From time to time I revisit the metaphor in the original "Star Trek". The guest star was Joan Collins. The Enterprise boys encounter a "Time Portal", that showed images of the Past in quick succession. If they jumped through at just the right second, they would be transported back to the time and place of the images.
When fantasizing about that sort of transportation, it is easy to choose a time and place: I would go back to the very beginning of any significant mass-movement in history. They would all be fascinating. Imagine traveling with St. Paul, Mohammed, Joseph Smith, France in 1789, Lenin, or Hitler before they showed up on historians' radar screen. (I suppose Gandhi's early career is known best.)
What makes this timely enough to write about is my involvement with a couple new organizations. Real world experience may easily be more informative than a shelf of historical lumber.
As an example consider the 1200 page book I am currently reading about the history of Christianity. It drowns the reader in theological fine points -- as if any of that really explains the success of any important mass movement! In contrast, Hitler's reminiscences of the early days of his movement might be more informative.
All I can do is to keep experiencing the evolution of my own little encounters in the real world. Until proven otherwise, I will continue to believe that the first 10 converts are the most difficult. And the next 1,000,000 are easy.
When fantasizing about that sort of transportation, it is easy to choose a time and place: I would go back to the very beginning of any significant mass-movement in history. They would all be fascinating. Imagine traveling with St. Paul, Mohammed, Joseph Smith, France in 1789, Lenin, or Hitler before they showed up on historians' radar screen. (I suppose Gandhi's early career is known best.)
What makes this timely enough to write about is my involvement with a couple new organizations. Real world experience may easily be more informative than a shelf of historical lumber.
As an example consider the 1200 page book I am currently reading about the history of Christianity. It drowns the reader in theological fine points -- as if any of that really explains the success of any important mass movement! In contrast, Hitler's reminiscences of the early days of his movement might be more informative.
All I can do is to keep experiencing the evolution of my own little encounters in the real world. Until proven otherwise, I will continue to believe that the first 10 converts are the most difficult. And the next 1,000,000 are easy.
Comments
Give me some men who are stout-hearted men,
Who will fight, for the right they adore,
Start me with ten who are stout-hearted men,
And I'll soon give you ten thousand more.
Shoulder to shoulder and bolder and bolder,
They grow as they go to the fore.
Then there's nothing in the world can halt or mar a plan,
When stout-hearted men can stick together man to man.
From the song from New Moon.
Chris