Most of the following discussion will be about visible movers and shakers but do not be
misled by that. The vast majority of IMPACTS live quiet lives, performing their work
mostly behind the scenes, not seeking or receiving special attention. Plus there are really
two general categories of IMPACTS. One group is closer to and more involved with the
mainstream of society--let's call them the SN-IMPACTS. These IMPACTS may come
from a nuanced periphery inside the main structure of society, as we will see with Bill
Gates and Steven Jobs. Let's keep in mind that every structure, no matter where it is
located, has a periphery. The other IMPACTS group is closer to the periphery of
society--the P-IMPACTS. This arrangement follows the atom where, as it grows in
atomic number (number of protons or electrons),  much of the electron energy is close to
the nucleus and a much smaller amount is further out on the periphery. These valence
electrons have more energy and are less affected by the nucleus.

Warren Buffett, the investment icon, is a good example of the SN-IMPACTS. He clearly
has abundant IMPACTS energy and resides comfortably within the mainstream. With a
net worth of $40 billion or so, he only pays himself about $100,000 annually as CEO and
chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, his investment firm. He continues to live in Omaha in
the same gray stucco house he purchased four decades ago for $31,500. He eats burgers
or steaks for lunch and dinner, always washing down his meals with Coca-Cola, a
company in which he has invested since 1988. If you had invested $10,000 in his firm in
1965, you would be worth over $50 million today.

Buffett is a regular guy with uncommon achievements, and now he plans to give the
results of those achievements away in an alliance with the foundation started by
Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda, another example of SN-IMPACTS.
The Gates have recently focused their efforts on a cure for malaria and on educational
improvements in the U.S., typical IMPACTS concerns. It is pretty obvious that Warren
Buffett was not achieving for himself; he was focused on the greater good and his
clients. Through his acumen and hard work he has benefited many: individual investors,
companies which received his investment funds and the local economies and
communities where they are located, his own local economy and community, the
national economy, and the international economy. And now he will aid many others in
areas near and far. Not only has he demonstrated that skill can pay big dividends, he
has also shown that decency can be part of the equation.

Buffett, displaying the strong protective element and acute insight that we see in many
IMPACTS, was one of the few who were concerned years earlier that the variables were
in place for the financial crisis that occurred in late 2008-early 2009. He believed that risk
was being accumulated in far too few hands while others preached that the market was
its own best policeman. This is something we need to remember-the SN often does not
pay attention to the advice of the IMPACTS until something breaks-badly. Then they
rely on the IMPACTS to fix it--if it is fixable. If it is, the process will begin again,
hopefully with lessons learned. They say that history repeats itself; we will see clearly
why that is so in the following pages.

We mentioned Bill Gates. Before Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard and made himself
known around the world as the founder of Microsoft, his parents were nurturing not
only their children but also their community, as IMPACTS are wont to do. His mother
was a schoolteacher and very active in the United Way, and his father was an attorney
who volunteered extensively for Planned Parenthood, hospitals, libraries, and the
United Way also.

Gates was a programmer by choice and nature. Programming is not for everyone; it
requires patience and precision as gibberish is transformed into the usable and practical.
IMPACTS often do just that--take something that appears to have little value as is and
then develop the hidden potential-in people, organizations, and business, or wherever
they happen to be. They are miners, constantly looking for the vein of under-utilized
value. Yes, James Watt's steam engine enabled the Industrial Revolution, but actually his
steam engine was a redesign of an existing one. IMPACTS are masters of frugality; they
have an uncanny ability to find value in just about anything. They are transformation
artists-rebirth and renaissance specialists.

The reason that we see IMPACTS around the latest technology and anything else that is
cutting-edge is because of the creative-formative-productive element, the 'beginnings'
factor. And that stems from the need to bring everything into balance.

SN-IMPACTS can originate on the far periphery and make their way into the center, or
they may come from a peripheral area inside the mainstream. With Bill Gates, his
decision to drop out of Harvard and pursue the development of Microsoft was not a
society-sanctioned approach--until he became successful. IMPACTS are very often
taking the opposite track from what the SN prescribes because in many ways IMPACTS
energy is the opposite of SN energy just as the electron is opposite from the nucleus.

We are all familiar with the 1st Law of Thermodynamics that says that energy can neither
be created nor destroyed; in other words, all of the energy (including that within matter,
matter being another form of energy) unleashed at the moment of the Big Bang is all the
energy there is in the universe. When we drop a rock, potential energy gets changed into
kinetic energy and a smidgen of heat energy, but the total amount remains the same.
The universe tries to conserve energy--to find the most efficient way to use it. That is
what the IMPACTS do--they try to conserve energy; they recycle, refurbish, rejuvenate,
but mostly they transform, often through invention. Invention is just another form of
mining, finding potential energy unseen and previously unrealized.

Gates appears to take to the limelight more so than does Buffett, proof that SN-
IMPACTS come in all shapes and sizes. Most IMPACTS are humble and under radar-
some not so much. Some exhibit a power-control element--some have none of it. Some
are poor--others are rich. The vast majority of IMPACTS, no matter where they are
located on the IMPACTS energy continuum, pursue excellence as they define it, and
generally possess a determination to make a difference. Most IMPACTS never bring
attention to themselves because that is not their interest. Their priorities lie in creating,
forming, producing, and helping--bringing something into existence that will improve
the situation. It is just like the actions of the valence electron.

As noted, most IMPACTS are very regular people. One such person is Paul who works
at a major home improvement retail company. Paul's genealogy is multicultural-
French, Spanish, Dutch, and Mexican. This is seen often with the IMPACTS; it shows
their border-less philosophy and their and their ancestors' openness to other cultures
around the world. IMPACTS often view themselves as citizens of the world more so
than citizens of a specific country.

Paul grew up in El Paso, Texas but was always fascinated with the sea. First he was a life
guard but when he turned 18, he joined the Navy and became a corpsman. A corpsman
is a hands-on nurse, serving the Navy and the Marine Corps. Attending college after
service, he majored in Business Administration and Industrial Supervision. Paul worked
at a shipyard for a few years, then in systems-analysis for a major computer company, in
oil and gas, then for a major airline where he worked various positions. Upon
retirement, Paul joined the home-improvement company--the next day--where again
he has handled many different responsibilities. IMPACTS never really do retire. Paul is
always fixing up the house and doing construction-type favors for friends and
acquaintances, usually for very little cost.

