a thesis about how the written word can bring us to life
rob hardy
Hi, my name is Rob, and I am obsessed with manifestos. Reading em, writing em, thinking all day about them. Can’t get enough tbh.
Here’s my thesis on why this genre feels so alluring and alive for me, and why I’m keen to keep exploring it.
Writing a manifesto for yourself, your community, or your startup can set in motion a chain of events that transforms your inner and outer worlds in powerful, often unexpected ways. In other words, manifesto writing is a bit like casting a magic spell. Approached with intention and heart—and yes, a bit of faith—a manifesto can open the door to new possibilities that wouldn't otherwise exist. It sounds a tad hyperbolic, perhaps. But I've experienced it myself enough times to know the magic firsthand. There's untapped alpha in manifestos for those who take the form seriously.
The process of writing a manifesto, at its core, is the process of clarifying your desire. In a world that's constantly distracting us with digital noise and shiny objects, keeping us running on a mimetic treadmill of manufactured desires, getting clear about what you want, deep down, is a radical act. Exploring and articulating what matters most, then committing it to writing, is a bit like waking up to your own humanity after a deep slumber. It kicks off a journey of coming home to yourself.
Writing a manifesto isn't just about desire and vision, though. The process invites you to explore who you must become, what principles you must embody, and how you must act in order for your desires to come to fruition. It brings you face to face with your shadow, and forces you to reckon with the reality of where you are today. To sit with the status quo. To diagnose why things feel so distressing. One of the most impactful things you can do in a manifesto is to articulate a problem so vividly that its solutions become self-evident, both for yourself and readers. That, in its own way, is a form of magic.
The final step, and the most alchemically consequential, is the publishing of your manifesto. Birthing it into the world. Injecting it into the slipstream of the internet. When you share your manifesto, it acts as a magnet. It pulls people towards you, helping you find the others, attract new allies and opportunities, and open yourself to untold future serendipities. But more importantly, publishing your manifesto magnetizes you towards your own ambitions. It raises the stakes of your life, thus increasing the likelihood that these words will not be empty. No. When you hit publish, you are far more likely to strive valiantly towards your deepest desires, and live in accord with the values you committed to the page.
The process of earnest striving, and living in integrity with your words, only feeds the fire, and attracts ever more people and opportunities into your world. Writing and publishing a manifesto begins a virtuous cycle where you accelerate the process of becoming who you want to be. And I believe this is true for individuals, communities, startups, movements, or anyone with deep ambition to create a more beautiful, transcendent experience of life.
In the coming months, I'll be sharing my own experiences with manifestos, as I've been writing them in one form or another since 2015. This practice has shaped my life in so many unexpected ways, and continues to lead me in magical new directions. I'll also be dissecting and studying the manifestos I most admire—from individuals, artistic and political movements, and companies—to weave a deeper understanding of this craft.
Lastly, I'll be using this space to document case studies of new manifestos I write for myself, for startup clients, and people I work with as a writing coach. It's funny, this thread of focusing on manifestos feels fresh and fun, while also being the synthesis of so much of the marketing/creator work I've done over the years. It's like all of the threads of my professional life are coming together all at once, and I can't wait to explore with y'all.