Mini manifestos
On staging revolutions in tiny slices of your life and work
When I hear the word manifesto, I imagine an epic piece of writing that codifies a new worldview, culture, or system of thought. Something grand and totalizing. Something seismic that shakes your entire being down to the core.
Don't get me wrong, I freaking love those types of manifestos. But part of what I want to explore with this newsletter is how the manifesto genre can be functional. I'm curious about how manifestos can move individuals and institutions forward in meaningfully concrete ways.
And for that, thinking of manifestos as inherently big, dramatic, and all-encompassing will likely get in the way. There's a risk of trying to write one giant piece that encapsulates everything you are and want to be, then subsequently getting stuck in the mud for months or years. For the last two years I've been trying to write my magnum opus manifesto about what the word "Ungated" has come to mean for me, and let's just say it has not been going well (understatement). We're all multifaceted, ever-evolving beings, and if you're anything like me, attempting to define yourself in one fell swoop is going to feel like trying to nail jello to the wall.
So I'd like to propose the concept of mini manifestos. These are evocative pieces of writing that address one narrow slice of your life, or one element of your organization, where you'd like to stage a revolution. Doesn't even have to be a major revolution, either. Could be a tiny one.
You could write a mini manifesto about your work life. Your health. Your creative work. Your spirituality. Your relationships. Or you could get even more granular. A manifesto for how to be the product marketing manager you want to be. A manifesto about going for more walks and being present to all of the cute dogs and pretty flowers you encounter. A manifesto about eating more salads and enjoying the heck out of them.
Same line of thinking applies to organizations. Sure, you could write a manifesto that defines an entire startup and acts as its north star. But you could also have a manifesto just for the customer service reps, or UX designers, or engineering team. You could have a manifesto about a practice everyone else in your industry does to chase short-term growth, but you refuse to do at your company because you're focused on long-term games and relationships. Lots of possibilities here.
As for me personally, I'm in the brainstorming and outlining phase for these mini manifestos, each of which address some area of my life that I'm actively working on:
The perfectionist's manifesto, in which I codify how I want to relate to my deep seated perfectionist tendencies, and reframe them as a gift instead of a curse.
The loverboi manifesto, in which I declare how I want to show up in romance and partnership.
The conversational creativity manifesto, in which I shift my framing of creative work away from Expert With Answers™ towards "regular guy who's in conversation with the worlds around and within him."
The vitality manifesto, in which I move away from a punishment/discipline model of nutrition and fitness, towards one in which feeling fucking amazing in my body is the chief aim.
Rob's money manifesto, in which I unfuck my relationship with making and spending money by addressing underlying issues of shame.
Your mileage may vary, but I'm finding that writing manifestos for individual aspects of my life feels super empowering. It takes some of the pressure off to Figure My Shit Out at a high level, and instead focus on how I want to show up in these localized areas. And by focusing more specifically, it helps me be more concrete, more direct, and more clear when I'm in integrity with my stated aims or not. Specificity is its own form of power, I'm learning.
So yeah, that's the question I'd leave you with today.
What's one area of your life or business where the conditions are ripe for revolution? An area that would yield disproportionate reward if you clarified the future you desire, and how you'd have to show up to create that future?
P.S. I'm kinda proud of myself for not using the word "minifesto" in this post. Please clap.