Interestingly but not surprisingly, two of Paul's three wives have been emergency-room
nurses. Why would that be the case? IMPACTS find partners, marriage or otherwise,
who see the world pretty much as they do. The IMPACTS attitude is that if you see a
critical need in the environment, position yourself such that you can provide a solution.
Be on the lookout for trouble and lend a hand-promptly.

There are other IMPACTS employed at the same store where Paul is working.
Susan, an avid reader, works in the contractors' section and is a single parent of two
teenagers. Her son, AJ, is also an avid reader. The oldest, Linda, just received a
scholarship from a Christian college out-of-state. Her chosen field of study? Critical-care
nursing, a field frequently chosen by IMPACTS. It parallels the ambient environment
around childbirth--a sense of urgency where multitasking is required and a vulnerable
situation that demands an ability to think fast on your feet. IMPACTS often position
themselves at a precarious point where things can go very wrong or they can go
extremely well. Most people run from responsibility; the IMPACTS run towards it.

Ann is recovering from a bout with leukemia which took her out of action for over a
year. Always upbeat and positive, she exudes love of people and life. Her youngest son
recently published his first book, and her oldest son is a civilian working in Iraq.

Sean is in charge of inventory and ordering for all lumber supplies. He is no-nonsense,
precise, and work-oriented. It is hard to imagine the store functioning without him. Sean
has bachelor degrees in physics, math, and biology, a master's degree in marketing, and
a Ph.D. in microbiology. Sean's wife is an equine veterinarian, and they have a house
full of adopted animals.

This is how the economic wheels keep turning in America and around the world--with
dependable, embedded IMPACTS energy, dedicated to excellence. It is the same process
we see in nature wherever we look.

Maria is a Colombian who has been living in the U.S. for over 30 years. For 18 of those
years she was the director of a non-profit organization she founded, geared towards
helping Latino youth in the area with academic issues and cultural assimilation.
Recently she closed the organization, feeling that she could actually make a more
positive difference in the world by being on the periphery. Maria had begun to feel that
she had become a combatant in a battle with the unyielding 'established order' as she
constantly struggled for funding from city, state, and other sources. She deemed the
fight no longer worth the expenditure of energy; she felt it was having a deleterious
impact on the kind of person she wanted to be. Maria has resumed one of her true
loves--painting and artistry. Her husband is Caucasian and travels extensively in his job
with a major technology company.

Maria's experience illustrates the difficulties of bringing excellent ideas from the
periphery into the mainstream. The hurdles are high; the SN of the organization or
industry is generally fiercely resistant to change. That is why most good ideas never get
incorporated.

Alice is a nineteen-year-old with a big dream--to compete in the Olympics as an
equestrian. She gets her drive for excellence from her mother. Alice's mother has always
been interested in healthy living--studying herbology, chi energy, and nutrition. She
was also the consummate volunteer-for 4-H, horse shows, and for friends'
bookkeeping needs. Home-schooled for two years of high school, Alice then attended a
community school where she excelled in engineering, drafting, and architectural design.
The following year she attended the local university's post-secondary program. But now
she is not in school; last year she moved to North Carolina to pursue her dream and is
currently being mentored by skilled professionals. Her mother moved down, bought a
house, and now they are living together. Plus, the ever-resourceful Alice is working
part-time.

Sonya came to the U.S. from Trinidad by herself twenty years ago. She has had various
jobs including managing a bagel store. Currently she is cleaning houses, aided by her
eighteen-year-old daughter who wants to be a veterinarian or a lawyer. "Really, I just
want to help people." A customer of Sonya's services says that Sonya is always problem-
solving while performing her job-"This needs to be fixed and I can do it." Sonya is also
caring for a foster daughter.

Dora majored in special education and eventually made her way into politics at the local
level, serving two terms on the city council during tumultuous pro-growth versus
prudent-growth times. Prior to her service on the council, she took command of
fund-raising for a local park where kids without disabilities and those with disabilities
could play together. Recently, the park was named in her honor. Dora's husband is a
successful entrepreneur in the accounting field, and they have two adopted golden
retrievers. Her family is flung across the country but remains very close.

All of the aforementioned are just regular people, but let's look at them a little more
closely and see if we can see some patterns.

All are mobile and family is obviously important. Personal initiative is prominent as are
health-concerns and people-concerns, often with a cutting-edge technological element as
would be found in critical-care nursing and veterinary care. A love of animals is
shared-most have dogs, some have cats, and Alice has her own horses. There is
something else that will prove to be very important as we go forward-many IMPACTS
will be in roles that have traditionally been held by the opposite sex. As I mentioned,
IMPACTS are usually going against the grain or starting a new grain. Paul was a nurse
in the Navy; Susan and Ann are working in a man's world; Alice has her eyes set on
making it as an equestrian; Sean's wife is a horse doctor. It also was not that long ago
that local politics was a man's world almost exclusively.

Two more things--all of the aforementioned regular people are very hands-on and most
live in environments buffered by a body of water, a dense stand of trees, open land, or
some other natural or man-made barrier. IMPACTS want to be in the middle of the
action at work, but they want privacy and space when they get home.

Rebels
The ascendant Linux computer operating system, developed originally by Linus
Torvalds in the early 1990s while he was a student at the University of Helsinki in
Finland, has grown to rival the Microsoft empire. When looking at innovation, it is
important to look at the context from which IMPACTS ideas arise, most importantly the
personality profile and family history of the innovator. But location is very important
also along with other factors such as the political environment. Most of the time we are
going to see peripheral agents intertwined with strong nurturing and an imbalance of
some sort. The imbalance may be in the family, the psyche, the community, the
economy, the country, the world, or the natural environment. IMPACTS try to correct
imbalances, sometimes consciously and sometimes subconsciously.

