April 21, 2026
Martin Rutte is the president of Livelihood Consulting, with offices in New Mexico and Prince Edward Island, Canada. He has collaborated with major organizations like the World Bank, Sony Pictures, and Virgin Records, helping them expand their perspectives and prepare for growth.
Martin was the first Canadian to address the corporate leadership and ethics forum at the Harvard Business School, where he was invited back as a keynote speaker for four consecutive years. He is also a co-author of the New York Times bestseller ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work.’ In his latest book, ‘Project Heaven on Earth,’ Martin provides practical steps for creating meaningful change in our world. His work has been featured in publications like the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times.
Waking Up Now Podcast | Episode 1 with Martin Rutte
What if heaven on earth wasn’t a distant dream, a religious concept, or a utopian fantasy, but something we are already building, one small act at a time? That is the driving mission behind Project Heaven on Earth, the latest book by visionary, author, and co-creator of the New York Times bestseller Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work, Martin Rutte, which offers a practical roadmap for transforming our world from the inside out.
In a rich and deeply inspiring conversation on Waking Up Now, Martin shares the journey that led him here, the three powerful questions that can shift anyone’s perspective, and why he believes we are living in the most important moment in human history.
Martin’s story begins in Hamilton, Ontario, a steel town, working class, the kind of place where changing the world wasn’t something you talked about or even considered. Yet sitting on the front porch of his childhood home, reading two or three newspapers a day, a young Martin felt something undeniable stir within him.
“There was a knowing in me that I was here to change the world. Nobody told me that. I had no proof of it. It was just self-evident to me.”
No teacher had planted the idea. No parent had encouraged it. It was simply there, quiet, certain, and unshakeable. Looking back, it reads less like ambition and more like a soul remembering its purpose.
Years later, at a yoga retreat in Northern Michigan, a vision appeared in his mind’s eye, a pink neon sign that read: The name of the game is Martin Rutte and it can be played any way. Shortly after, he met the mentor who would change the course of his life and set him on a path of transformation work that continues to this day.
When asked to define spiritual awakening in today’s world, Martin offers a perspective that is both grounded and profound.
“I think spiritual awakening is noticing the mind, being aware of how thoughts arise and disappear, and not getting hooked into them.”
He describes the turbulence we see in the world, wars, environmental destruction, social division, as the surface of the ocean. Choppy, loud, and attention-grabbing. But beneath that surface lies a vast, silent depth. That depth, he suggests, is where the real awakening is happening.
“I believe the majority of people are good, honest, and want the best for their families, their neighborhoods, their world. I want that majority to be in control now.”
It is a quiet revolution, he says, percolating up from beneath the apparent chaos, growing stronger with every person who chooses awareness over reaction.
At the heart of Project Heaven on Earth are three deceptively simple questions that Martin has asked thousands of people around the world:
1. Recall a time when you experienced heaven on earth.
2. Here’s a magic wand. What is heaven on earth for you?
3. What simple, easy, concrete step will you take in the next 24 hours to create more of that?
What makes these questions so powerful is what they reveal, that we already know what heaven on earth feels like. We don’t need to define it. The moment someone hears the question, something inside them already knows the answer. The magic wand removes the pressure of having to figure out how, freeing people to dream without limitation. And the third question keeps it real, actionable, and momentum-building.
“We are co-creating the new story of what it means to be human and what it means to be humanity,” Martin says. “That’s what this is all about.”
One of the most beautiful parts of the conversation is when Martin shares real stories of people who have taken on their own slice of heaven on earth and the ripple effects that followed.
A woman in Mexico City who simply smiles at two strangers a day.
A woman in Nova Scotia who placed mason jars with a penny-a-day donation ask in two counties to end violence against women and raised enough to attract $300,000 in government funding.
A real estate agent whose agency commits $100 from every commission to ending homelessness, raising $400,000 and growing.
