of their journeys’ temperatures being too cold or too hot. One of the greatest tragedies or blessings of the human experience is that we control our thermostats, first through a recognition that this discomfort is both self-constructed and self-induced - therefore, easily changed. We create exponential growth and decay behaviors over time by continuously raising or lowering, respectively, our personal, group, or collective thermostat setting. This puts into context the previously stated contention that Truth equals infinity and self equals zero.

Lesson #6 - The Actor and Audience
"All the world is a stage," where everything moves, and, everything dances relative to one other. To make sense of it all, we need a fixed point to thoughtfully observe motion, called an “inertial frame of reference.” To observe, measure, and perceive the amount of progress achieved over time, we must continuously shift our psychological and sociological inertial frame of reference. With regards to Theory A, there are two primary inertial frames of reference: individual (Actor) and group/collective (Audience). We are all implored to dissolve the imaginary wall that separates the Actor from the Audience. Thus, each Actor and Audience becomes the other, seamlessly and continuously changing their respective inertial frame of reference. This shape-shifting change of perspective creates awareness and awakens consciousness, also known as "Being Present."

Master Lesson #1- How me broke capitalism, and we is going to fix it!
Capitalism is not broken - we are. In this instance, "we" is simply a "collection of me(s)" - that is, individuals behaving unconsciously through self interests. So then, if the "collection of me(s)" is broken, how do we fix it? Counter-intuitive, maybe, this journey begins with each of us recognizing our own Truth-based journey, which will naturally lead us to healthy relationships with others. Said another way... Healthy people build healthy relationships; healthy relationships initiate healthy groups; healthy groups form healthy organizations; healthy organizations inspire healthy societies. The cumulative result of this broadening of awareness and awakening of consciousness will fix capitalism - one of the easiest obstacles we will likely face. Remember, capitalism is a system. Systems are the residue of mindsets, not the other way around - although, many count on you believing the latter to be true.

Master Lesson #2 - Seeing Consequences
The stability-success of our systems is dependent on the intended or unintended consequences based on two factors: 1) where energy is focused, and 2) how past and

future narratives are constructed and/or dissolved. The next two graphs demonstrate the consequences on both psychological (individual) and sociological (group or collective) systems. Unstable, Unsustainable, and Unsuccessful Systems [FIGURE]

Master Lesson #2 - Seeing Consequences (continued)
Stable, Sustainable, and Successful Systems [FIGURE]

Master Lesson #3
If focusing on self interest has such potentially negative consequences, why do we do it? In short, it works - for awhile, anyway. The counterintuitive and shapeshifting answer lives in the relationship between stability and success. When we define success as strictly material-based, a pure Ego construct, stability decays rapidly over time. Self-Interested, with Materialism Defined Success [FIGURE]

Master Lesson #3 (continued)
What are the consequences of focusing energy on the success of others? By focusing energy on the success of others, we each achieve more sustainable and predictable results over time. Success When Energy Focused on Others [FIGURE]

Master Lesson #4 - Change is scary - how do we find the courage?
To find something is to see its Truth... The energy of change has two distinct patterns: 1) linear (or absolute), and 2) circular (or reflective). Similar to the binary relationship between self and others, the interconnection between linear and circular energies of change is a non-negotiable state of the human condition.

Revising, dissolving, or otherwise erasing self and socially constructed narratives requires profound courage to let go of the fictional character named “me.” Being scared, or fear-based, is also a narrative, a story of limitation we tell the self and others. Fear is fueled by one’s singular focus on either linear or circular energy, unconsciously creating aggression or isolation, respectively. Courage is the act of interconnecting and activating linear and circular energies of change. That said, the energy of courage is shaped like a helix – also, the form of augers, corkscrews, DNA, and music. [FIGURE]

Einstein's Note to Adam Jefferson
Dearest Adam, The graph for "Stable, Sustainable, and Successful Systems" is a place to visually imagine and aspire to as you walk your journey - answering the call to catalyze a new reality and brighter future. Ah, such a calling you have - where to begin? There is only one place where each of us can start - here, now. In this way, we are all exactly where we should be, with a space-time fabric of possibility stretched out before and behind us. My one last recommendation: don't wish for another time. Instead, find the courage to be present in this moment, by honoring those of your past, manifesting a brighter today, and imagining a better future in the interests of all, including yourself. With profound gratitude, A P. S. Theory A is a narrative. Its Truth-based value is derived by questions asked, journeys inspired, and Points of Purpose intentionally constructed as new spaces of belonging - only to leave again one day, aspiring to ever-higher ground.

For Finley

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Created & Written by: Charles Lattimer Calligraphy by: John Stevens Cover Art by: Michael Netzer

Produced by: Shelley Smith Edited by: Amy McNally & Emma Murray Preface Narrative Inspired by: T. S. Eliot, "Four Quartets" Maria Rainer Rilke, "As Once the Winged Energy of Delight" & "The Swan" David Wagoner, "Lost"

*****

Theory A is a historical fiction. This publication is made available by the Cooperative Leadership Institute, founded at Virginia Tech, with the mission to "inspire and inform the next generation of leaders to fix capitalism." All inaccuracies, misconceptions, or misrepresentations of the geniuses portrayed herein are the sole responsibility of the author. Please share your thoughts with us at TheoryA.org. (c) 2011 VTCLI, LLC. All Rights Reserved.