FREELANCERS UNION BLOG

  • Director Dispatches, Advocacy

Welcome to the Quiet Revolution

The Quiet Revolution has started.

The policymakers and corporate titans might not recognize it yet. But in small ways, you’re probably contributing to the Quiet Revolution already.

It’s a revolution away from consumption and toward connection. Away from individual acquisition and toward collective action. It’s a million small choices that, together, add up to big change.

As I wrote in Fast Company this week, “Americans are lifting their collective middle finger to an economy that’s no longer in line with their values.”

We’re saving more -- and putting our money in credit union instead of banks. We’re eating healthy and local -- and shopping at local farmers markets instead of corporate chains. We’re buying our clothes at thrift stores and abandoning mass-produced mall stores.

We’re thinking about what each purchase means—for us and for our community.

The numbers back it up. Since the recession ended, spending by the richest 5% has risen 17 percent. The rest of us? Just 1 percent.

We’ve stopped looking for more. We just want enough. And better.

Freelancers know this best of all. When you get by on fluctuating income, you know you’ve got to plan for your low-times, not your high-times.

That also means being conscious of what every dollar you earn really means. The connection between your income and your expenses is perfectly clear.

Money equals time. It’s that simple. Each dollar you earn translates to time you weren’t spending with your family, friends or following a side passion. So, spending the money you earn means, really, spending your time.

Time is a nonrenewable resource. So, when you spend it, you spend it carefully and thoughtfully.

That’s what the Quiet Revolution is all about -- choosing to spend your life, time, and money in ways that build something better for you and the people around you.

Are you a Quiet Revolutionary? Tell the world how at #QuietRevolution.

Sara Horowitz As the founder of Freelancers Union, Sara has been a voice for freelancers for over two decades.