Do you know what the butterfly effect is?
“In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state.”
In other words, it’s the idea that something as small as a butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world can result in a hurricane forming elsewhere in the world.
Why are we talking about mathematical theories?
Don’t worry, you’re not witnessing the start of a bold and geeky new direction for the Dream Nation brand (although admittedly, I am a geek at least 5% of any given day). Earlier this week I was asked, “what made you take Dream Nation full time?”. The answer is a little complex as there were so many influencing factors, however, in my mind, there is one clear tipping point.
The story starts back in early 2014, not too long after we had held our first Dream Nation event. At this stage, hardly anyone had even heard of us and I was working part-time serving tables at a restaurant while trying to get my then media production company off the ground. I was asked to give a talk at a University, it went well and I focused mostly on the other things I was doing at the time and briefly mentioned Dream Nation at the end. On my way to my car, a student who was in attendance stopped me and said something that pretty much put my life on a new pathway. She said, “I watched your Dream Nation event on the live-stream… and I just wanted to say thank you, it changed my life.” I remember first being shocked, then being lost for words. I think the expression on my face gave off the wrong message, as she then started to scramble and explained she couldn’t attend as she lived in Bristol but she promised she would make sure she attended our next event. I, struggling to express myself, hugged her and jumped in my car to think about what had just happened.
Until that moment I had no idea, that this idea of mine had made a difference. I had no idea that it was actually worth all the pain it had caused me to bring it into existence. Above all, I had no idea just how much I needed to hear those words.
The Power of Our Words.
For as long as I can remember I’ve been taught that our words have power. We can use our words to heal or to hurt, to speak life or speak death, to build up or break down. If that young lady hadn’t spoken those words to me back in 2014 I honestly have no idea if I would have continued with Dream Nation, but because she did we find ourselves where we are today. Now with 8 events under our belt, nearly 100 inspiring and beautifully written editorials, over 40 YouTube videos, a team of 20 and more than 18,000 people reached. Our words can have far bigger impacts than that of what we can immediately see. Let’s learn to use them wisely.
