An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Be authentic. We are so focused on gaining followers, marketing and selling our ideas that we easily forget our authentic message, our inner reason for doing the work. A lot of people seem successful, but they cannot sustain that happiness because they are not really being true to themselves.
As a part of my series about “Big Ideas That Might Change The World In The Next Few Years” I had the pleasure of interviewing Alan Gordon.
As curator and teacher of ancient wisdom, Alan Gordon transcends the linear view of history as an endless list of wars, names, dates, and places to instead reveal the timeless wisdom that lies hidden in the stories of ancient cultures. In his previous book, The Cycle of Mind, Alan combined ancient truths about the creative power of Mind with modern scientific and coaching methods revealing exactly how Mind creates through ripples, rhythms, and cycles, and laid out a practical series of techniques all of us can use to control our thoughts and shape our own futures. With the Project Utopia podcast Alan pulls back the curtain to reveal a golden time in history where men and women truly lived in the inner radiance of enlightenment, and peace reigned for 300 years. He brings to life the ancient teachings of enlightenment in a way that nobody else can.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you please tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I have been interested in ancient enlightenment philosophy since I can remember. After I wrote The Cycle of Mind in 2018, I came across an unknown king who was known in his time as the Enlightened King, and the more I researched his story, the more I knew that I wanted to share his story — and more importantly, share his system of enlightenment with others.
Can you please share with us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Certainly the most gratifying experience in my career was when I formed a group for people who had read The Cycle of Mind. It was a small group so I got to know these folks very well. It is truly amazing to watch a person over time come to the realization that simply changing thoughts — disrupting old beliefs in a systematic way — transforms everything in a person’s life. We have no idea how deeply we are controlled by our subconscious beliefs and limitations, and it really is gratifying to watch people throw out decades of old limitations and completely transform their lives.
Which principles or philosophies have guided your life? Your career?
I have always had a compelling interest in enlightenment and even as a young man I was drawn to a feeling of peace and balance. The history that we study in school is about wars and conquest, not about peace and balance, so I have always tried to look through the cracks of history to find the cultures and people that history leaves out — in an effort to find those enlightened principles of peace, balance and abundance.
I believe that enlightenment in its simplest definition, is following a moral compass guided by principles like compassion, generosity, health, service to others. Not just memorizing this moral compass, but living in accordance with these values and principles in all our actions. I certainly wanted to become more aligned with these values in my own life. For me, the apex of my understanding is represented in the Thought Matrix and the seven enlightened principles that I now share with others.
Ok thank you for that. Let’s now move to the main focus of our interview. Can you tell us about your “Big Idea That Might Change The World”?
Utopia University is an association of people interested in pursuing enlightenment and their own self-awareness. People are tired of the endless, pointless noise of the outer world — they are chronically out of balance, pulled by money, and under the never-ending stress of time. Utopia University is a safe haven where people can come to connect with their inner world.
We want people to feel comfortable exploring their own lives, their own motivations, and their own beliefs in an environment of inclusion — based on those moral values I mentioned earlier. Our motto says it all — “Create your own paradise, then live in it forever,” but before that happens, you have to shift from the self-interest and limitations of the outer world to a more enlightened set of principles in the inner world.
And the final element is helping our members create their own personal economy. We share 70% of our revenue — including books and NFTs — with our members. We want to change the way our members think about money, and how they go about making money. Most people spend 90% of their time and energy in pursuit of making money — and 90% of those people make just enough to survive. Abundance is a key element in happiness, and it’s not easy to be happy when you never have enough, when everything is a constant struggle. So we want to teach people how to thrive in this world, and then share their inner understanding of abundance with others.
How do you think this will change the world?
Enlightenment does not change the world, it changes you. But when enough people come together for the purpose of developing and living these inner values — then through enlightened cooperation we can create change — as I said — starting with yourself, expanding to your family, expanding to your work and social circle. Together we can start to build new patterns in the outer world that are more positive and healthy than the patterns that control us today.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this idea that people should think more deeply about?
I don’t see any drawbacks to an individual or a group of individuals studying enlightenment and adopting enlightened principles. And while it’s not a drawback, it’s just a reality — the work takes time but many people are not willing to do the personal work of transformation — I saw that for myself in the Cycle of Mind group. You can’t give enlightenment to somebody — they have to take the initiative themselves. People today are looking for a meme or a funny gif, or a 10 second Tik Tok video that will change their lives. Wisdom doesn’t work like that. Wisdom was meant to be absorbed into our lives — it takes time and consistent effort over many cycles to really see progress, but for those willing to stay with the work, the results are… enlightening.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this idea? Can you tell us that story?
I came across an unknown king who was known in his time as the Enlightened King.
What do you need to lead this idea to widespread adoption?
Utopia University is a member-centric association, and like any association we gain strength as our membership grows. Not everyone who checks out Utopia University will join, and not everyone who joins will be fully committed to the mission of the organization. I’d rather have a group of 1,000 people committed to the path rather than 10,000 people who just pay their dues. With a small core group we can, over time, begin to make a serious dent in society’s understanding of enlightenment.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why.
I think the most important thing I learned in launching Utopia University is that I can’t do everything myself. You’ve got to build a team of people and develop real trust relationships.
Related to that, you need a plan and really understand the investment required.
Most people are not interested in enlightenment. As much as I’m interested, most people simply don’t think in those terms. Like the movie The Matrix — they choose the blue pill, forget about enlightenment, and go back to sleep comfortable in the illusion.
You need a lot of patience. Things don’t happen when you get the idea in your head — success rolls out over time and circumstance. It gives you a new appreciation for other successful membership groups when you realize that it didn’t happen for them overnight.
Be authentic. We are so focused on gaining followers, marketing and selling our ideas that we easily forget our authentic message, our inner reason for doing the work. A lot of people seem successful, but they cannot sustain that happiness because they are not really being true to themselves.
Can you share with our readers what you think are the most important “success habits” or “success mindsets”?
Success lies in a balance between inner and outer.
Inner success includes health, relationships, breathing — taking time every day (without exception) to center yourself.
Outer mindsets include right action and self-reliance. Wherever you are, however you feel — do the next right thing — get into the habit of taking the next right action. And the second outer skill is self-reliance. Whenever I feel stuck or frustrated with a person or a situation — it always comes back to self-reliance. Stop depending on others — at the end of the day you are responsible for your own future.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
To help Utopia University, please buy our NFT Collection: Seven Enlightened Principles
Other than that, believe in people. People are what make a business successful. When people are down, nobody gives them a hand up, but when they become successful — people trip over each other to invest in them or give them a hand out — even if they don’t need it.
Find someone who you can believe in, lift them up, and share your power with them.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
On Twitter @projectutopia99
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Utopia University: Alan Gordon’s Big Idea that Might Change the World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
