The system we grew up with is a mess. It’s falling apart at the seams and a lot of people are in pain because the things we thought would work don’t. Every day I meet people who have so much to give but have been bullied enough or frightened enough to hold it back. They’ve become victims, pawns in a senseless system that uses them up and undervalues them. This is sort of a personal manifesto, a plea from me to you. Right now, I’m not focused on the external, on the tactics organizations use to make great products or spread important ideas. This time it’s different. It’s about a choice and it’s about your life. This choice doesn’t require you to quit your job, though it challenges you to rethink you do your job. how It’s time to stop complying with the system and draw your own map. Stop settling for what’s good enough and start creating art that matters. Stop asking what’s in it for you and start giving gifts that change people. Then, and only then, will you have achieved your potential. They want you to fit in so they can ignore you. They want you to buy what they sell. They want you to follow instructions and work cheap. They want you to do what your peers do so it’s easier. They want you to be dissatisfied with what you have so you’ll buy something new. They want you to embrace what they make and tell your friends. They want you to obey. And in return, they (used to be willing to) pay you. Or give you satisfaction. Or a steady job. No longer. For hundreds of years, the population has been seduced, scammed, and brainwashed into fitting in, following instructions and exchanging a day’s work for a day’s pay. That era has come to an end, and just in time. You have brilliance in you, your contribution is valuable and the art you create is precious. Only you can do it, and you must. I’m hoping you’ll stand up and choose to make a difference.