A woman in Austria who declared her entire country a heaven on earth project, bringing the three questions into Catholic monasteries and government offices alike.
These aren’t extraordinary people with extraordinary resources. They are ordinary people who said yes to an idea whose time has come.
One of the most powerful reframes Martin offers is around the concept of overwhelm. When a vision feels too big, overwhelm wins. The dream stays a dream.
“What if it’s not a big idea? What if it’s an idea whose time has come and you just go, I get it. I’m in.”
This shift, from impossible to inevitable, is the transformation Martin has witnessed thousands of times. It moves, he says, from impossibility to possibility, to probability, to potential, to actual. And once someone gets it, truly gets it, they become unstoppable.
Remarkably, the concept of heaven on earth is not unique to any one tradition. Martin commissioned a study of major world religions including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and more and found that 14 different faith traditions carry their own version of this vision. The longing for a better world is not new. It is ancient. And it is universal.
Martin also points to emerging research on collective intention, mass meditations that have demonstrably reduced crime in urban areas, as evidence that when enough people align around a vision, something shifts.
“Tipping point. We just go flip. And what seemed impossible for eons becomes, of course.”
Toward the close of the conversation, Martin read aloud the Heaven on Earth Pledge from page 237 of his book, a declaration so moving that Jules described it as something that should be read in every school on earth:
“We, the people of the Earth, say with authority that we are committed to having the world work. We commit to creating sustainable global peace. We commit to ensuring our entire family is fed, literate, and has access to opportunities for self-reliance, contribution, and service. We commit to supporting the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and creative well-being of all. We commit to being responsible and accountable to each other and for each other. We commit to honoring our planet’s living biosphere and all life. We, the people of the Earth, with the grace of God, are committed to having heaven on earth.”
Martin’s ask is simple. Ask the three heaven on earth questions to two people tomorrow. Ask those two people to ask two more. With eight billion people on earth, the math is staggering and the potential even more so.
You can learn more, get the book, and join the project at projectheavenonearth.com. Martin also offers a personal consult or a Zoom talk to your group for anyone who purchases 20 or more copies and sends the receipt to martin@projectheavenonearth.com.
“Your spiritual awakening isn’t a destination. It’s a continuous unfolding, a sacred journey of self-discovery and growth.” — Jules Pitch, Waking Up Now
Watch the full episode on the Waking Up Now Podcast here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGujUepQCC8&t=34s and share it with someone who needs to hear this today.
Waking Up Now Podcast | Episode 1 with Martin Rutte
What if heaven on earth wasn’t a distant dream, a religious concept, or a utopian fantasy, but something we are already building, one small act at a time? That is the driving mission behind Project Heaven on Earth, the latest book by visionary, author, and co-creator of the New York Times bestseller Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work, Martin Rutte, which offers a practical roadmap for transforming our world from the inside out.
In a rich and deeply inspiring conversation on Waking Up Now, Martin shares the journey that led him here, the three powerful questions that can shift anyone’s perspective, and why he believes we are living in the most important moment in human history.
Martin’s story begins in Hamilton, Ontario, a steel town, working class, the kind of place where changing the world wasn’t something you talked about or even considered. Yet sitting on the front porch of his childhood home, reading two or three newspapers a day, a young Martin felt something undeniable stir within him.
“There was a knowing in me that I was here to change the world. Nobody told me that. I had no proof of it. It was just self-evident to me.”
No teacher had planted the idea. No parent had encouraged it. It was simply there, quiet, certain, and unshakeable. Looking back, it reads less like ambition and more like a soul remembering its purpose.
Years later, at a yoga retreat in Northern Michigan, a vision appeared in his mind’s eye, a pink neon sign that read: The name of the game is Martin Rutte and it can be played any way. Shortly after, he met the mentor who would change the course of his life and set him on a path of transformation work that continues to this day.
When asked to define spiritual awakening in today’s world, Martin offers a perspective that is both grounded and profound.
