Impact Requires?Action
“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.”
Marcus Aurelius said that.
Like most human beings, I dream about making an impact in this world, in my own way, and preferably in a space I care about. And like most human beings, Monday comes along and I forget about all this profoundness. You know it — work piles up and life gets in the way.
Here’s a story of how I managed to stop making excuses.
Having casual conversations.
If you’re lucky, you get one or two friends in your life with whom you can have the deepest conversations with. If you’re luckier, you get to work with them. I belong to the the luckier category.
After 2 years of working closely together, Tina and I went from work acquaintances to close friends. Running out of work problems to solve some days, we’d talk about world problems to solve. We’d go through the usual suspects, like?poverty, hunger, access to education, and opportunities for dignified work, to the intangible essentials, like?mindset, perspective, and values.
Such conversations led to a?theory — if adults are a product of their childhood, then most adult issues can be prevented if we address them early. Then, the?breakthrough — perhaps we can make the biggest impact in this world by focusing on children.
Just two dreamers doing dreamer things. That was until we decided to?do something?about it.
Going beyond theories.
We explored the?UNICEF ?website and got lost in the overwhelmingly huge amount of data and challenges in the space. We conversed with non-profit professionals. We visited organizations like?Children’s Garden ?and?Alon & Araw , immersing ourselves in the inspiring stories of the children and the valiant efforts of their guardians.
The macro view gives you perspective. The micro view inspires you.
Choosing how to?act.
Now, on to the “how” part of things. How are we going to create an impact? What exactly are we going to do?
There’s no way we can do a better job than the people behind these non-profits. But perhaps we can contribute by employing?our combined strengths?in entrepreneurship, marketing, and technology — things that, presumably, non-profits have little time and resources for.
It was also around this time that Carlo, JC, and I decided we’d pursue Web 3 projects at?Rocket . The hottest thing at the time were Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), and as I geeked out on the space, I realized we can use?NFTs as a platform for children?somehow.
An idea takes?shape.
The idea was simple; hardly revolutionary, and heavily inspired by prominent NFT projects like?World of Women :
I’ve always been a Tech for Good advocate. It was time to become a practitioner. I asked Carlo and JC if they wanted to build this “NFT as a platform for children” thing together, and they got on board without hesitation.
If you’re lucky, you get one or two friends whose capabilities and character you trust enough to do any business with. I belong to the lucky category.
On differentiation and value-creation.
The thing with the NFT space at the time was that most NFT projects?looked the same — Profile Picture (PFP) type generative art in the thousands. The space was also in a?speculative bubble, as recent high-profile successes attracted day-traders and new project creators out to make a quick buck.
I still didn’t know a lot of things at the time, but I knew I wanted to be different. I wanted people to buy for inherent value, and not for monetary or investment value.
First, they would buy?because they liked the art, not for future gain. Second, they would buy?because they believed in what we’re building. Theories that will be put to the test.
Collaboration is the x-factor.
If I want people to buy NFTs because of the art, then the art must be amazing. Right then and there I knew I needed to collaborate with real artists, preferably those who have experience in the children’s space. Believe me when I say I literally “cold called” about a hundred artists before ten decided to hop on board.
MA Del Rosario .?Paulo Correa .?Marx Fidel .?Flor Baradi .?Jay Javier .?Ce Manalang .?Nicole Manansala .?Gian Moreno .?Paul Eric Roca .?Anil Yap .
I’m grateful to these artists for believing in our vision. Through them, we created inherent value for our NFT project.
The missing piece,?found.
Around this time I was already imagining our launch day, and since a premium would be placed on the art, I thought an art exhibit type of launch — where each NFT artwork would be displayed in a gallery — would be perfect. We needed a gallery partner, I said to myself.
When you look for something, you find it.
I spotted?vMeme Contemporary Art Gallery ?while walking in a neighborhood mall. I immediately got in touch with Avie, the owner, and got more than what I bargained for.?She didn’t want to be?just?a gallery partner, she wanted to be?a partner. Since then she’s taken responsibility for art curation and direction, something I couldn’t possibly do myself. I must have said something right during our phone conversation.
Teamwork makes the dream?work.
My co-founders. My co-instigators. My partners in crime. Through them, the vision becomes reality.
Our little project is called?Childscapes , because?through this platform we aim to realize our hopes for children, thereby creating the bright future we imagine.
But this isn’t the story of Childscapes. Far from it. This is the story of how?impact requires us to act.?We can dream our big dreams, but they will remain only dreams without action.
Feel the fear and do it?anyway.
Fear, our biggest obstacle. Fear of losing money. Fear of failure. Fear of humiliation. Fear of letting people down.
I still carry these fears with me. They’re all valid, sensible fears. I try to imagine the?worst case scenario — nobody buys our NFT art, everyone who worked on the project gets zero in return, we’re ridiculed and immortalized into memes, and it would all have been for nothing.
But would it have really been for nothing? Maybe not. Because?if through Childscapes, we are able to?change the life of just one child?for the better — just one — then it would all have been worth it.
The end — where it all?begins.
Childscapes launches on?November 20, 2022 — that’s International Children’s Day. It doesn’t mean we’re done. Not at all. It means we’re?just getting started.
If you or anyone you know might want to get behind what we’re trying to do, drop us a note on our?website , our?Instagram , or our?Facebook ?page.