A Manifesto: What You Stand For

According to wikipedia, A manifesto is a published verbal declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. But we also can have a manifesto. It helps to ask ourselves questions and also to be creative.

According to Alexander Franzen:

Traditionally, a manifesto is a written statement where you publicly declare your…

– Intentions (what you intend to do)

– Opinions (what you believe; your stance on a particular topic)

– Vision (the type of world that you dream about and wish to create)

Traditional manifestos are cool. Non-traditional ones are cool, too. There really aren’t any firm rules. You can write whatever you want, however you want.

After reading your manifesto, ideally, your reader should feel like, “I understand this person better” or “I get what this project is all about and why it matters” or “Oh, I can see the type of world that this person is trying to create — me too! I want to join the revolution!”

Your primary goal is to make your reader “feel” something. Hope. Excitement. Amusement. Curiosity. Whatever “feeling” you want to convey.

Here’s a very simple manifesto template that you can play with…

Start by filling out the following three statements:

I love…

I believe…

I am committed to…

Or, if you’re using a collective voice:

We love…

We believe…

We are committed to…

So here is my manifesto:

1. I love to make people smile
2. I love to inspire and give hope to people
3. I love to serve
4. I believe in God
5. I believe God has a beautiful plan for everybody
6. I believe I will have an amazing family
7. I am committed to making life easier by developing innovative products and services
8. I am committed to assisting people achieve their goals and dreams
9. I am committed to teaching by writing about what I have read, learnt and experienced.

So what do you stand for? What is your manifesto?