The creative (and destructive) power of identity
It’s true what they say.
When you start a business you’re constantly learning. About how to tell your story, or how to operate accounting software. But by far the most rewarding thing has been learning more about myself; my strengths, weaknesses, what’s really important to me and, above all, who I am.
So, who am I?
The easy answers: I’m a woman; I am Hispanic; I was born and raised in the US; for more than a decade, I’ve called the UK home. But none of things are ‘who I am’. For me, there’s something more important when it comes to my identity.
Who I am is why I’m here.
I’m here to help people who make things to make things better; and to help people who buy things to buy better things. Those things can make a real difference in the world and in people’s lives.
I am not a hippie or a tree hugger. I’m a passionate pragmatist. I’m no activist or campaigner. I am a quiet rebel.
I don’t believe that profit and consumption are the root of all evil. I think we should make money by doing good, and live the lifestyle we want while changing things for the better. That’s what drives me. More than anything else, that’s what describes my identity.
Goodness knows, if I identified as a minority, or an immigrant, or a woman, or even as one of the enviable nationalities I hold, I’d have a lot to feel bad about these days. But instead, by pinning my identity to the most important change I want to create, I’m driven to listen, learn, understand and explain that vision to others. Anything else is distracting.
Paul Graham, one of the founders of startup incubator Y Combinator, wrote in 2009 that “people can never have a fruitful argument about something that’s part of their identity.” He was talking about religion and politics, and about how you’re more open to discussions and, as a result, to having better ideas, when you “keep your identity small.” He concludes, “The more labels you have for yourself, the dumber they make you.”
At a time when blind anger and viscous rhetoric seem to be spreading like a disease, I tend to agree. But this doesn’t mean having no identity. As the old adage goes, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”
Teacher, leader, maker, healer, parent… you certainly don’t have to start a business to figure out who you are and why you’re here. Identifying the most important change you want to create in this world, in this life, and making that the cornerstone of your identity has tremendous creative power; but only when you’re willing to invest the time, energy and effort it takes to use that knowledge productively in a way that makes us all better off. Anything else is destructive.
The meaning of those other wise words — “Be the change you wish to see in the world” — has never been so clear.
Part of A Thoughtful Diary, thoughts on what it’s really like to start a business — the good, the bad and the in between — as it happens.