Bill Gates came from a very nurturing, community-oriented family. He was on the
periphery of the nascent computer industry-he was young, he dropped out of college,
and he had no experience in the business world. From that context arose Microsoft.
Obviously, experience had nothing to do with Gates's conviction that he could succeed
and knowledge of the industry had little to do with his success. It was his drive and his
belief in his own abilities that made the difference, and that came from his IMPACTS
genealogy and his social environment. Of course we can be certain that he had some
lucky breaks along the way also, and he always had strong support from family and
friends.

Others would say that Gates's success walked a fine line between legality and illegality.
SN-IMPACTS can be more like the SN character, possessing a power-control element.
The SN wants IMPACTS who will help it succeed. Therefore we should not be surprised
to see SN-IMPACTS behaving differently from P-IMPACTS, as demonstrated by Mr.
Torvalds.

Linus Torvalds, whose parents were both journalists, is actually from a minority group
in Finland whose first language is Swedish, not Finnish. There is the peripheral element
again, including a minority aspect. You will often find IMPACTS between things,
facilitating solutions. Straddling two worlds is very much like the valence electron; it is
attached--barely--to the nucleus (structure) and is looking for other possibilities that
will bring balance to the situation. IMPACTS are very often in the same situation and
doing the exact same thing.

The complicated ethnicity we see in Mr. Torvalds is very often a part of IMPACTS as we
saw with Paul. Though Finland appears to be way-off-the-beaten-path, its peripheral
location is actually a clue to its IMPACTS roots. It resides in the same Baltic Sea
neighborhood with Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Denmark, and St. Petersburg, Russia,
areas with a reputation for progression and innovation. Finland is the home of Nokia,
the cell phone manufacturer, and Saint Petersburg is where the Russian Revolution
started. What does that have to do with anything? It is just a reminder that innovative
genes are rebellious genes.

Peripheral areas such as Scandinavia are havens for IMPACTS genealogy. There is the
natural 'water-highway' that provides for transportation and trade. Plus, such areas
provided a measure of seclusion and protection from the expansive SN. Over many
thousands of years small groups gravitated to these types of environments so they could
start again with 'new beginnings'.

Linus began attending the University of Helsinki in 1988 where he studied computer
science and started working on an operating system as more of a hobby than anything
else. This operating system, introduced to the world in 1991, is open-source, meaning
the code is open for anyone in the world to see and possibly modify. It is not
proprietary, and there are no secrets. You can see the borderless-communal-sharing
aspects, often very indicative of IMPACTS ideals. The differences with Bill Gates are
clear and visible. Bill Gates resides comfortably within the SN, and although Torvalds is
gradually making his way to the center from the periphery, he does not appear to be all
that comfortable being involved with the SN.

The story of the rise of Linux as a strong competitor to Microsoft is a story that has been
repeated in some form or other thousands of times since the emergence of agriculture.
The semi-rebel, Bill Gates, became the leader of his industry. But no matter where you
find a structure, you will find IMPACTS on the periphery observing and saying to
themselves, "I think there is a better way to do this." That thought is as natural to an
IMPACTS-person as is breathing, and IMPACTS can become consumed with improving
the prevailing structure, or with building a better version of the existing one.

The Linux family is a prototype of IMPACTS creative-formative-productive energy. A
connecting vehicle for IMPACTS around the world, it is unique in the way that it
develops and delivers its product(s). There is Linux Inc., but it is run like no other major
corporation in the world today. It has no CEO, no headquarters, and no annual report. It
is more of a consortium than anything else, a hybrid between the traditional giants of
the technology world--Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, and others--and the iconoclastic
Linux open-source crowd. Quite a marriage. Fertile ground usually happens where
different forces bump up against each other such as occurs in the physical world with
tectonic plates and volcanoes. It can be the same in the human world if one force doesn't
stamp out the other.

Linus Torvalds is the defacto head of Linux Inc. but only because he is trusted and has a
proven track record. If the trust started to go, leadership would pass to someone else-
not through a vote but through the natural pull to a new, qualified, proven leader. It
sounds very organic and very much like the structure of the San tribe of Africa, the
ancestors of all of us. (We will talk about the San in detail in Chapter 4.)

Financial reward for much of the Linux crowd is not the primary or even secondary
concern--it is more about spreading this particular tool to everyone everywhere than it
is about market-share and returns-on-investment and all of the rest of the Wall Street
mumbo-jumbo. Many of the workers who contribute around the world just want to be
part of a challenge that they believe is valuable and positive. IMPACTS are especially
attracted to information technology because there is always a tedious problem to solve
that requires precision. And they enjoy the autonomous working conditions along with
the sense of camaraderie.

Linus Torvalds represents the pre-agricultural mindset and Bill Gates represents the
post-agricultural mindset.

This brings up an interesting comparison. The P-IMPACTS generally want to share their
innovations with the world with very few strings attached. That is because they
generally prefer an economically egalitarian world. The SN-IMPACTS want to share
their innovations too--if the price is right. The SN political leaders themselves want the
SN-IMPACTS to maximize profit because that means more power and control for the
leadership apparatus.

Of course there are differences among SN leaders. Some are more people-oriented, some
more SN- or structure-oriented. But overall, the present configuration of the SN
structure in the U.S. is heavily tilted to the structural side and away from people-
concerns. Barack Obama has said he wants to change that; he will have a mighty
struggle on his hands. We will see what happens.

As mentioned previously, IMPACTS are always looking for the most efficient way,
which means conservation of energy. Open-source is efficient and relatively
inexpensive, and non-exclusive. It feels as much like a community as it does a business.
IMPACTS like the community aspect.

Red Hat, a company based in Raleigh, N.C., has made a successful business of
packaging and servicing Linux products. Bob Young, one of the co-founders and a
former CEO, left the company a few years ago and then started the online self-
publishing company, Lulu. Authors from around the world have utilized Lulu to self-
publish over 750,000 books in the past five years. Lulu also sells artwork, music,
software, videos, and more.

