In Praise of Being Outnumbered

On Being Outnumbered

On May the 5th,  1862, a Mexican army of 2000 men in Puebla de Los Angeles stood against 6000 French soldiers and won. This was not the end of the battle for Mexican independence (Mexican independence is actually celebrated in September and not May 5th, as many Americans think). But the celebration of Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of the underdog – of being outnumbered and prevailing anyway.

When you’re outnumbered, you have to innovate. You have to bring your whole presence and all your passion, bravery, and determination. When you’re outnumbered, you cannot hide behind others. You’re forced to ask yourself if you really believe in your mission, so that you can look into the face of very unpleasant statistics and go for it anyway.

And when the outnumbered prevail, others take note and join in. Whether it’s the fight for independence or the fight to live more sustainably, if you believe in it, do not be discouraged when you’re outnumbered. You may not always be.

Sometimes being outnumbered is a good thing. 

Single-use, paper coffee filters outnumber our organic cotton CoffeeSock filters 500 to 1. And we're pretty proud to keep that paper out of the landfills.