How To Move 30 Thousand People

Ever wondered what it takes to encourage 30 thousand people to take action? Here is how we did so last Friday night at a Texas Rangers Baseball game.

You Need To Take Action

It sounds very obvious, but the reality is that many people forget to actually start moving once they set their mind towards a goal. If you spin your wheels thinking and thinking, nothing will ever happen!

"At some point you need to stop thinking and start moving." -Joel

So...How did it all start? Well, it was our friends three young kids who said: "Let's start a wave!" At first, we all looked at each other and didn't think much of it. But then one of the kids said: "Come on...let's do it!" They had made up their minds. They were ready to take action!

It Takes Courage

You need to muster up the courage to push through the fear of looking like a fool. It took only a split second for my brain to come up with a handful of reasons why I shouldn't even try. What if this ends up being a flop? What if people start laughing at me and a video goes viral? What if...what if...?

So...I mustered up faith like the kids and said. "Let's do it!"

Don't get me wrong, I was frightened but it was an opportunity to show these kids that you can achieve anything you set your mind to. I was ready to lead them.

"Stop doubting yourself and just take action." - Joel

It Takes Dedication

The first attempt fizzled. At most, 10 people raised their hands. Rome wasn't built in a day though, right? So we tried again.

The second attempt here we go...One...two..three...

Again, failure. Nothing at all. People were yawning and looking at us as fools. Who cares though, maybe they didn't notice...let's try again.

The third attempt here we go...One...two...three!

A glimmer of hope. Maybe like 30 people jumped in and they probably did so because they felt sorry for us. By now I was starting to self-doubt. I started thinking of a clever transition to explain to the kids that we tried and it didn't work out. Maybe it was too ambitious for us to try. Maybe next time...

It Takes Going All In

I looked around and saw a guy somewhat far from the section next to us who looked at me and said: "One more time...one more dude!" I looked backed and thought, "If he has faith in this as well, then let's do it one more time. Let's go all in."

The fourth attempt here we go...yelling, screaming and jumping...One...two...THREE!!

People took notice and knew I was serious. Two and a half sections did the wave. At this point, the adrenaline kicked in. In my mind, it was all or nothing. All in even if it meant losing my voice in the process of all the yelling. I could feel the rush. Fight or flight. Win or loss. This was the big moment as if my life depended on it!

The fifth attempt here we go...yelling even louder, screaming and jumping..."Come on people, stop sleeping and let's do a wave!!!! ONE...TWO...THREE!!

We got some momentum, not enough though. The wave managed to go to four sections. Other people caught the vision. They could see we weren't going to stop. They noticed we were all in so why not join in the fun? So we went for it yet again!

The sixth attempt here we go...pounding, yelling, screaming, jumping, lifting hands..."Come on people...LET'S GO!!! LET'S GO!!! ONE...TWO...THREE!!!

"The only path to success is through failure." - Joel

It Takes Support

No vision can be achieved in isolation and without support. You need to inspire people to see and believe in the vision and work together. Like-minded people make the world go round. Identify those individuals in your life and walk alongside each other.

We were so close! The wave went seven or eight sections. We had potential! Now wasn't the time to quit. We can almost see it come to life! Let's do it!!

The seventh attempt here we go...clapping, pounding, yelling, screaming, jumping, lifting hands..."COME ON PEOPLE...LET'S GO!!! LET'S GO!!! ONE...TWO...THREE!!!

"Failures always preceed success. Every single time." - Joel

You Must Be All In

If you are not all in, you will quit right before the breakthrough. Anything less than all is unacceptable. You must set your mind on the goal, not all the what ifs. Postpone excuses and proactively take action.

"Procrastinate fear. Postpone excuses. Take action." - Joel

Video - Moving 30 Thousand People To Action

On the seventh attempt, approximately 30 thousand people took action to make a wave. The true leaders and visionaries where the young kids who against all odds believed it was possible. They were right. With the right people, courage, dedication, support and going all in we made it happen.

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Special thanks to my friend Steph for your input, feedback and capturing the video making this article possible.