Bob Young is a good example of IMPACTS energy at work. First, he co-founded an
open-source software company; then he started a company that tries to help regular
people get their creative products out into the world. Recently the company moved into a
remodeled former equipment company building with a huge bulldozer on top. There
again he is exhibiting P-IMPACTS traits as he eschews the slick new buildings
downtown. What Bob Young seems to be saying with his life's work and choices is,
"There is value off-the-beaten-path that is not being utilized. Let's go out and get it and
bring it in and in the process everything will be improved." That is what the valence
electron is also saying with its actions.

Clearly Wall Street has had wondrous days and returns because of what the neophyte
Gates brought to the business world. But here is a ragtag Linux bunch that has defied
the modern world's approach to marketing, distribution, ownership, and the usual ways
of conducting business. Now this rebel clan is gradually being merged with the white-
collar culture of IBM, HP, Intel, and many others. It is all being done out in the open, but
that does not mean that it is all even-steven. It is obvious that the big SN-favored
corporate guys will emerge as the financial winners. But that is not the driving
motivation for the open-source crowd. The differences between these two groups are
clear, and they are instructive. They are the same two forces we will see at work
throughout the book though they will take different forms. The crux of the matter is that
the SN wants that innovative IMPACTS energy so it can further its aims, and it will
usually get it one way or the other. It might be peaceful or it might not.

Legions of followers around the world work on improvements to the Linux system. The
Internet enables them to work as a team--without a clearly-defined nucleus--which is
usually how the IMPACTS like to work. That is how Torvalds and Linux Inc. operate.
Again, we will see the exact same thing with other creative-formative-productive
energy, such as bacteria (prokaryotic cells). The founding fathers and mothers of
modern humans, the group called the San, also lived in a community structure with an
ill-defined nucleus. Such a structure allows information and communication to flow
much more easily in and out of the structure than does a nucleated structure where roles
are more clearly defined.

The Big Corporate Guys have accommodated themselves to this anti-business open-
source crowd but at one time many of them were part of the same category. In 1937, Bill
Hewlett and Dave Packard, two electrical engineers with $500 and no product ideas,
started the Hewlett-Packard Company. The HP Way "reflected a deeply held set of core
values that distinguished the company more than any of its products. These values
included technical contribution, respect for the individual, responsibility to the
communities in which the company operates, and a deeply held belief that profit is NOT
the fundamental goal of a company." (Jim Collins, Jerry Porras, Built to Last.)

Whenever an employee was discovered to have violated HP's ethical principles for a
short-term increase in profits, the individual was fired, no matter the circumstances or
the impact on the bottom line. The reputation of the company had to be protected.
Many executives from other companies did not think such un-businesslike people
belonged in the business world.

Many of the establishment companies which are part of Linux Inc. often hire
programmers who were formerly the aces on the periphery. Programmers, a very
IMPACTS group, are the heart and soul and brains of the Linux phenomenon.
Torvalds now lives in the U.S. but makes a fraction of a fraction of what the big
corporate guys make. The Open Source Development Labs, those companies with a
stake in the success of Linux, pay Torvalds about $200,000 a year. That is cab fare for
some of the big corporate guys. Torvalds shuns the spotlight and virtually lives in a
virtual world. He is still on the periphery even as the SN pulls him in. And make no
mistake--that is what is happening and has happened repeatedly since the development
of a more settled life after the emergence of agriculture. Torvalds has made his way from
Finland to the center of the technological world. It has not gone to him, evidence of the
true dominant force. The reach of the structural-nucleus, the SN, is long and powerful.

Browser
Many have compared Tim Berners-Lee's invention of the worldwide web browser to
that of the printing press by Gutenberg. The effect on civilization could be similar.
Berners-Lee, from England and a graduate of the Queen's College at Oxford University
with a degree in physics (1976), was the child of mathematicians who both worked on
one of the first commercial computers in Britain. His father was also infatuated with the
workings of the brain. I have mentioned that family history plays an important role in
identifying IMPACTS. Each parent worked on cutting-edge technology, his mother
worked in a traditionally male domain, and his father was interested in the most
important organ, the brain. You will find a lot of IMPACTS in exceptional fields but just
as many in the regular day-to-day areas performing exceptionally.

A programmer by profession, Berners-Lee was looking for a memory substitute because,
according to him, his random-connections quotient was low. While working in
Switzerland for CERN, Europe's particle-physics laboratory, he came up with the
workable idea of connecting information across the Internet and introduced it to the
world in 1992. IMPACTS are efficiency-hounds as we have noted and are always
looking for a better way, which often ends up impacting the entire world just as
Gutenberg and Einstein did.

Berners-Lee toyed briefly with the idea of commercializing his invention but instead
decided to become a lifelong advocate for optimization of the worldwide web by
keeping it open and free from the entanglement of competing interests. Optimization is
a basic part of the IMPACTS philosophy. Here again we have the mining aspect.
Berners-Lee has discovered unrealized potential which he is sharing with the world
rather than enriching himself financially. This is the way the IMPACTS profile started as
we will see with the San--with an unselfish sharing attitude. The SN through natural
selection has gradually pulled IMPACTS energy towards the middle, producing SN-
IMPACTS who generally behave more to the SN's liking. The peripheral P-IMPACTS
usually behave more like the original IMPACTS. This is the way it works with energy
fields-the more powerful one pulls in the less powerful, or accretes it.

Berners-Lee's goals for the web browser were typical IMPACTS ideals-it was meant to
be a social place where people could work together in a creative and expressive
environment, which sounds unsurprisingly like the Linux crowd. Berners-Lee is a
member of the Unitarian-Universalist Church, a church that believes in "the inherent
dignity of people and in working together to achieve harmony and understanding". We
will see many IMPACTS throughout our discussion who were or are members of
Unitarian-type churches where the emphasis is on service to the community and its
individuals, and on the connectedness of all human beings-not on ceremony and
dogma supported by an extensive bureaucracy. Berners-Lee also has an artistic side and
plays the piano, both of which we see frequently among IMPACTS. Berners-Lee is
obviously a P-IMPACTS-person, more comfortable away from the power-control SN
and its emphasis on money and possessions.

