“Well I got to keep it going keep it going full steam / Too sweet to be sour too nice to be mean / On the tough guy style I’m not too keen / To try to change the world I will plot and scheme.”
– Adam Yauch, 1964-2012
The transmission of ideas matters. Innovative ideas change how people act, the whole world over. New ideas and reinvention go hand in hand. Reinvention is everywhere these days. In our culture, and in the world culture. People, companies and countries have gone through massive reinventions over the past several years.
More than one person I’ve spoken with lately has voiced this notion: “It’s just as important to me to have fun and do great work, as it is to just make money.” The whole idea of what work means, how one goes about it, and with whom, is now central to the dialog in our culture. The concept of work is being reinvented.
Art, design, business, and culture have merged. Experiences and products are all about what someone feels. All economics are now behavioral. People act or react, attend or purchase, like or follow because they are drawn toward something.
In their online lives people participate in spreading ideas around the globe. A constant flow of ideas are sent at the speed of light, and ideas selected and responded to with new interpretations. People get wired into organizations, causes, media platforms, then connect emotionally and get involved.
Changing the world takes time, but what else is worth doing, in the end. None of this stuff is easy. Communicating in a peaceful, enjoyable way with fellow humans is as important as any other activity we pursue. Communicating with purpose, intensity, and friction is also as important. Change can get messy. Getting new ideas accepted has never been easy, but it is an essential component of shifting culture forward.
Ideas matter. Transformational ideas matter more than ever. Community changing and life altering ideas are necessary. Transmitting and receiving ideas at the right time leads to reinvention. Great ideas like to hang out with better ideas and improve their game.
Some ideas mate, and raise a kooky, fun, next generation of amazingly brilliant ideas. Inspiring ideas step up and take their place in the world. People take ideas and reinvent their lives, businesses, creative plans… and positively impact the world.
We all need to fulfill the basic requirements of life before we can move ahead and realize deeper levels of self-fulfillment. Social revolutions make the news and make history, and uprisings happen when people are pushed as far as they can be pushed.
On a global scale, people are recognizing the need for fundamental change at every level of society. The most lasting change often arrives from inspired individuals that understand how positive emotional actions overcome negative reinforcement, and this capacity for creation instead of destruction moves us all toward more fulfilled lives, as individuals and within a culture.
Interacting with people who get you feels good, but so does being around people who can alter your perceptions and open your mind. Free thinkers will continue to build on the legacy of acceptance and tolerance that permeates the global culture in this new century. Open minds are necessary in the age of reinvention. People with intolerant belief systems are going to go the way of the dinosaurs, not in a hundred years, and not in fifty years. They are already vanishing before our eyes.
Reinventing the way one lives and works in the world is a powerful idea. People, companies, and countries are all shaping the age of reinvention in different ways. It’s been said that change is inevitable. Nowadays, so is reinvention.
