How to Change the World

November 23, 2010 at 12:49 pm (communication, transformation, world changing)

If you only ask, “What’s possible?” you’ll only get what’s incremental. If you start with the impossible yet compellingly imperative, you’ll get the radically evolutionary. You’ll get what we need.

Many people say, “To change the world we have to start at the top. We must convince the politicians and captains of industry to join and champion our cause, that only by leveraging their influence, power, connections, and economics can we make big changes happen.”

Other people say, “To change the world we have to start with the grassroots. We must inspire a groundswell of local, organic support so can we move the world where it needs to go.”

I say, “To change the world we have to start at the edges.”

Ask the poets, dreamers, odd-balls, queers and shamans to imagine, envision, and divine an impossible yet irresistible future – that’s what they love to do. And they come from all walks of life – they are everywhere and nowhere.

Ask the artists, painters, musicians, writers to make the impossible tangible, visible, palpable by creating stories, images, and ballads that infuse the collective consciousness and unconsciousness – that’s what they love to do.

Ask the trend watchers and marketers to pitch these visions to the entrepreneurs and venture capitalists: the wild, untamed future always has the greatest profit potential – that’s what they love to pursue.

Ask the designers, architects and engineers to prototype the now nearly possible (but as yet still unreachable). Ask them to do this for as many scenarios as they can. It’s what they love most.

Ask the teachers, the scientists, economists, psychologists, sociologists to study these futures – that’s what they love to do. Listen to what they find.

Ask the people, those at the top and those at the grassroots, “Which future do you want to live in? Which ones do you love the best?”

Ask the politicians, the captains of industry to champion these worlds to be, these supported ideas to lead – that’s what they love to do.

Ask everyone to construct livable prototypes of all of the most popular and many of the least – the world is made of niches not normals. Better yet, build them all, experiment, play, fail, play some more – it’s what humans love all the more.

Ask the bloggers, journalists and historians to document these emerging realties with their particular spin – that’s what they love to do.

Ask the artists, sculptures, actors, and producers to capture these new worlds in the ways only they can – that’s what they love to do.

Plant the seeds and let them grow – its what life loves most.

Finally, ask the grandchildren, “How did we do?”

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What if there were no mirrors? No photographs?

January 15, 2010 at 10:52 pm (mental energy, self image, transformation)

In this modern world we are constantly bombarded with images of ourselves and the “selves we should be” via mirrors, windows, pictures, TV, and so on. This was not so for the bulk of human history. Prior to the 1820’s there were no photographs. The modern silver-backed glass mirror wasn’t invented until 1835; prior to that mirrors were small, crude or expensive.

Seeing ourselves constantly, in a distorted, 2-dimensional view no less, has led to bizarre rites of self-obsession and scrutiny. This is not narcissism in the classical sense. The Greeks had a very different view. Narcissus was a mythic hero “renowned for his beauty.” Rather than worrying about his appearance, “he falls in love with a reflection in a pool, not realizing it was his own, and perishes there, not being able to leave the beauty of his own reflection.” (Wikipedia). In our culture this has turned sour: not self-adoration, but self-deprecation. Not an improvement.

If you don’t believe we live awash in false images of beauty, just watch this video about the transformation of a model’s face to a billboard image (of a woman that doesn’t exist):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcFlxSlOKNI

I’m not saying we should all look like Neanderthals, only that things have gotten out of hand. What if all the mental energy spent negatively obsessing about our looks was focused on something that actually mattered?

What does this have to do with Green Living? We have momentous changes to make to our social structures and the design of our energy systems. We need as much mental acuity, focus and energy as we can marshal to do so, and to integrate the changes in progress. This requires an active citizenry, not a distracted one.

Mental energy is our most precious resource, one that needs just as much conservation as any other.

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We’re all in the fashion business now

November 24, 2009 at 12:32 am (communication, fashion, sales, transformation)

You might be thinking “What do graphs and presentations have to do with Green Living?!” Good question.

Short answer:

We’re all salespeople – selling ideas, visions for the future, designs, systems, legislation, programs, you name it. How you say it matters. Make it interesting, make it remarkable and memorable – or no one will care.

Longer answer, a story: “The greatest thing since sliced bread.”

Otto Frederick Rohwedder invented the bread slicing machine in 1912. The first loaf of sliced bread was sold 15 years later. This wasn’t a technological issue, it was a marketing issue – no one cared about his invention, no one saw the value of pre-sliced bread. They were content to do what they’d always done. That’s the way we’re wired.

And that was a relatively insignificant change in thought and behavior. Green Living strives to change the whole game, crafting yet-unseen means to our ends, putting humans in a position of living gracefully and abundantly on Earth – a total system makeover.

The old adage “If you make a better mousetrap, they’ll beat a path to your door” tells only a part of the truth. How will they find your door if you never tell anyone?! Will they bother to try if what you have to say isn’t vitally interesting TO THEM? Ya gotta sell it.

That’s where great graphs and presentations come in – they should tell stories that touch people’s hearts, not just transfer data. They should convey what’s important effortlessly for your audience. Put these tools to best use!

The world of fashion knows this trick, it knows how to make a statement, tap into the audience’s self-interest, and amplify that interest. It knows that for most people, the number one person is ME.

In a world of increasing information and expanding choices with decreasing time, the natural tendency is to tune it all out – unless a new sensation is rich and fascinating, and especially if it connects to genuine needs. No one really wants to despoil the planet. The key to behavior change is removing barriers to action. Communication, the transfer of emotion coupled with great facts and logic, connecting with your tribe – these are first steps in that journey.


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