We have discussed three prominent IMPACTS figures in today's technological world-
Bill Gates, Linus Torvalds, and Tim Berners-Lee. This is a perfect representation of the
dynamics that have been at work for thousands of years. Gates comes from a very
nurturing family, and as we mentioned appears to have strong structural-nucleus (SN)
proclivities, much like his longtime adversary, Steven Jobs, who we will discuss later.
The Linux inventor Torvalds, on the other hand, appears content to live a rather spartan
life, especially as it compares with the economic value of his creative-formative-
production. But wherever there is value in today's world, a strong nucleated hierarchal
structure will either form right on top of that value or an existing SN will snatch it-if
given the chance. And IMPACTS often give the SN the chance because power-control is
generally anathema to them. They usually just want to create and produce something
that has function and value, and they want to do it with excellence. It was the same with
Berners-Lee. He could have gone the commercial route, but he was not comfortable in
that arena.

Note also the geographical locations of the three gentlemen we discussed-Scandinavia,
England, and Seattle. Here again we have peripheral areas with lots of water. IMPACTS
genes throughout history, from the beginnings of modern humans, have stayed close to
the water because it was their lifeline.

We have only mentioned men so far but it would be ridiculous to think that women are
not changing the world too and have not always done so. Of course they are and they
have. It is just that women were 'captured' by the SN as it developed along with
agriculture. But as we will see ALL creative-formative-productive energy was captured
including male and female IMPACTS and nature itself. They were in effect all taken
prisoner and the bonds have only recently been loosened somewhat. That is what a
hierarchal structure generally does depending on its ferocity-it grabs all available
creative-formative-productive energy in its quest for dominance over its environment.

Bacteria
Bonnie Bassler is an example of a person with abundant IMPACTS energy who is
changing long-held assumptions about the natural world. Bassler is a professor of
molecular biology at Princeton, but she is not your typical scientist. Every morning she
walks a mile down to the local Y and leads a class in aerobics, which she has been
teaching for over 20 years. As we will see, you will often find IMPACTS and their
energy around health issues. Actually, that is the core of the profile--helping others get
well and stay well. It is all about balance.

Bassler loved animals as a child so she decided she wanted to be a veterinarian-until
she discovered that she fainted while dissecting animals. So she volunteered to work in
a biochemistry lab and realized that she had a fascination with bacteria. Bassler has
discovered that bacteria are not the isolated asocial cells that scientists thought they
were but instead are very communicative--with those of their own species and bacteria
of other species as well. They talk using chemical molecules. (Again, molecules exist only
because of valence electrons. We will continue to see that valence electrons are literally
holding the world together.)

Bacteria can behave in effect as a multi-cellular organism when these molecules reach a
certain density called quorum sensing. Quorum sensing allows bacteria to produce the
biofilm formation that you feel on your teeth in the morning and to secrete virulence
factors when threatened. Bioluminescence (light) is also generated by some bacteria, and
is then often accreted by other creatures in the seas to aid in their survival. One reason
that bacteria can be so prolific and adaptable is that they can exchange DNA with one
another, even across species. There is the value again of not having a clearly defined
nucleus which would prevent such communication and exchange. It is the same with
humans-smaller groups without a true 'nucleus' can be more adaptable and flexible.

Bassler's discoveries are suggesting that life and communication started as a tandem
rather than intersecting at a later advanced stage. It turns out that bacteria actually
behave much like colonies of ants or bees--and us.

It is much easier to understand human cellular communication once it is apparent that
bacteria laid the foundation for all life that followed. This discovery chops another hole
in the wall we have constructed between ourselves and the rest of nature, and again
shows that we are merely an extension of all the life processes that came before us. Life
built on itself one tiny bit at a time over several billion years.

After the importance of Bonnie Bassler's discovery had sunk in, there was a collective
"Duh-well of course bacterial cells would communicate with each other. Why didn't
we think of that?"

We do not think of that because we have divorced ourselves from the web of life,
creating a special spot for ourselves in nature-being part of it and not part of it at the
same time. It appears that our unique consciousness has seduced us into believing that
we are somehow exempt from the social strategies in which other animals and even
bacteria engage. But it turns out that we are in fact no different--we have our own
hierarchal structures and social strategies that bear a striking resemblance to those of the
wolf pack and other animals.

Our consciousness should actually make us more aware of what is going on within us
and among us, but instead it appears that it allows us to deceive ourselves as much as
anything--or to be led into deception and used. That statement is not a swipe at human
beings; it just demonstrates the power of the SN energy field. We can be certain that
human consciousness was very different--much more free--during the long period
before the development of agriculture.

Bassler illustrates a couple of other things that we often see in the IMPACTS profile.
First, she is not in a traditional role. Until very recently, most academic positions like
Bassler's were held by men. Thus she can be thought of as a peripheral agent in her
particular field. Peripheral agents break the equilibrium of the existing order and open
the gates to change; they are pioneers. The reason we have not seen IMPACTS in roles
more suited to their talents until the last few decades is because the structure of the
people world since agriculture has for the most part been opposite from its natural
foundation. We will discuss in detail later.

One more point. Ms. Bassler is a molecular biologist. IMPACTS can be found often
around any field with bio- in the name, such as biochemistry and biotechnology. Why
would that be the case? Because the IMPACTS profile developed within a close
association with many different forms of life and within a deep appreciation of life itself.
The IMPACTS have a proclivity for going back to the beginnings of everything, and the
study of biology takes us back to the primal processes of life.

Oprah
You cannot talk about women changing the world and not mention Oprah Winfrey.
Oprah is a good example of how the periphery moves to the center--or maybe I should
say of how the center moves toward the periphery in this case.

Oprah Winfrey had a rough beginning in life. Born in Mississippi, her unmarried
parents split shortly after her birth, and she continued to live in Mississippi with her
maternal grandmother. There she learned to read at a very young age and was known
locally for her exceptional public speaking-before she was five years old. At age six,
she moved to Milwaukee to live with her mother, who was a maid. Circumstances were
difficult; Oprah was forced to often sleep on the front porch by the woman who owned
the house because this woman, a light-skinned African-American, did not care for those
with darker skin.

