I recently read a post by Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Wired magazine, on the concept of having 1,000 true fans. I recommend reading the entire article, but here’s the gist. If an artist can acquire 1,000 dedicated fans who will spend one day’s wages each year on what the artist sells, that artist can make a living doing what he loves.

I also read a post by Seth Godin called “First, ten“, in which he proposes that “the secret of the new marketing” is finding 10 people who will be your evangelist (my word not his). If those 10 people truly believe in your product or service, they will tell others, who will tell others, resulting in the proverbial pebble in a pond.

If your goal is to make a living selling widgets, you can probably calculate how many customers you’ll need to reach your objective. On the other hand, if your goal is to spread literacy throughout Africa or change the financial landscape of Paraguay, a simple calculation probably won’t cut it.

Do you intend to change the world? If so, how many people will it take?