Mar
8
2010
Photo Credit: www.pbs.org
This weekend, I finished my second book written by Muhammad Yunus, founder and creator of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. The micro-finance process for which Yunus is famous – a process I will delve into in a moment – has helped bring hundreds of thousands of people out of abject poverty worldwide. Yunus has won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts, and written two great books on the subject of poverty reduction and innovation.
The first book, Banker to the Poor, focuses on the formation of the Grameen Bank, and the reasons that it worked well for the people of Bangladesh. The second, which I finished on Saturday, Creating a World Without Poverty, focuses instead on the concept of a social business.
Yunus’ fame comes from his innovation – it is at the heart of everything he does. Grameen Bank took the concept of giving credit to the poor as a way to get them out of poverty, and it has worked. He has done something simple – lending small sums to individuals in rural Bangladesh, and holding them accountable for paying back the loans. In this way, he started a revolution. People could use business principles to fix their problems.
This was extremely new. Most international development has an element of donor funds, and interaction between developed and developing countries to create “development.” Yunus created a local solution. This really isn’t without problems – like any innovative attempt at world change – but it got me thinking.
He began as a small bank in Bangladesh, and since, has evolved Grameen into a dozen or more companies. Some are nonprofit, some are for profit, and some are social businesses. The alleviation of poverty is at the bottom line of each of them.
The book focuses on Grameen’s infamous partnership with the multinational Danone (Dannon yogurt in the U.S.), and how the Board of Directors became extremely excited at segmenting a portion of their company to go to creating a social business.
This social business model is very simple: create a business with social causes in mind. This is NOT THE SAME as corporate responsibility. This is a business whose dividends and profits get reinvested. It ensures a “break even” return-on-investment for investors, but all profits beyond that go back into the company, whose aim is to be profitable at creating social change.
In the case of Danone, the partnership created Grameen Danone Yogurt, sold door to door in rural Bangladesh, manufactured at a local factory, using a Grameen renewable energy company for power. Everything is local and specific to Bangladesh – including the taste of the yogurt.
The more I blog, the more I meet people that are entrepreneurs, creating their own things and going after them. What if we all went after something besides money? What if we took our innovation and fostered THIS type of business model.
Granted, Yunus has a level of access to CEO’s that us minions don’t have. He won a Nobel Peace Prize, and can get conversations started with all sorts of people. But that doesn’t leave us off the hook.
With all this talk of Location Independence, branching out, being Gen-Y awesome, we have to start thinking about these things. How will our dreams affect the dreams of everyone?
Some links to get you started:
Mar
5
2010
List-making: Friend or Foe?
I make lists. I’ve already talked about the value of goal-setting and of tracking things via lists, so don’t worry. I won’t bore you with more of that. Yesterday, I sat down to make the ultimate type of list: the Pro-Con List. It’s the type of list that you make when you’re feeling unsure.
Some people use it to figure out a job move; a break-up decision; one city versus another. I think that the more I make these lists, the more they confuse me. How are we supposed to even KNOW what a pro or a con is in relation to our lists?
What I found in my experience yesterday was that the Pro-Con list is the MOST subjective way to list things. I was struggling to find objectivity, but it was just out of reach. It was really difficult to even decide whether I was happy with the list when I was finished.
I told a friend that I was making the list, to basically decide what I felt about a potential life-changing decision to go into effect next year. “How did it go?” she wanted to know. I had no idea what to tell her. “It went.” was all I came up with. It didn’t really lead me to a decision, because our human brains can ALWAYS find a way to make the columns even.
I struggle a TON with decision making. Taking risks and grabbing life by the balls has never been my strong suit – only when pushed up against a wall do I tend to recognize that a decision MUST BE MADE NOW. I know. A New Yorker–and I still make decisions like this.
I have read tons and tons of really good blogs lately about picking up things and just DOING. Not making the list, and weighing the pro’s and cons. Who cares about that, right?
Sigh. The list making only gets me so far, I suppose. We are creatures of a lot of thought, and hopefully just as much action. I hope that I can learn to get better at taking leaps. Even without a list first.
Mar
3
2010
Only Child Time!
Being an only child has always been a defining part of who I am. I think I always believed that only children were unique – and that it somehow made me special. Sure, there were those times at ages 6 or 7 that I asked my parents for a sibling – but I quickly gave up hope.
According to recent studies, only children have actually increased 30% in the United States. In my native New York, single-child homes are WAY more preferable/affordable.
I think being an only child has been really good to me and really bad to me all at the same time. I have figured many things out on my own, and learned at an early age to solve problems independently.