As Oprah grew older, she was abused sexually by a cousin and other males. As anyone
would expect, her behavior became very rebellious. At age 14 she moved again to
Nashville to live with her father (it had been tried before), who introduced a strict
regimen based on education. He himself had gotten his high school diploma at age 25
and believed strongly that education was the foundation for Oprah's future. She had to
read a book a week combined with a book report and had to learn five new vocabulary
words a day. We all know the rest of the story, the climb to the top of her profession and
her work and generosity on behalf of others, including the recently opened school for
young girls in South Africa. But we are missing some key IMPACTS elements in her
genealogy and early environments.

First, her mother. IMPACTS come from all walks of life, and many IMPACTS do not get
the opportunities and support that they need in order to develop their potential. Her
work as a maid may not sound impressive to the person on the street, but in fact we will
find many IMPACTS in jobs that are providing a service to others. Plus she had moved
to Milwaukee to get a new start; relocating for better opportunities is something
IMPACTS often do. Later Oprah's mother attended classes at a local community college
and then worked in the kitchen of a hospital where she became the supervisor until she
retired.

There are IMPACTS traits here: the efforts to improve oneself is one and the job at the
hospital is another. She could have worked in a kitchen anywhere, but she chose a
hospital. That is an important sign.

Oprah's father, Vernon Winfrey, was a sailor in the U.S. Navy and then owned his own
business as a barber, also entering local politics and serving on the city council. His
father had owned his own 250-acre farm when most African-Americans were still
victimized through sharecropping. His father had stayed in his place to protect his
children but then aided in the civil rights movement. Vernon's great grandfather had
placed a school for blacks on his property after the Civil War when African-Americans
were struggling to obtain an education of any sort.

Vernon's discipline was intended to help Oprah be the best she could be. It succeeded.
IMPACTS come in all colors from all professions, from the country and the city, from the
north and the south, from every country and every nook and cranny on earth.

So there were IMPACTS traits in Oprah from the beginning. This in no way
deemphasizes her Herculean accomplishments. It does however point up the fact that
there are many gifted IMPACTS out there who never have the opportunities to move
forward because the structure that is in place does not sufficiently support and allow
development of their abilities. The barriers can be insurmountable, even for the very
talented and motivated.

The SN generally cares little for those on the periphery because the SN sees little value
coming from that far away. Keep in mind that in the atom it is the valence electron
which goes out and bonds with other peripheral electron energy. It is the same in the
human world-the valence electron IMPACTS are usually the ones who go out and try
to take care of the IMPACTS and others who have been left behind.

So you can see many IMPACTS elements in Oprah's story:
*    A loving grandmother who encouraged her to develop reading and speaking
talents at an early age
*    Her mother's occupations involving service to others along with her self-
improvement efforts
*    Her father's entrepreneurialism, his service to the community, his service in the
Navy, his focus on learning and education, and his attitude that Oprah was expected to
be her best possible self
*    The periphery factor-Oprah was nowhere close to the mainstream when she
started her life
*    Her generosity and her desire to make a difference in the lives of others
*    The book club she started in order to encourage reading and authorship
*    Her gifts to South African girls and their education. For the young girls, change
is also coming from the periphery just as Oprah is bringing change to America from the
periphery.
*    The cross-cultural element-America and South Africa. To IMPACTS, the world
has no borders.
*    Oprah's rebellious streak. Of course some of it was related to the sexual abuse,
but rebelliousness is often seen within the IMPACTS, even beyond the normal teenage
examples. Rebellion is dissatisfaction with the status quo and that dissatisfaction is the
foundation of the profile.

The human genome, in my opinion, has a savior 'gene' embedded due to the beginnings
of the IMPACTS profile and its importance to human survival, which we will explore in
Chapter 4 with the San. Not all IMPACTS are saviors, but occasionally one comes along
who merits the title.

Oprah and Tiger Woods (below) represent how an IMPACTS-person can come onto the
scene--from the periphery--and change the standards of the profession or even society
forever. The reason is that the middle becomes very homogeneous and resistant to
change. Therefore, it requires considerable departure from the norm to puncture the
equilibrium. Peripheral agents less talented or formidable would not be able to break
through. That is why it requires an Oprah or Tiger or Martin Luther King, Jr. to knock
down the walls.

Tiger Woods
We have mentioned that we often find IMPACTS with multiple cultural lineages. Tiger's
father, Earl, was a mixture of African-American, Chinese, and Native American
ancestry. Wood's mother, Kultida, is originally from Thailand and is Thai, Chinese, and
Dutch. There is a lot of immigration and emigration in the ancestry of Tiger Woods.

Tiger has stated that he wants to be better known for what he does for others than for his
golf. That will be a tall order to fill. But his efforts to help youth maximize their
potential, including the Tiger Woods Learning Center in southern California, are serious
attempts to affect IMPACTS concerns of youth and education. 

Everyone is familiar with the intensity of Tiger Woods and of his quest for excellence.
After winning the Masters by 12 strokes in 1997 and the U.S. Open by 15 strokes in 2000,
he decided to change his golf swing. IMPACTS are rarely satisfied with themselves. It is
not a negative feeling. They just want to be better. Actually, they want to be their best
because they were born with that attitude.

If we look at golf a little closer, we will see further examples of the peripheral agents
coming in and influencing the existing structure and culture. American women's golf
has become international women's golf with stars like Annika Sorenstam from Sweden,
Lorena Ochoa from Mexico, and a host of South Korean stars. The same is true of men's
golf and every field imaginable as IMPACTS immigrants flow into the U.S. from every
corner of the world. But IMPACTS immigrants are spreading out around the globe. No
longer does the U.S. have a near monopoly on economic opportunity.

IMPACTS are looking for places where they can 'realize potential', help their loved ones,
and contribute to humanity, and they will get on a plane or bus or walk if they have to--
if no one stops them. After they arrive, they will exert a powerful impact on the social,
cultural, and economic environments. This kind of movement has been a signature of
IMPACTS and their ancestors for over 100,000 years.

