Do you remember those Back to the Future movies where they travel in time and they have to be super extra careful not to do anything that will change history? I remember Marty and Doc terrified by the thought of creating a ripple effect in history that would change the future — including some people not being born, or even Doc dying. 😱 I know this is a movie, but as we live the story with the characters, we can really feel how their presence can have such a big impact in their worlds — present, past or future — because everything is connected, and a tiny action can change everything. But when we think about our impact in the present and how we can create future’s history, we suddenly question it. But the only difference here is that we’re “traveling” the present for the first time. I believe we can change the world just because we are here, we exist — as just like we saw in Back to the Future, everything is connected. And I’ve been living by this ever since I can remember. Now it is one of Humankind Works’s founding principles: We’re knitted together with the Universe. We’re all interconnected with each other and what surrounds us — people, society, the planet… Let's embrace and leverage this interconnectedness to the best of our abilities. Trevor Noah does an incredible job explaining it through a real-life situation. In this interview (min 5:58-11:07) he tells this funny story of how his mother made him cut his grumpy neighbour’s grass — I encourage you to watch it and come back here afterward. I couldn’t illustrate it any better, and what I’d like to do instead, is to explore how this concept expands our perception of ourselves and the world, how we might get stuck and how it gives us superpowers. This principle is not easy to grasp in its entirety. And it can be polarising, while some resist it, others live by it very naturally. One of the reasons why I think this happens is because it changes how we see ourselves and the world. And once we really see it, we can’t unsee it anymore. This said, we might want to avoid it or compartmentalise it, because it requires a new way of living, and modern society wasn’t built for it. So we might need to go against the grain. Another reason is that we might not have the intellectual and/or emotional capacity to understand it and/or go through the different stages of grief as we let go of who we thought we were and how the world works, and also who we will be and how we’ll function through this new lens. Without associating this principle with any particular story or situation, let’s outline its fundamentals: - Everything and everyone can impact everything and everyone, at a collective and individual level.
- The domino effect happens in a magnitude and recurrence way superior to what we’re already used to equate and it expresses beyond the immediate, visible or quantifiable:
- It can be felt in the future, and be completely imperceptible or undeterminable to us. (And there is even scientific research being done on the potential influence in the past.)
- It constantly transforms. For instance, something we did might undergo transformation through the actions of another person or the environment, and although there is a dilution of impact, it still fuels the cascading effect.
- It has a complex compounding system between all elements — one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one and many-to-many. An action done by an individual multiple times can be as impactful as many individuals doing something one time.
- It is neutral and always in flow, varying in intensity, direction or speed, just like the ocean.
Again, let me reaffirm this: it is a neutral process or flow. If the idea of this concept ONLY makes us feel overwhelmed, hopeless, depressed or apathetic, it means that the beliefs and assumptions we live by are not allowing us to fully understand nor leverage its positive potential: - That you’ll feel more connected and appreciative of your surroundings and the people in it. You are genuinely part of something bigger. You belong and you care for.
- You matter. You are important. You are not insignificant.
- Your actions do matter. At any level - tiny, micro, macro, whatever. They matter. You’ll do the right thing more often. And by doing it, you’ll give permission to other people to do the right thing too and eventually make the systems adapt to this interconnected way of existing (let the domino and the compounding effects do their job!).
- You are more aware of the expression of impact through time and space, so you will be more prone to fix something right away, even though it has no direct impact on you now. Or consider specific effects in advance, and avoid them.
- Small deeds or repeated actions might seem irrelevant, but you keep going because you know that they will compound. It might take time, but meeting other people doing the same and seeing progress being quantified at a global scale will reaffirm your choice — trust good news will come, and that humans are inherently good (topic for another issue btw).
It’s a new way of functioning — a very beautiful and empowering way of functioning. It gives us peace of mind. The rest is noise. You focus on what you can do, and you’d be surprised at the amount of things you can do when your mind is not stressed out. We’re way more strategic, creative and resourceful. Paired with our free will, this principle gives extraordinary superpowers to us ordinary humans, doesn’t it? You can change the world just because you are here. And in uncertain times like those of today, we should remind ourselves of this every day. Make the most of it and have fun! |
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Your potential to contribute to a better world is unimaginable, but your time and energy is limited. It’s important that we understand our limits, and trust other fellow humans to do their share*, so that we don’t disconnect from the causes due to feeling overwhelmed or powerless. So, we’d like to know, what areas are you going to: - Dedicate yourself fully and/or regularly
- Actively educate yourself and follow the news
- Invest or support financially
- Lightly or passively support (e.g., social media shares, contribute to crowdfunding,…)
*More on this topic in a future issue! |
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I have been reading Dax DaSilva’s book Age of Union and I am loving how validating and encouraging it makes me feel. Bonus read (with pictures) — browse Age of Union website to see all the incredible ways people are taking care of Earth and all the living beings. Seeing other people doing things I want to do, encourages me to do things too. Does it happen to you too? |
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Let’s honour being knitted together in this beautiful planet and contribute to a positive compounding effect through energy consumption. Take 2 minutes to check your country’s electricity consumption, carbon emissions and electricity — by day, source and origin — with this Electricity Map. It’s fascinating to see how green is your energy depending on the day and even time of day, and how each source of energy impacts the price of electricity. As each location is different, we suggest that you consider: - Using or charging devices at specific times of the day to use more green energy and reduce CO2 emissions.
