How the Bicycle Played a Role in the Emancipation of Women & the Evolution of Success
We have forgotten that illusions can only go so far. To experience true success requires character.
Source: Bicycle Beginnigs, Becca Heaton
Hello friends!
Today we’ll talk about the evolution of success, how the bicycle helped push women’s rights forward and why Angelina Jolie is using her fame to educate us all on children’s rights. Hope you enjoy!
The Evolution of Success Over the Last 150 Years
Before seeking validation from others, people seeked out “things like integrity, humility, fidelity, temperance, courage, justice, patience, industry, simplicity, modesty, and the Golden Rule.” - Stephen R. Covey
This was called the Character Ethic. It was the idea that we only experience true success if and when we learn to integrate these principles into our character. That all changed after World War I, when we shifted towards the Personality Ethic, or the idea that our success was a result of our personality.
We began to act out, focusing on our public image, developing skills and behaviours to influence people into liking us. We believed that we can hack our way into success. (We only need to look at social media to understand how far this mentality has gone.)
We have forgotten that illusions can only go so far. That to experience true success requires character. In fact, it’s our character that is “foundational and catalytic” to our success.
Source: “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”
The Bicycle Improved Women’s Rights
Women had ridden tricycles and quadracycles for some time. But the Victorian dress code made it impossible for them to ride a penny-farthing (which was a bicycle with a very large front wheel and a small rear wheel— super weird!).
So, when the safety bicycle (or the bicycle we know of today) became popular in the 1880s, women were finally able to ride them; playing a critical role in the emancipation of women and the creation of the “new woman.”
“Thus the long fight for women’s political and social emancipation began whet they took to the streets on bicycles, giving them unprecedented mobility, self-reliance and independence.” - Eric Chaline
Fun fact! Anne Kopchovsky, under the name Annie Londonderry, was the first woman to cycle around the world in 1895. It took her 15 months to complete the trip in cycling “bloomers” - the equivalent of a man’s overalls - which showed that she had legs.
… An absolute horror back in the day.
Source: Fifty Machines that Changed the Course of History (Fifty Things That Changed the Course of History)
Angelina Jolie on Using Her Fame for Children’s Rights
Angelina Jolie has spent the last 20 years fighting for human rights for the UN high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR).
Now, she has written a book called “Know Your Rights” with child rights lawyer Geraldine Van Bueren QC and Amnesty International. It goes over all the rights children have under the UN convention on the rights of the child and how to claim them.
The book covers topics such as the “rights to life, dignity, health, equality and non-discrimination, criminal justice, a safe place, freedom of thought and expression, privacy, peaceful protest, play and education, to the right to protections from harm and armed violence.”
Absolutely remarkable. I’ve pre-ordered and can’t wait to read it!
“I’ve met too many children who live with the effect of their rights being violated – displaced people, young rape victims. I couldn’t understand why they were still fighting for basic things that were their rights to begin with. It made me very angry. How are we going to solve anything if we’re not addressing that, right?” - Angelina Jolie
Source: “I just want my family to heal.”
Quotes:
Vince Gilligan
Creator and Writer of the show “Breaking Bad.”
“The best advice I can think of all time I had is, ‘Gird up your loins for failure because you will fail more often than you will succeed.’ And the best advice, given that information, is to go down swinging at something that is important.”
Mark Manson
Author of “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck.”
“Who you are is defined by what you’re willing to struggle for.”
Chris Voss
Author of “Never Split the Difference.”
Persuasion is not about how bright or smooth or forceful you are. It’s about the other party convincing themselves that the solution you want is their own idea. So don’t beat them with logic or brute force. Ask them questions that open paths to your goals. It’s not about you.”
Danny Meyer
New York City restaurateur, CEO of the Union Square Hospitality Group.
"I don't think innovation is about inventing anything. It's about connecting dots."
Andreas M. Antonopoulos
Bitcoin and author of “The Internet of Money.”
“Six and a half billion people on this planet have no connection to the world of money. They operate in cash-based societies with very little access to international resources. They don’t need banks.”