“Rather than gracefully handing over a little more authority to the generations destined to live with their mistakes the longest, the folks who have already over-cooked the future continue to run the show a) in their own interests and b) badly.” – Sam Conniff Allende
Two pages in and this book, seemingly about pirates, was already having me nod in approval.
I wouldn’t have thought and… the pirates’ code was a progressive and innovative (short) rule-book grounded in democracy, fair-play (among themselves…), equality and empowerment. Their rebellion against the Establishment included viable solutions for people who were just like them: poor and subjugated. Outrageously progressive for the beginning of the 18th century, the pirates’ code is just as current today as it was in the Golden Age of piracy.
But one doesn’t need to have an eye patch… to be a pirate (although this is a fair fashion choice). As I was reading the book and discovering more and more contemporary pirates, from Elon Musk to Malala and Taylor Swift, I started noticing pirates on my own as well.
And this is where the real value of the book stands. Besides being an inspiration, the book is an eye-opening, how-to manual for people interested in standing up and standing out for themselves and for the things they believe in, for people who choose to be authentic rather than fit in, for people who dare to point the things that don’t work and are happy to voice, fight for and implement solutions for the benefit of themselves and others.
Wanna be a pirate?
You might be a pirate and not know it (yet). I’m sure at least at some point in your life, you acted like a pirate and it felt great! I know I am… And to act like a pirate with intention, with a purpose, for a cause, you need to read Be more pirate.
Some pirates you might have heard of (and aren’t in the book):
- The “No Criminals in Public Service” campaign, for prohibiting convicted criminals to become public servants (#FaraPenaliInFunctiiPublice, Romania)
- The Swedish girl, for stoping a plane from taking off in order to prevent the deportation of an Afghan youth
- Mastery in entrepreneurship, for focusing on providing value, empowering and connecting entrepreneurs for free, in a country with a low Global Entrepreneurship Index (again Romania, GEI=38.2)
And so, as Sam says, there’s only one thing left to do, and many of us are doing it already, whether we call ourselves pirates or not:
“…we’re once again in need of inspiration about the best way to give the current Establishment a metaphorical kick up the backside, to better tackle the world’s looming crisis.” – Sam Conniff Allende
Sam Conniff Allende is the founder of Livity, professional public speaker, best selling author and consultant.