I am not as good of a sharer, and I also have to bear the brunt of the insanity of my parents – which gets harder as you get older (I am slowly learning). Sometimes, I have a hard time being alone. Which sounds counter intuitive – I know – but I guess when you are used to being your parent’s center of attention, things can be challenging as you get older.
At work sometimes, I go into “Only Child Mode.” I expect people to understand me when they may not. I get frustrated by subtle cues I SWEAR I HAVE GIVEN OFF and people don’t get. It’s unreasonable, and most of the time, unfounded. I have to relearn how to communicate these things.
I get scared of risks. I don’t know if this is really an only child trait, or simply a particular family thing, but I definitely get scared of them. This kind of comes from being “babied” as an only child, but also because I have no fearless examples to look to – and I’m not some cool older sister who can show the young one’s how it’s done. It’s just me.
Also, I am shy. I credit this to being an only child because of the fact that you learn to do things so well on your own, that you forget about learning with others. This is definitely something I’ve worked hard to get over in the workplace. Being able to talk to coworkers can sometimes make or break your day.
Today has been an only child day, that’s for sure. But I think the best thing about being an only child is that you’ve had time to get to know yourself. You can figure out what scares you and why it does – and you can know yourself enough to make a change.
Mar
1
2010
More Lists in the New Year!
March. Last year at this time, I was a week away from my wedding day. Definitely a different scenario here. Last year I was coordinating fifty thousand things at once, but also trying to figure out what it was that I wanted to do with my job. I was not really doing a lot independently, and I felt like it was going nowhere..quickly.
2009’s March was defined by my wedding..but this is 2010 and there are new goals to be met.
Let’s take a look….
1) Create a plan of action for the 501c3 process. Finally, some progress! We bought an awesome calendar white board (NERD ALERT) and started plotting our takeover 
2) Train – and train well for the half marathon – March 21st in NYC! (yes I am being crazy and doing another one.) We joined a gym this month, and it has been helping with keeping in shape. My knees are giving me some problems with the running, but I am trying to stay optimistic in regard to my success at the race.
3) Keep up the strong reading! I have been averaging a book a week and written four reviews in the past month (Committed, Magical Urbanism, Digging to America, and Factory Girls) and hope to accomplish a lot more. Craziness. I have really been upping the productivity in this area. I have read even more books this month, and have one I haven’t written a review for yet that I just finished. You can find my reviews on the blog – Nothing to Envy and In Spite of the Gods, two very hard-hitting nonfiction pieces that I highly recommend. Check out my upcoming review of a book about the Democratic Republic of Congo, later this week.
4) Try to be less hard on myself. This isn’t as measurable, but I would like to see how it goes. Because I am trying to be less hard on myself, I am going to cross this one out. It’s tough – but I think that my achievements at work have helped me to accomplish this to a certain extent. It’s a process.
5) Set up a more organized schedule for during the week. This will make it much easier to achieve my goals – especially the fitness ones. The white board is really helping with this. It reminds me of many of the things that need to happen, and allows me to try to remember things that I would otherwise forget.
6) Continue the No-Impact/Starbucks reducing rules from my previous post. I have reduced the Starbucks intake to one day a week. Did you read that? Read it again. And again. ONE DAY A WEEK, PEOPLE.
7) BLOGGING ON WEEKENDS. Damn. One day I will make it happen. Well. I couldn’t possibly have achieved everything.
Now on to the March Goals…
*Blog on Weekends. OR if this is too difficult, at least try to make a list of blog post IDEAS on the weekends.
*Tell my mother about my future plans. This is really something that is difficult to even think about at this time.
*Continue in the next phase of the 501c3 process. Keep the ideas flowing.
*Pay my DC taxes. DC, I hate you and your low tax base.
*Remember to take time to do special things and have fun
*KICK ASS at the NYC Half Marathon. (By kick ass, I mean of course finishing within the 3 hour time limit without injury).
So, happy March. The gateway to warmer weather, and one month and 22 days until Earth Day. But then again, who’s counting?
Feb
25
2010
Passion doesn’t have a period or an ending. There is no end goal because it’s perpetually evolving and growing.
I’m inherently driven by passion. If you had to describe me in a few words, passion would be the first. I live my life with purpose, drive and often talk about sucking the risk, goodness and fun out of life.
This ‘Grace-full way of life’ (as I’ve dubbed it) can also be translated to my career.
I’m at the beginning of my career road. I feel as though I’ve only gone about ten miles (out of thousands, millions?) but I’m driving fast while still paying attention to my driving ability, the people in my ‘car,’ other cars on the ‘road,’ obtaining regular ‘tune-ups’ and paying attention to the vehicle I’m driving. To me, that is cultivating passion.
