#94 - Revolutions
Humble beginning, snowballs, and revolution
Every startup is a movement.
Whether tackling climate change or providing tools for accountants.
What’s different is how far those movements go.
Some fizzle out at inception.
And some, a tiny percentage, go on to be full blown revolutions.
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Humble Beginnings
Every revolution has humble beginnings.
It starts as a murmur.
A dissatisfaction with the state of affairs.
Johannesburg in the 1940s: A young Nelson Mandela and the anti-apartheid movement.
Manchester in the 1900s: Emmeline Pankhurst and the first suffragettes.
These murmurs gather steam.
They develop in their own special way.
Much depends on the conviction of the key players. Conviction that a new world is possible.
Mandela spent 26 years behind bars. Those years strengthened his resolve. He became convinced that people of all colours could be equal in a new South Africa.
He saw it when no one else could.
Many times the revolutionary flame flickers. But any one person can keep it lit.
And then there’s no telling where it might go.
Snowballs
A successful revolution changes everything.
History is littered with examples of revolutions spawning revolutions.
In 1775 North America erupted into war. The new world against the old. America against Great Britain.
In the next 8 years the USA won their independence. But things did not stop there.
What followed was a wave of revolutions.
In 1789 the french people stormed their royal houses. Thus beginning the French Revolution.
1791 brought forward Toussaint Louverture. He rose up against the French to form the country of Haiti. In doing so achieving the only successful slave revolution in history.
1808 was the turn of South America. 25 years and hundreds of wars later the continent freed itself of Spanish rule.
Four different revolutions, sure. But the same idea. The same snowball. Rolling gently at first. But soon becoming an avalanche.
Revolution
If you’re running a startup you’re starting a movement.
Whether you know it or not.
Perhaps your cause doesn’t appear noble. But meaning is in the eye of the beholder. If it matters to you then it matters.
It’s easy to forget that. To get lost in the weeds. To drown in spreadsheets and email.
But you can always tap into a bigger picture. To see the movement you’re creating.
See it as a movement and the how becomes a detail.
Keep striving and you build momentum.
Who knows where your movement goes then.
Perhaps you’ll reach enough.
Or perhaps it’ll gather steam. You’ll dig deep. Through the highs and the lows.
And perhaps, just maybe, you’ll end up with a full blown revolution on your hands.
My Week in Books📚
Bolivar by Marie Arana
A wonderful book. Bolivar liberated seven countries in South America. Quite the story and brilliantly written. Thrilling.
I’ll be updating the books I’ve read this year here. Any recommendations? Let me know! See 2021’s books here.
A Final Thought 💡
“Every person has a revolution beating within his or her chest.”
- Adam Braun
mandela 🌈🫶🏼🌈🫶🏼 rainbow nation of south africa