I wrote last time about leverage - the idea of a turning a small applied force into a large one. Archimedes posited that there are
"3 simple machines" - levers, pulleys and screws. So the principle of leverage is one that is over 2000 years old. While nominally a term used in physics, it can act as a metaphor for behavior and innovation as well.
People are points of leverage too. A man like Ghandi, he did something much bigger than one man should ever have been able to do. Martin Luther King. Edison. All of them took an idea and turned it into change on a massive scale.
We could have a nice discussion about whether they were the levers, or their ideas were. But unexpressed ideas are worth nothing. And good ideas when they're not combined with the ability to realize them are tragedy.
So for my first Act! mission I've chosen Jane McGonigle, (one of?) the game designers behind Evoke as my hero to shadow. Oh sure, there are other amazing heroes out there, They were linked to on the mission briefing. But Jane is a lever. She's turned this idea of Evoke into something that will translate an idea into concrete action on the part of those who participate. As a result of an idea and her execution, many people will become engaged in the idea of making the world a better place. Like a
single neutron in a chain reaction, her work has a multiplicative effect.
That's leverage.
It doesn't hurt that she is actually easy to follow. She has a blog,
Avantgame, and twitters under the same name. Still, her desire to do more by developing games that provoke (evoke?) real action in the world is an inspiration, and I can only hope to have the same amount of influence in my life. She applies her single point of force, and the result is the application of all of our effort. We should all try to find ways in which the good that we put out into the universe can be amplified by those who are affected by us. Spread intent.
Be your own point of leverage. Ready? Push.
You need to be a member of Urgent Evoke to add comments!
Join Urgent Evoke