The Edelweiss Manifesto

what is? why, and why not?!

I was first introduced to the word edelweiss in a Youtube video from a channel called “History Buffs’’. History Buffs’ creator Nik Hodges critiques historical movies for their accuracy and fiction – in the process presenting a commentary on the history and culture of a movie. This video was a review of the HBO mini-series The Band of Brother and it made me watch one of the most beautifully created show of our times, but that’s for another time.

Edelweiss is a flower that grows high up in the Alps. Due to its growth in somewhat arid and barren parts of the Alps, it is romanticized to be a symbol of rugged strength, beauty and bravery. Well before the Second World War, soldiers from the German army would climb the Alps in search of this flower and would wear it as a sign of honor – to have made the tiring journey up the hill to get the same.

From this tradition, I draw the inspiration for what I call the Edelweiss Manifesto – a set of goals/milestones that I’d set for myself to become worthy of the human race. I also call it the “The Ubermensch Manifest”; but this doesn’t have a mystique about it as does the Edelweiss.

So, here are the milestones that I’d set for myself back in 2017. People say “aim for the moon and you’ll land somewhere in-between”. But for me the moon wasn’t even in the scope. Mars seemed like a better place to aim for. Or maybe I had more confidence in my abilities back then. Although now I’m convinced that I didn’t know a lot of stuff back then. Infact, I used to think to myself – “Ignorance is bliss, as long as you have a plan”

Anyway, here’s the list:

• 0. Earn to be able to struggle.
• 1. Make gitall.tech something.
• 2. Work on “dystanc” and find ways in which you can make it of value to others.
• 3. Buy a drone and try to implement some stuff to it. Basic patterns.
• 4. Start working on “dholu”; the voice assistant company.
• 5. Build a decentralized web company.
• 6. Work on solving the issue of traffic.
• 7. Enter real-estate and construction in the field of public convenience.
• 8. Build the open-college: //some kick-ass name.
• 9. Build a drone company.
• 10. Build a civil aviation cum transport company.
• 11. Die peacefully.

GitAll was going to be an ed-tech startup that’d solve the tech hiring problem.

Dystanc was going to solve hyper-local e-commerce.

Dholu was going to be a vernacular voice assistance company.

I was going to open an open-college – a place that you could just come and learn whatever you wished to, hung around, and found “your” calling.

I was going to solve traffic. I was going to start a Zeppelin (Airship) based aviation company. :exploding_head:

I was going to do all this because in college, at that age, I had the confidence and a predestined faith that I was going to do all these things, in fact destined for making these things come true. I used to be engrossed with plans, visions, dreams of making all these work. Mundane tasks of the day, the few classes I attended, the walk from my college to the bus-stop, the ride back home – all were opportunities for me to think about the problems and their solutions. I loved it, time was endless and in that eternity I could see it all working out “someday”.

Then, college ended.

Still starry eyed, I had convinced my friends to take a punt with GitAll and make something of it. I think they stayed to be nice.

Reality struck. Things started to not work out as planned. I met people, pickup projects, lawyered up, went to meetings, interned, left, went to more meetings, attended events, networked, created SOWs, sent quotations, designed UIs, made ATL and BTL marketing plans, talked to people, partnered up, met some serious folks, hired, paid folks, emailed folks, potential clients, current clients, asked for the money I was owed, repaid, reinvested, did all that again, for years – but the replies never came, commas didn’t increase, and projections failed.

I made a lot of mistakes along the way, was blocked due to so many mental blockers, and tried ventures I had no belief in, did whatever I could to ensure the survival of the Edelweiss Manifesto – only to end up at a job.

It’s been some years now. I love my job, I get to work with one of the best engineers in the country, work under a co-founder from whom I can learn so much – still.

But in this entire process, the confidence and the grit has died. I’m much more calculated, mallowed, machined human who understands the way of the world, it’s secrets, and I am not sure if I ever wanted to be this bean counter of a human. I don’t have the same zeal that I had back in college. I fear this appetite of having something of my own will die soon too if I don’t act on it. If something burns your soul with purpose and desire, it’s your duty to be reduced to ashes by it – right?

I’m plagued by the idea of building something of my own. All around I see people doing more, going an extra step. I see opportunities that I can’t just shut my eyes to. I see people building stuff, creating things of inspiration, of beauty and of love. The prospect of taking scrum-calls and making incremental changes to a well-made B2B SaaS product doesn’t resonate with me anymore. There can be so much more out there. Something for the soul, and for the arts.

Therefore, this blog and this website are the first steps in that direction. The Edelweiss Manifesto will change a bit. To account for the newly found worldly wisdom but it will remain.

So what’s the Edelweiss Manifesto? It’s a note to myself and a reflection on the wild plans I had for myself. A love letter to myself from my past and a to-do from my future self in hopes that I will not live a wasteful life.

More to come.

Ad Astra. Per Aspera. xoxo.

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