Delivery
Did you know that Walt Disney and Ray Kroc, founder of the McDonald's franchise
system, both volunteered for the same kind of job with the same organization when they
were teenagers? The position was an ambulance driver with the American Red Cross.
With most IMPACTS, the welfare of human beings is the number-one concern. It is no
accident that both went on to deliver other forms of value. Disney provided family
entertainment and enjoyment for decades, most of it focused on children, and Kroc was
really the founder of the modern franchise system. IMPACTS want to find ways to
duplicate value, to extend it as far and wide as possible, over and over again.
Franchising is one way to do that; film is another.

Kroc discovered the McDonald's restaurant owned by the McDonald brothers because
of one thing--he was selling them milkshake machines, and they were putting them to
work. For seventeen years, Kroc had been crisscrossing the country selling his machines.
But there was something unique about the ones he sold, which reveals a clue as to how
he saw the world. With his machine you could make eight shakes at one time rather
than the single shake produced by the standard model. That is what attracted him to
selling the machines-the duplication-efficiency factor. That is what he saw when he
observed the original McDonald's restaurant--the potential of duplication and
replication of value. So Kroc paid them a couple of million dollars for the rights, and he
was off to the races.

Kroc did not start the McDonald's franchising business until he was in his early fifties.
IMPACTS do not think it is ever too late to add value. Of course, some people will say
that he created a disaster. Either way, it was a formidable achievement by a very regular
guy-from the periphery. Kroc was not part of the corporate elite; he was a traveling
salesman. By the way, he was also a pianist. It is amazing how many pianists we see
among the IMPACTS, far more than any other musical instrument.

Albert Einstein was an employee in the Swiss patent office and basically separated from
other scientists and theoreticians of his day when in 1905 in his spare time, he wrote five
ground-breaking papers that forever changed our views of the universe. One of those
papers would have been a lifetime achievement. He wrote five--in one year! And he did
it clearly from the periphery with very few connections to the prevailing scientific
structure.

What is it about Einstein, Buffett, Gates, Bassler, Kroc, Oprah, Tiger, Torvalds, and other
IMPACTS that enable them to drive such important economic, social, and scientific
advances? And how about the vast majority of IMPACTS like Paul and Susan who keep
the engines of everyday life churning? We will see as we proceed that it is not a
mystery-that there are understandable and identifiable reasons. And that it has been so
for over 100,000 years.

If you look closely, you can see this one very important element common among the
IMPACTS we mentioned: they are (were) all motivated to DELIVER critically important
results, generally in a very hands-on manner. This is a key point to understanding who
the IMPACTS are and what they are all about. They create value, they deliver value, and
they understand value, though they may not be conscious of the term. They also strive
to institute this value in practical ways and to make it accessible to as many people as
possible. They want to make the world better every day.

The IMPACTS are the ones who go the extra mile when most everyone else would have
quit. They have to see it all the way through and know it is taken care of. That is why
they are in vulnerable situations such as critical-care nursing. They also usually have a
highly developed conscience and step forward to help when others may not. The term
heart and soul had to be invented with them in mind because that is what they generally
put into everything.

IMPACTS are usually family-centered. If they belong to a church, they often serve on
committees and/or sing in the choir. They travel to see and experience the world. They
try to protect the environment and push for parks and access to nature. You will find
them often on and around the water. They frequently adopt rescued animals and help
rehabilitate injured wildlife. IMPACTS are the readers and the watchers of informational
programming. They are the ones who go back to school to further their education and
dreams. They lead non-profits and help them raise money. They serve with Hospice.
They tutor. They help those less fortunate through hands-on aid and contributions. They
are research scientists, and applied scientists. In the military, IMPACTS serve mostly in
the Navy as we will see later. They often adopt children. They promote fitness. They are
the social glue and the foundation of human society, everywhere in the world.

All Kinds of IMPACTS
IMPACTS are not monolithic. Some have more skills than others. Some are closer-in to
the structural-nucleus of society, the SN, while others are more comfortable on the
periphery. Like everything else in the world, there exist a continuum of IMPACTS--
some more interested in creative-formative-production while others are more concerned
with human health and well-being, some very rebellious while others are not. The
manifestation of dissatisfaction-with-the-status-quo takes many forms.

No matter where IMPACTS are, some are more action-oriented and some are more
contemplative though the contemplative ones will still want to put their thoughts and
ideas into action. As was noted with Bonnie Bassler and others, gender roles have
become increasingly blurred in the economy and society. This is a sign of increasing
IMPACTS influence and proliferation and a major contributing factor to progress and
production seen at all levels of human society. Still the walls are high around the
political and economic core, the real power-control center.

Let's keep in mind that this is a bottom-up profile that leans toward people issues.
Therefore we will see most IMPACTS in the lower to middle socioeconomic groups but
of course they appear at all levels. When politicians and sociologists talk about a strong
middle-class, they are really talking about the strong foundation of society laid down by
the IMPACTS. In such a situation, the conditions have been fertile enough for the
IMPACTS abilities to take root, grow, and produce stability.

I saw this description recently in reference to a nursing association. They were
espousing that they were the epitome of the Head, Heart, and Hands phrase. I can think
of no better phrase to describe the attitude and actions of the IMPACTS. And how very
appropriate that I saw it in reference to a nursing group. Critical-care nurses epitomize
the IMPACTS more than any other group-selfless, innovative, skillful, alert, available,
tireless, dedicated, nurturing, motivated.

While waiting to pay my respects recently to a friend who had lost his brother in a
terrible accident, I asked the lady seated beside me what she did for a living.

"I work as a nurse in ICU."

I asked her if she enjoyed her work.

With obvious feeling she replied, "Yes, especially when I see my patients experiencing
significant improvement."

IMPACTS have a passion to deliver positive results-to make the situation whole-to
restore balance.

Captured
In the Malaysian rainforest, a symbiotic relationship has been going on for millions of
years between herdsman ants and mealybugs. The mealybugs chew on the leaves of
certain plants and willfully share their honeydew with the ants. The ants in turn protect
and care for the mealybugs, picking them up and carrying them to other leaves and trees
when new sources of food are needed. The herdsman ants also accept the mealybug
Moms into their nest and help them with the birth and care of their offspring. The
mealybugs have been assimilated into the ant colony. Two different species have
combined in a process of survival though it is obvious that the mealybugs are providing
the fuel for the relationship.

