Saturday, December 15, 2007

"The market for something to believe in is infinite."

It's not what you make or sell or even making or selling that necessarily provides gravity. It's why you make it and why you sell it and how you communicate about why you make it and why you sell it. Anyone can make or sell something. It's the whys and hows that give the process meaning. Meaning is what people want. They'll show up for it.

Likewise, gravity is a better result than stability. Stability implies having your shoes nailed to the world while it spins. Gravity allows you to hover slightly above it while still carrying weight. You can't stop the world from turning but you can certainly decide where and how to touch it.

Making and explaining those decisions delineates character. Saying someone or something has character (or even is a character) is a declaration of value and appreciation, an admiration of their values. The perception of agreeable values is necessary in creating a sense of value. If you don't express genuine values, you're likely not particularly valuable.

I still struggle to explain it.

Mercifully, Hugh MacLeod of gapingvoid.com is smarter and faster than me. He says it better than I do. He said it long before I did, too, and he's been saying it ever since. I'm just now learning that. Like I said, he's smarter and faster than me.


We are here to find meaning. We are here to help other people do the same. Everything else is secondary.

We humans want to believe in our own species. And we want people, companies and products in our lives that make it easier to do so. That is human nature.

Product benefit doesn't excite us. Belief in humanity and human potential excites us.

Think less about what your product does, and think more about human potential.

What statement about humanity does your product make?


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