Dear friend,
Sometimes, in the middle of your work, you need to stop, step back, and ask: for the sake of what am I doing this? Who is it for? What really matters here, and what is my commitment to the world?
A moment like that came for us a couple of weeks ago. It was not that we did not know what to do. We were doing plenty, hitting our goals, executing the everyday tasks. But we had lost hold of for the sake of what we were doing all of it. And that loss showed up in the team as a low hum of overwhelm, anxiety, frustration, a kind of fogginess.
So we took the time to reflect, and to say again, clearly, what we are up to, and why we in particular are positioned to do this work. That opened a series of real conversations among the founding team, our customers, and our allies, about the breakdowns we see and the possibilities we want to pursue. And out of it came a manifesto, which we signed.
This might sound trivial, even frivolous, to some. But when you feel stuck in your work and the future has gone unclear, a manifesto can be a saving grace. It is a map for the entrepreneurial journey you are about to take, the journey of carrying your community from where it is now to where it could be. A good manifesto is an illocutionary act; it opens a path to a new reality. It names the big breakdowns you are here to solve, who you are solving them for, and the offer you make that opens a new future.
So if you are working on something and a quiet voice keeps saying that none of it will really matter, that is, if you feel an underlying resignation, do not look away from it. Confront it, stare at it, investigate what it is actually about. Your frustration, your lack of clarity, even your resignation, may be the signal that you are onto something large. Writing your manifesto is one of the best ways to find out.
With care,Saqib