Sir Isaac Newton’s first law is often called The Law of Inertia.
The Law states:
Every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force.
Simply put, things don’t move or stop without an external force or action.
Another aspect of this law states that the amount of force needed to move or stop an object is relative to the object’s mass.
Simply put, bigger things are harder to move or stop.
The Mass of the Status Quo
The status quo is a Latin phrase meaning “the state in which.”
The cultural norms of society and business often take many years to solidify.
The more time that passes, the more mass the status quo accumulates.
Remember, the more mass an object has, the harder to move or stop.
The Force of Change
To exert enough force upon the status quo is challenging. Gaining leverage or applying enough force from the outside can feel futile against its significant mass.
It’s also heavily guarded.
The walls are high, the moat is large, and standing in front of both is the army of pervasive ideas carrying weathered, historical shields and swords.
These defenses are funded and supported by those inside the castle. These are the controlling interests of our organizations, institutions, and media. These “leaders” are almost always invested in preserving the system that currently rewards them.
To Exert Force
One way to gain more leverage and weaken the defenses of the status quo, is the soften its support systems from the inside.
This means being able to walk past the army, cross the bridge over the moat, and stroll through the front doors.
In my post Sand in the Gears, I talked about slowing down the gears of injustice from the inside. But that can only happen once you’re on the inside. You probably won’t make it past the front door dressed like a revolutionary.
To get inside, you’ll need a clever disguise.
Getting Past Security
To get past security, you’ll need to know how to speak the language, and use the lingo that encodes your membership in the group.
You’ll need to earn the trust of the guards and then again each time you pass through another gate leading to the inner circle.
Along the way, you’ll want to slowly sow the seeds of doubt. You’ll need to reawaken something inside of those who staunchly defend the unjust system they benefit from.
You’ll have to do all of this, without being detected. You also need to ensure that you don’t lose yourself in the act so much that you inadvertently join the very system you originally sought to change.
Chain Reaction
According to Star Wars lore the original Death Star was “160km (around 100 miles) in diameter, giving it a massive surface area of over 80 billion square meters.”
The thermal exhaust port that Luke fired proton torpedos into was “around 2 meters wide.”
A vulnerability that was 0.000000004% of the overall surface area, allowed the rebels to trigger a chain reaction. This would go on to fundamentally shift the fate of the rebellion.
Most of the systems and structures we seek to change have tiny vulnerabilities, that when exploited, can trigger a chain reaction.
We can change things for the better. First, we need to get inside.
Start working on your disguise. You’ll need to get past security.
I hope you enjoyed this post!
If this is your first time here or you haven’t yet become a subscriber… click here to get both Becoming Superhuman and The Infinite Impact Newsletter
If you’re already a subscriber… consider becoming a member to support this work and get all sorts of other benefits.