Here’s what I know about my passion(s):
- People: I’m a relationship person. I may not be as tactical or experienced, but I know how to work with people, establish a connection and work off of something that is honest and genuine. I trust my people skills.
- I Like It Online: I came to Boulder with a background in environmentalism and sustainability. With that in mind, I want to work in the famed LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) in Boulder. Clearly, that didn’t happen and I couldn’t be happier. There’s a vibrant community online, it’s growing, it’s changing and exciting. I like all the above.
- Taking It As It Comes – Career Creativity: Here’s the difference, I still stayed true to that Grace-full way of life, by finding a job that wasn’t in the industry I thought I wanted to work in, and now I’ve learned, I love the new job and industry.
- Lifelong Learner: My boss and co-workers are teaching me constantly. There isn’t a day that goes by, where I haven’t learned something new at my job. This is invaluable. There isn’t anything mundane, basic or routine about my current job. The day I stop learning is the day I look for something new.
My dad didn’t find his passion in his career until he was in his early 30’s. Now, he couldn’t be happier. Even in times of stress and frustration, he knows he is in a career that fuels his passion. As one of the premiere Gemologists in the world, he is still learning about his field. The passion doesn’t end.
I’m not sure if I will ever “land” in “the job.” I even consider myself more career-oriented than most of my friends, but I use an internal compass that guides me by my feeling level, learning, opportunities and people within my career. If something doesn’t feel right, I will weigh my options and make something else happen.
Currently on the career road in my fast ride, I’m content. I’m bubbling with passion and contentment (this is a beautiful word, not about settling), so I’m staying put.
As soon as that changes, look out, you’ll see me on the move.
That is my passion.
Grace Boyle, a 20-something adventurista. She lives in Boulder, CO and is the Publisher Services Manager for the tech startup, Lijit. She blogs at Small Hands, Big Ideas (yes, she has really small hands) and tweets while she writes about the startup world, relationships, career and daily inspirations.
Feb
24
2010
Arrogance
My BFF/Office-mate Shelley purchased a calendar for me for my birthday. It is one of those ironic and sometimes depressing despair.com calendars that pins irony against irony to create one of the most deprecating desk ornaments ever.
It was at a particularly low moment here at work that she offered up this gift. We hadn’t become close friends yet and the little crazy – fest of campaign people had not yet evolved. Sometimes it is the people that make the job. The calendar was a little reminder that sometimes, sarcasm can get us through.
This month’s message proclaims: Meetings. None of Us is as Dumb as All of Us. Half of you readers just thought to yourselves – “I KNOW. That’s so true.” The other half were like “What does this calendar have to do with anything remotely humorous or relevant?”
So you are both right, somehow. Sarcasm and mutual misery are common ways that people get through tough times at work. The water cooler is not just an iconic image of middle management, but also the symbol of the fact that talking crap about our jobs is common almost everywhere.
Nowadays, the modern social media platform gives us PLENTY of bitching room. We can complain wherever we want, and there are a million and one ways to share our “status” with the world. Google Buzz. Gchat. Facebook. Twitter. LinkedIn (mistake there, probably.) The list is endless.
For me, social media has actually had the opposite effect on my complaining. It has decreased it. Sure, despair.com’s calendar still sits on my desk – and gets a hearty laugh from my boss every now and then – but I guess I don’t feel the need to complain all the time.
Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t because work is problem free. No one’s job is problem free. I just think that the more paths to complaining we have , the more in a rut we can get. Happy hours are amazing. Especially when they are here, but there is a time when the words get you no further.
Not every day can be an easy one, and we can’t always see the silver lining. But it’s not all despair.com’s either. It’s a combo.
AND just in case you need a chuckle – or some sarcasm of your own: my gift.
Feb
22
2010
So, normally I find timely and silly Google Images to accompany my posts. Today, the choices were endless for “Hot Mess.” I encourage you to search for them and check them out. Basically, they involve celebrities that leave their homes looking like hot messes. Including many of Lindsay Lohan. Like a lot.
Either way, I decided – Better to leave well enough alone. Go image-less for once. It’s tough.
Today being Monday, I am in self-analysis mode. Mondays are like my version of therapy. I sit down and think about the things that I can do differently, and figure out the ways in which I’m not doing as well as I like. In short, I’m really hard on myself. For no other reason than it’s Monday.
I have watched people at my job, and in other parts of my life, that lead their lives in 100% chaos. They are, in short, hot messes every single day. They don’t make lists, or schedules, or remember important things. They don’t take care of their health, they work too much and get little done, and being around them fills me with nerves. They actually transport anxiety wherever they go. And yet – they continuously take on more and more responsibility.