“I think spiritual awakening is noticing the mind, being aware of how thoughts arise and disappear, and not getting hooked into them.”
He describes the turbulence we see in the world, wars, environmental destruction, social division, as the surface of the ocean. Choppy, loud, and attention-grabbing. But beneath that surface lies a vast, silent depth. That depth, he suggests, is where the real awakening is happening.
“I believe the majority of people are good, honest, and want the best for their families, their neighborhoods, their world. I want that majority to be in control now.”
It is a quiet revolution, he says, percolating up from beneath the apparent chaos, growing stronger with every person who chooses awareness over reaction.
At the heart of Project Heaven on Earth are three deceptively simple questions that Martin has asked thousands of people around the world:
1. Recall a time when you experienced heaven on earth.
2. Here’s a magic wand. What is heaven on earth for you?
3. What simple, easy, concrete step will you take in the next 24 hours to create more of that?
What makes these questions so powerful is what they reveal, that we already know what heaven on earth feels like. We don’t need to define it. The moment someone hears the question, something inside them already knows the answer. The magic wand removes the pressure of having to figure out how, freeing people to dream without limitation. And the third question keeps it real, actionable, and momentum-building.
“We are co-creating the new story of what it means to be human and what it means to be humanity,” Martin says. “That’s what this is all about.”
One of the most beautiful parts of the conversation is when Martin shares real stories of people who have taken on their own slice of heaven on earth and the ripple effects that followed.
A woman in Mexico City who simply smiles at two strangers a day.
A woman in Nova Scotia who placed mason jars with a penny-a-day donation ask in two counties to end violence against women and raised enough to attract $300,000 in government funding.
A real estate agent whose agency commits $100 from every commission to ending homelessness, raising $400,000 and growing.
A woman in Austria who declared her entire country a heaven on earth project, bringing the three questions into Catholic monasteries and government offices alike.
These aren’t extraordinary people with extraordinary resources. They are ordinary people who said yes to an idea whose time has come.
One of the most powerful reframes Martin offers is around the concept of overwhelm. When a vision feels too big, overwhelm wins. The dream stays a dream.
“What if it’s not a big idea? What if it’s an idea whose time has come and you just go, I get it. I’m in.”
This shift, from impossible to inevitable, is the transformation Martin has witnessed thousands of times. It moves, he says, from impossibility to possibility, to probability, to potential, to actual. And once someone gets it, truly gets it, they become unstoppable.
Remarkably, the concept of heaven on earth is not unique to any one tradition. Martin commissioned a study of major world religions including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and more and found that 14 different faith traditions carry their own version of this vision. The longing for a better world is not new. It is ancient. And it is universal.
Martin also points to emerging research on collective intention, mass meditations that have demonstrably reduced crime in urban areas, as evidence that when enough people align around a vision, something shifts.
“Tipping point. We just go flip. And what seemed impossible for eons becomes, of course.”
Toward the close of the conversation, Martin read aloud the Heaven on Earth Pledge from page 237 of his book, a declaration so moving that Jules described it as something that should be read in every school on earth:
“We, the people of the Earth, say with authority that we are committed to having the world work. We commit to creating sustainable global peace. We commit to ensuring our entire family is fed, literate, and has access to opportunities for self-reliance, contribution, and service. We commit to supporting the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and creative well-being of all. We commit to being responsible and accountable to each other and for each other. We commit to honoring our planet’s living biosphere and all life. We, the people of the Earth, with the grace of God, are committed to having heaven on earth.”
Martin’s ask is simple. Ask the three heaven on earth questions to two people tomorrow. Ask those two people to ask two more. With eight billion people on earth, the math is staggering and the potential even more so.
You can learn more, get the book, and join the project at projecthavenonearth.com. Martin also offers a personal consult or a Zoom talk to your group for anyone who purchases 20 or more copies and sends the receipt to martin@projecthavenonearth.com.
