One way I’d define the world we live in, especially in Brazil, is: dominated by complaints. We love to complain, and the conversation almost always ends up in an irreducible place with no future. I’m not interested in living in that world. I learned that I can create mine, and you can create yours too. If your world is a good world, other people will want to inhabit it with you (build it and they will come).
And now I want to travel a little into one of those worlds. Especially the one that leaves me most excited to build. I want to know its structures and how it differs from what exists today. What happened for that future world to be so impressive? Maybe putting that into our conversations is exactly the path to achieving something extraordinary.
Self-esteem
If I had to choose one word to define the future that excites me for Brazil, it would be self-esteem. The country that made it only made it because people used self-esteem and were powerful enough to start initiatives never started before. Before, thousands of Brazilian women and men with the potential to impact the world believed they weren’t good enough. They didn’t think they could learn something hard, or do that cool project in Brazil. In this future, that no longer happens.
How did that spark happen? Simple: the stories in people’s heads changed. Many Brazilians helped the country discover its own potential by telling their success stories and creating possibility. Brazil was discovered, and this time by itself. Accelerators, think tanks, and educational institutions were important too — it wouldn’t have been possible without them — but what actually flipped the switch was the internal determination of each person who built that future.
Support networks
In this future, many of the important steps for the country were taken by individual efforts. Determined people who believed deeply in an idea and dedicated themselves endlessly. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t collective work. Behind every great creator, there are many individuals who worked hard for that invention to happen. And that is one of the greatest competitive advantages — for those who like to think that way — of Brazilian culture: we care a lot about one another, and we help the next person whenever possible.
One of the important initiatives was the support network installed in educational institutes across Brazil. Alumni of schools and universities, now building successful careers, stay in contact with the place where they graduated. That movement keeps growing, and it’s fed by a beautiful feeling: gratitude. We want to contribute back, in abundance, to those who helped so much when we were discovering the world. It was strange that this didn’t happen before, but the world is full of “obvious” secrets no one has discovered yet.
Family, religious, and friendship support networks also did exemplary work. The current of solidarity that has always marked our culture was essential. We managed to support the young people who, in Brazil’s interior, woke up early to travel to school in another city. Or those who left home still as teenagers carrying all the hope and longing of their parents. The whole community was available when they needed it, and the decentralization of effort was fundamental to making public policy work.
We know our history
One thing that helped us a lot was knowing and rediscovering Brazilian history. Both the history of our country and, especially, the history of local communities. Understanding and discussing our origins was fundamental to strengthening our sense of nation. Our past gave us excellent ideas.
That showed up in many ways. The internet received quality content that teaches surprising stories previously passed on only orally. Our popular culture is vibrant. Brazilians met other inspiring Brazilians who were rarely remembered in conversation. Some people discovered that the world isn’t so unpredictable after all, and that many “modern” problems occur throughout history.
Brazil learned from the many mistakes in our history. It saw what works and what doesn’t. Studying how the mistakes happened was fundamental. Before we entered the path to this bright future, we looked at and talked a lot about the symptoms of our problems. What we needed was to understand the origin of those problems. That made us more immune as a society, and nourished more empathy and trust among the people.
We love our culture
Culture is present as never before in the country’s day-to-day. People, more connected in their communities because of support networks, engage in activities that value Brazilian culture, both as audience and as artists. That transformation happened inside and outside the major centers. With local artists organized and with a strong network, the culture industry grew strongly in recent years.
The rise in self-esteem had a feedback loop relationship with the valuing of culture: each fed the other indefinitely. In the past we were ashamed of what was ours. Some people stood ready to attack the quality or good taste (?) of Brazilian movements and artists. Now it’s the opposite. We defend and value artistic production, because we know that’s how we create a country that is good to live in.
Brazilians who went to live abroad realized that what exists in Brazil exists nowhere else in the world. The trade-off between positives and negatives tipped in favor of our country. We had a record number of repatriations, and many companies were created with the expertise and funding of people who spent time selling their talent to foreign companies.
We welcome our visitors well
The drop in birth rates intensified as a threat to major economies. Too few people to work and create the future of countries. Not in Brazil. In this new world, the country best prepared to receive foreigners won. And in fact, it was very obvious we would pull ahead: Brazilian hospitality has always stood out. When we combine that with our natural beauty, our cultural activities, and the vibrant creator scene, we became the preferred destination for tourists.
Business or Pleasure. Foreigners land at Galeão for a passionate week in Rio de Janeiro, or arrive at Pinto Martins to close deals in Fortaleza, and vice versa. Brazil became a worldwide reference for trust and comfort. It’s pleasant to come to Brazil and talk with Brazilian women and men. You always leave discovering something new and already thinking about the next visit. We are an admired and sovereign country.
This is just one of the stories, and it is always under construction. It was born from deep conversations with other people who are also committed to this future. If you’d like to keep following this topic, subscribe to my newsletter below.
