Every entrepreneur reads the same 10 books.
I’m not interested in that.
I’m interested in the weird little corners of the world where impact builders get creative.
Where they play, remix, and rebuild ideas to work for them.
And I’m so glad I’ve found others like me.
Last week I held a Make Space gathering to celebrate the unconventional inspiration that drives the impact world, here are 3 of my favorites.
Objects as carriers of story
How do you get people to care about textiles that are headed to landfill?
You could show the impact of our linear economy, you could show the trash islands in the ocean.
Or you could give those textiles a story, give them a soul…
There’s this concept called Animism.
It’s the idea that the world (and all objects within it) are living and relational.
Imagine treating objects of nature not like objects at all, but as people, all with relations towards each other.
In this way you may not only be more responsible and kind to the objects in our world, but you may also see that you can learn something from them.
That they hold knowledge
This is the core idea behind Ben Wood’s philosophy in his work on Waste In Progress, an upcycling business where he turns old tents into everyday bags.
He wants to give them a new life, but he also wants to honor their journey, the wisdom they already hold, and the story that can be imprinted on them and translated to the person who will wear them.
What I loved about this inspiration that Ben shared was that he’s not just creating a story for the customer to consume, he’s trying to create one they can be a part of.
If customers can see themselves as a setp in the product's life instead of the final stop, they may think differently about other things they own and what those will become after they're done using them.
Raging against the machine (from within)
“If you don’t have a seat at the table, figure out how to pull one up.”
I love this line from Millie Richards, Sustainability Manager for a consumer good company.
She spoke about her journey in the impact world and her decision to fight the system from within.
Hearing her perspective on this raised some really interesting points that would help anyone who’s taking a similar path.
By working in the system you’re able to:
- Learn the language of the people you’re trying to influence - if you’re able to translate between parties with varying perspectives, you’re better able to find common ground and create tangible change.
- Chip away at stubborn perceptions - change doesn’t just happen in one conversation or campaign. It’s a constant, repetitive battle. The more you can show up consistently the more likely you are to make progress.
- Listen before you write people off - shocker, we’re not right all the time. If you take a moment to treat others with empathy, you can learn a new perspective.
Beyond Millie’s insights, one theme kept bubbling to the surface for me.
Guilt.
I love Millie’s story because it highlights this unspoken guilt I feel all the time.
Guilt that needing to get paid somehow means you’re not altruistic enough or purpose driven.
Guilt that working within a system to change it makes you part of the problem.
Guilt that unless you’re on the front lines of protests you’re not doing “the real work”.
I believe this guilt lives somewhere in all of us, and that’s not a bad thing.
It means you care, but I also believe you have to let go of it because it’ll drive you to burn out and overwhelm.
You (and the work you do) are too important to lose.
You don’t need permission to drive change, and you don’t need to wear yourself into the ground to get an altruism badge.
Whatever change you’re making is good enough, thank you for doing what you do.
Remixing community (and the hidden problem with most)
Community often attracts people around one shared thing.
There’s this gravitational center that is often identity based.
Alex Shiell runs a community that brings together creatives and innovators in Melbourne, celebrating their diversity, and she’s gotten a lot of inspiration from Generalist World.
Generalist World invites all people with squiggly career journeys to join and share what makes them unique.
This format celebrates your differences beyond just seeing you as a designer because you're at a design meetup or a startup person because you're at a founder community.
It celebrates the whole person, not just one aspect of them.
Taking this idea of diversity and remixing it into her own community, Alex is able to find creative people in all sorts of areas (beyond your common channels like LinkedIn).
I really love this idea because since moving to Melbourne a few years ago I’ve felt pretty lonely.
Not all the time, but there are times where I just can’t seem to find my people.
I’ve gone to a TON of events, but end up just talking about the “thing” that the event/community is about.
I feel like in the impact space, I’ve met more people that celebrate diversity, celebrate the whole person, and that makes me feel less lonely ❤️.
Oh yea, the orange thing from the subject line…
This came up in conversation as we were all discussing our unconventional inspiration.
Sometimes you’ll be faced with problems in life, and they’re a bit like an orange…
The exterior is tough.
It’s bitter.
It’s seemingly impenetrable.
But if you stick with it you’ll be met with a reward. One that’s nourishing, and sweet.
You’ll face more oranges, but you’ll know what to do next time…
It’s a weird analogy, but it’s my kind of weird.