- Optimise the type of energy consumed (and consequently your costs) by:
- Change to an energy provider or plan that uses greener sources of energy
- Considering your habits and devices you use, and now the type of energy you want to consume, would it be better to have a plan with one, two or even three electric tariffs? In some countries there is also the option of having a dynamic electricity rate
Share this energy map with your family, friends and coworkers — this is a cool conversation starter and a way to help more people helping the world. If you know how much emissions and money you are going to save, please reply to this email and let us know! Let’s make our compounding impact a bit more tangible and exciting! |
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LET'S CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION |
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Do you also believe that we're all interconnected? P.S.: Access to this post is limited to community members - to become a member please apply here. |
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Reads, podcasts, short videos, documentaries, anything on our favourite topics. Enjoy! - In the past couple of decades, the volume and access to information has increased like never before. The problem is: we can only process so much. Mike Erwin explores how In a Distracted World, Solitude Is a Competitive Advantage and how to protect our brain from the world’s (unnecessary) noise. (Article)
- If you are having a hard time seeing the meaning of your work or want to explore a different, more fulfilling, career, we invite you to listen to how to Find Meaningful Work in a Post-Career World, with Jason Feifer and Brune Feiler. (Podcast)
- The Great Hack gives us a glimpse on one of the dark side of social media, by exposing how Cambridge Analytica used people’s data for political gain. (Documentary)
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COOL THINGS PEOPLE ARE DOING |
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Companies, orgs and products that are making the world a better place today. - Adam Horne and John Faulkner-Willcocks have amazingly put together an Open Policy Index. This is aligned with their mission at Open Org - to rebuild trust by bringing transparency to the world of work.
- Spotify, known for its organisational agility, announced their new platform, Confidence, that aims to help other companies build a culture of experimentation. Right now, only a private beta is available, but you can join their waitlist for potential access and updates on product-related information.
- Do you remember those PEZ candy dispensers? Pelin Özbalcı designed One & Done, brilliantly combining a toothbrush with toothpaste tablets dispenser. Eco-friendly and hygienic, this toothbrush is a must-check for design geeks!
- WIDU is addressing how women are often excluded from business opportunities, by providing small female-business owners, in Ethiopia and Tunisia, with financial resources and 1:1 business coaching. Take a look at their first Local #WomenCall!
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Funds, scholarships, grants and crowdfunding projects for you to get funding or support others. - EMSOL Crowdfunding Opportunity
A SaaS cleantech focused on detecting urban polluction sources with real-time data & insights, is looking for crowdfunding sponsorship to leverage their product. - Beyond Open Small Business Grant Program
The Beyond Open program aims to help small business owners, part of minority groups, based in North Carolina, in the US, by providing capital access, without adding debt.
Submit your proposal by August 31st. - Direct Aid Program (DAP)
If you are working on a not-for-profit project focused on community development, such as poverty alleviation, healthcare, or education, in African countries, this grant problem may be for you!
Submit your proposal by August 15th.
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Remote and hybrid jobs, contractor projects and collabs. |
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Do you ever think about how a single action can trigger a ripple effect of positive change?
This week’s example shows how the lone action of a woman picking up trash from the water, started a movement where everyone did their part to clean the beach.
As Gandhi once said, “be the change you want to see in the world”. Don’t ever underestimate the power of taking the first step - even, if you’re alone. |
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COMMUNITY LOVE 🧡 Thank you for applying to our community and for all your comments and messages of support on our last issue — you are awesome! If you've haven't joined our community, apply here! |
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How did you find today's newsletter, First name / friend? We'd love to hear your thoughts. Click on the emojis above or just reply to this email — we read every single message. 💜 And we're sorry again for the delay, I wonder if we should just send it on Friday… 😅 Have a wonderful weekend, Ana and the Humankind Works team |
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We offset the carbon emissions of this newsletter, community and events by supporting initiatives that preserve forests and sea life. To sponsor or book classified ads, please email us to:
sponsor@humankindworks.com. |
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Humankind Works is a project by 3101. |
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