Eight Billion Worlds
Shifting from a world of right and wrong to one of exploration, empathy, and curiosity.
You've never seen the "real" world.
None of us have.
What now? 🤔
I will explain in this post. Before we dive in, a few updates from the PIRATE family:
🏴☠️
The PIRATEx Crew is open-sourcing 15 years of event planning expertise! We’re sharing the frameworks, templates, and checklists the team uses in their projects. The Event Strategy Blueprint and the Event Branding Guide are already available online (German only). The next resource will be dropping next week.
Despite all the buzz about AI replacing developers, the demand for software developers at division5 remains high. We’re actively hiring for 10+ positions across various teams.
Exciting news ahead! We’ll soon be welcoming a new venture to the PIRATE Family. I love this early phase of a company when much is yet unwritten.
Engjell just launched the Scaling The Unscalable Podcast, and I had the honor of being a guest on Episode 2. Check it out if you’re interested in the conversation.
I also launched my own YouTube channel! Still figuring out the direction, but feel free to subscribe if you’re curious about where it’s headed.
We had some wonderful PIRATE Dinners in Aachen and Düsseldorf. More to come.
🏴☠️
Okay, back to the real world that I claim none of us have ever seen.
What we see isn't the world as it is. It's the world as we make it.
Think about it like this: Right now, billions of people are looking at the exact same sky. But no two people are seeing the same thing:
A pilot sees navigation paths.
A poet sees inspiration.
A farmer sees tomorrow's weather.
A child sees infinite possibilities.
An astronomer sees ancient light.
Same sky. Different worlds.
The Lens of Perception
Our brains aren't cameras capturing reality. They're storytellers interpreting it—through lenses shaped by:
Every memory we've collected
Every story we've believed
Every wound we've carried
Every joy we've experienced
Every lesson we've learned
Every belief we've formed
Take that "difficult" person at work. In their world, they might be the hero. In yours, they're the obstacle. In someone else’s world, they might be an inspiration.
Who's right? Everyone. And no one.
Billions of Realities
Here’s what’s fascinating:
Two siblings can grow up in the same house but have completely different memories. Two employees can work the same job but have distinct experiences. Two friends can watch the same movie and walk away with entirely different meanings.
Consider the film The Matrix. One viewer might see an action-packed sci-fi thriller. Another might see a profound philosophical meditation on reality and consciousness. A computer scientist might focus on its portrayal of artificial intelligence. Each perspective is valid—and yet, each is incomplete.
Not because reality changes, but because we look at it through different lenses.
Some see opportunities; others see threats. Same situation. Different worlds.
The Profound Implications
The implications of this understanding are profound:
There is no "normal."
There is no "obvious."
There is no "common sense."
There are just billions of unique interpretations. Each valid. Each limited. Each true to its owner.
Practical Magic
This isn’t just abstract philosophy. It’s practical magic.
Arguments become easier to understand.
Empathy becomes natural.
Judgment becomes lighter.
Curiosity becomes automatic.
Once you really grasp this, you begin to see that:
Every disagreement makes sense. Every perspective adds value. Every difference enriches.
Instead of asking, “Why can’t they see what I see?”, ask: “What are they seeing that I’m not?”
A New Way of Being
Suddenly, the world transforms from a place of trying to be right to one of curiously exploring. This, perhaps, is the key takeaway: In a world of 8 billion realities:
Understanding becomes more valuable than agreement.
Questions become more powerful than answers.
Listening becomes more important than speaking.
What might others be seeing in their world that you're missing in yours?
And maybe, just maybe, their view could make your world a little bigger.
I hope this post has helped expand yours.
🙏
Be kind,
Manuel
If this post resonated with you, consider sharing it with someone whose perspective you’d like to understand better. I’d love to hear in the comments: What’s something you see differently from most people in your life?