Yes, the relationship is symbiotic, and both sides are happy. But this relationship
developed over a very long time. We can be sure that there was a struggle for quite
some time, many mealybugs not wanting to be subservient and share their food with
ants. But natural selection prevailed and produced today's relationship. Those
mealybugs who did not share their food gradually died out as the ants became the
ruling SN of their domain. This domain grew bigger and stronger over time with the
help of the mealybugs who were subservient. But we have already seen with the
accretion of bacteria by untold numbers of different species, including humans, that
accretion is a normal part of nature. The herdsman ants and mealybugs are just another
version. Sometimes it is benign and friendly-sometimes not.

As we will see, the same dynamic has been at work clearly and visibly in human
civilization over the past 5,000 to 10,000 years. The IMPACTS have become the captured
mealybugs to a very large degree though the process is still playing itself out. And yes, it
has been a struggle too and continues to be because all the IMPACTS have not been
captured. If we ever reach that state of total capture of the IMPACTS, there is little hope
for the current form of humanity. Why? Because some of the SN of this human species
are not nearly as smart as are the herdsman ants. The problem is that a small percentage
of the SN population makes human life precarious for all. That small part has to be
neutralized in a significant way or else we could all perish.

The ants know that the mealybugs are their sole source of energy. The SN still does not
know the origin of its energy though it generally believes it is propagating it with its
'enlightened policies'. That would be like the ants asserting that they were responsible
for the energy that was created because they were the ones carrying the mealybugs from
tree to tree. The transportation part is true, but the mealybugs got along quite well long
before the ants arrived. The exact same argument applies to the SN and IMPACTS
relationship-the IMPACTS were here for 100,000 years before the SN emerged and
took control of the energy supply.

As anyone can see, our world is based on economics. You might ask--What else is
there? There is the health of people, the health of the environment, peace, equality, and
justice--just to name a few. But these are all IMPACTS concerns, as you will see, and
since the IMPACTS are not in control, these issues take a back seat to SN priorities
which are power and control. What is the best way to attain power and control in
today's world? It is to dominate resources and markets, so therefore the IMPACTS and
their energy have been utilized in the economic arena. Bear in mind that none of this is
conscious; it is just the way that 'energy gets organized'.

Theoretically business is about solving problems--an IMPACTS concern--but today it is
more often about making money than anything else. The basic SN philosophy in the U.S.
is that you should be the ultimate consumer, focusing on yourself and those very close
to you, thus diverting your energies away from the group. That philosophy is part of the
'break cohesion' strategy of hierarchal structures. But the recent economic collapse
shows once again that the farther one strays from foundational IMPACTS principles, the
more risk is incurred. IMPACTS hold everything together but if they are not represented
in key decision-making and oversight areas, results are unpredictable, whether it be in
the economy or foreign policy or the environment.

A vivid example of SN policies that push people apart is the healthcare situation in 
America. Placing the health of the insurance companies above the health of your own 
citizens reveals the dominant energy, and it is not IMPACTS energy. Not being assured
of access to quality healthcare and not being treated in the same manner as the people
who do enjoy such access, fills the population with insecurity and unnecessary anxiety.
It focuses people's attention on themselves and away from others and further divides
them. This is a classic SN technique to keep cohesion at bay and further solidify
dependence of the population on the SN center. “If you deserve it, you will work hard to
get it by following our favored template.”

A lazy sap who was born into money can get all the quality healthcare needed while the
hardworking parents of a family of limited means may have to forgo needed treatment
for their children and themselves. Social Darwinism still thrives in the U.S.

People can get sick and become destitute through absolutely no fault of their own. And
they are treated as if they have failed in some way. Honestly, it strikes me as criminal
behavior on the part of the SN power structure. In many parts of the world it would be
considered criminal behavior--to neglect the needs of the sick and injured. It is not
civilized and no amount of rationalization can make it so.

Karl Marx believed that the story of civilization was the struggle between classes--the
bourgeoisie and the working proletariat--and presented communism as an attempt to
rectify the imbalance. The class struggle that we see is actually the manifestation of the
struggle between the two major forces in the atom.

Never Underestimate IMPACTS
Most of the major discoveries throughout history and prehistory have been made by
people who were off-the-beaten-path--from the periphery. As we have noted, the
leaders of the structure, the SN, try to draw the talented IMPACTS into their orbit. Then
they decree the societal map that others should follow, defining the terms for success.
But IMPACTS possess a different energy than do those in the SN, and therefore are not
easily captured, as we saw demonstrated by Linus Torvalds and Tim Berners-Lee.  

Truth and creativity more often than not come from the bottom-up. That has always
been the case. That is certainly how the development of modern humans proceeded, just
as did life itself. It is really only relatively recent--the last 5,000-8,000 years--that a
strong hierarchal structure has emerged and taken control. Before that, the circle was the
main structure of society and there was no top and no bottom. Power was shared by all
and issues were generally resolved peacefully, through a consensus. Individual opinions
were valued and their expression encouraged. It was real democracy at work-opposite
in most ways from what we call democracy today. The SN has even captured that.

Summary
IMPACTS are going to be attracted like a magnet to critical positions--where
responsibility, skill, and decision-making are needed; where people, animals, the
environment, or any other valued entity may be in danger; where delivery of valuable
goods, services, and information is crucial; and where they can innovate, create, and
produce. You might think of IMPACTS as heading for the point of vulnerability in the
hospital, school, organization, company, or structure--either to take care of individuals
in need or to position themselves at a critical spot where the health of the organization
might be affected, such as in accounting. They are on the lookout for problems, which
they will try to solve, or potential problems which they will try to prevent from
occurring in the first place.

The natural world of the IMPACTS is circular, not hierarchal. IMPACTS are community-
oriented and pull for the underdog but they are not monolithic. Some live in the
mainstream; others, on the periphery. Perhaps the following phrase best describes what
the IMPACTS are all about: Passionate and careful delivery of valuable goods, services,
and information, deemed to be of a critical nature, to people, organizations, businesses,
or anything of value. IMPACTS are found around the cutting-edge because that is where
the creative-formative-productive energy is. And that is what the IMPACTS are all
about--new beginnings.