Piece 02 of 14
The first 90 days
You start alone. By day 90 you don't.
Before you start
Get clear on your one sentence, the one from the opening: "The people of my state have the right to decide their own future, and I'm helping them get organized to do it." You will lead with it in every conversation below.
Days 1 to 30: get ready and find the first few
- Write your one sentence. Memorize it.
- Read all seven pieces in this library.
- Set up one public way to be reached: an email address and one social account under a project name, not your personal name.
- Make a list of 25 people you already know who might say yes, or might know someone who would. Don't filter hard. List them.
- Have ten real conversations. Ask, don't pitch. "Do you think our state should decide its own future?" Listen more than you talk.
- Goal by day 30: five people who have said "I'm in" and given you a way to reach them.
Days 31 to 60: hold the first meeting and form a team
- Run your first meeting (see The First Meeting). Five people in a room beats fifty on a list.
- From that room, fill three roles: an outward-facing lead, an operations lead, and an events lead. It is fine if you hold one yourself for now. It is not fine to hold all three forever.
- Set a standing meeting. Same day, same time, monthly at least.
- Start a simple, private contact list. Names and how to reach them. Nothing fancy. Keep it safe.
- Goal by day 60: a three-role team and a date for meeting number two.
Days 61 to 90: build a rhythm and widen the circle
- Run meeting number two. Each role reports what they did. Short.
- Each member brings one new person. Five becomes ten.
- Do one small public thing: a table at a market, a meetup, a coffee. Visible, lawful, calm.
- Pick the one metric you will track from here forward: number of people who have said yes and can be reached. Write the number down every month. Watch it climb.
- Goal by day 90: ten or more committed people, three roles filled, a meeting rhythm, and a number you are growing.
What "done" looks like at 90 days
You are not a lone voice anymore. You are a small team with a calendar and a list. That is the whole game at this stage. Everything bigger is built from this.
Do
- Start with conversations
- Keep the issue to self-determination
- Build a team
- Track one honest number
Don't
- Start with a manifesto
- Drift into every other fight
- Try to be the whole team yourself
- Inflate the number to feel good