Although I don’t think social change is for everyone, I do think you need the following ingredients in place before anything can happen:
- Some “thing” worth getting behind (e.g. the song in the video is worth dancing to),
- At least one incredibly confident individual willing to go it alone (e.g. “Dancing Man” from the video),
- At least one or more people ready to stand behind ‘the leader’ and show the crowd, “Hey, this is good, come on!” (e.g. the first two guys to join Dancing Man).
Check it out:
So, the next time you’re thinking of instigating or supporting some type of social change – whether it be big change like starting an industry trend or small change in your school or workplace – be sure you have the necessary ingredients.
You’ll be “unstoppable.”
And you’ll have people like the woman at the very end of the video asking, “How did he do that?”
Love it, love it, love it! This is the perfect example to illustrate how just one person can start a movement. It just takes a little courage and not worrying about looking silly or out of place. So many people need the security of numbers before they join a movement, and that’s okay. But if you know that you’ve got something great to offer (even if it’s just letting loose and dancing in a public place), you need to get out there and be a leader. Others WILL follow!
I’m trying to be a leader in my school by learning all sorts of new ways to connect with “hard to reach” students through new technology. I’m currently taking PBWorks Summer Camp to learn how to create a really good wiki to use as a virtual classroom. Some of my colleagues have started experimenting with wikis but they have only used it as part of a “special assignment”. I want to develop a wiki that will become the “hub” of learning for my students. I want to develop a platform that can be used everyday and that serves a wide variety of purposes. I want to be that first guy dancing!
Just for the record… I’ve been known to “start up” a few dance floors in my time 🙂 It feels a bit weird to be out there all by yourself with everyone watching, but before you know it, you’re not alone anymore. And the rush of knowing that you started something is worth the relatively minor anxiety of being the “first”.
So, to anyone who’s reading this…get out there and start dancing!