Being an impending train wreck in the working world is not hard. There are a million things that we could be doing at any given time that many of us can become like this quite quickly. There is always another email waiting (even if it’s crap), some project to do, some website to check.
People are always available to other people, and it’s no wonder – being available isn’t hard. Sorting through the mess and not being hard on yourself is where the challenge lies.
How do we become successful entrepreneurs without becoming a little bit of a Hot Mess?? Is it even doable? Maybe. On Mondays (read: hot mess day), I really feel lost with direction. Did I enjoy AND OR get enough weekend fun in? (See my post on what makes a great weekend.) What will the week ahead bring, and will it be enough for me to feel successful?
Basically, I conjure up a bunch of questions for myself WITHOUT answers. They are floating around, waiting for me to figure them out. I think the best thing we can do to prevent Hot Mess situations (and becoming one of those workers you look at and say “I SO hope that isn’t me someday) is to be okay with the questions.
So today, I am okay with the questions. And hoping for Hot Mess Monday to lead me right into the answers.
AND JUST FOR FUN — Some Hot Mess Links that are pretty hilarious here and definitely here.
Feb
21
2010
Normally, I would reserve my book reviews and thoughts on the latest reads for my books section of this blog (saving the non-book lovers the experience of reading every book I read in a given month…) BUT Seth Godin is a blogging figure that I knew would relate to many of the things that we discuss here and among many bloggers online.
The career network many of us belong to (here, and if you aren’t a member, you should join) focuses around work and how our networks can thrive. Seth Godin, whose blog you can find here, is one of the most widely read bloggers of all time about this subject – and in the unique way that only HE can do it.
He has created buzzwords in a lot of his different books (The Purple Cow, The Dip, Tries), and uses that word as a tool throughout the work to describe his ultimate point. In Linchpin, Godin talks about our need to make ourselves indispensable- both in life, and in work, but he obviously focuses on work.
This can be achieved through any number of ways and Godin spends little time actually trying to TEACH you what it is you can do to do this. For him, this misses the point. We all have to find our own art, whatever that contribution may be, and start creating it.
I know many people can get bogged down in the buzzwords and in the fact that he writes without specifics. Many pick up this book thinking they’re going to get the Holy Grail of career advice. And it can be – if you’re willing to do the work. The book takes the ideas of gift-giving (not expecting money in return for things, wanting to expand your network through genuine interaction), art creation, and overall living your life in a way that combines being ZEN with being constantly in creation, to give inspiration to those people looking for a push.
For me, Godin’s most compelling point is The Lizard Brain. I’ll spare you the brain anatomy lesson – but basically, this part of the brain is nervous, afraid of rejection, telling the rest of you the reasons not to do things (read: me most times of the day.) I almost randomly started talking to someone in Starbucks about the implications of this yesterday. It was THAT thought provoking.
Haha. Kind of an irony. I am too shy/scared of rejection to talk to strangers most of the time, so reading about The Lizard Brain was enough to ALMOST get me there. But The Lizard Brain stepped in and stopped me.
Either way, this lizard situation is definitely the thing holding me back most of the time. I think about the finances, the personal/professional implications, and I just don’t do. In my head, I’ve created 5 nonprofit organizations, and remained a dedicated and passionate person. In my practice, I am scared.
Seth kicked my ass a bit. I DON’T WANT TO BE A COG IN A MACHINE. I won’t say I’m a changed human being, but I am thinking about starting my week tomorrow on a Seth Godin note.
The de-Lizarding process starts now.
Feb
19
2010
Weekend Time!
When I think of the weekend, the first thing that comes to mind is the hilariously funny clip from Zoolander where Ben Stiller is in the coal mine, as “Working for the Weekend” plays. Because YouTube’s copyright laws are even in more full effect, I cannot link to it here. Because I can’t find it.
Either way, the juxtaposition of coal miners and Stiller’s amazing outfit to a background of 80’s tunes is fairly priceless – and worth digging through the Internet abyss to find.
Every weekend I have goals (not so different from the week, even if some goals are – DONT check work email), but somehow the weekend evaporates. Friday at 5:30 is possibility, and Sunday at the same time is this feeling that we didn’t get enough done. Can I get an Amen?
In the past, I posted about the blues that we all can experience on Sunday afternoons. The impending responsibilities, plans, exercise, projects, and social engagements can definitely feel like hyper-drive from the *relative* calm of the weekend.
But I’m thinking more about what we can do to make the most of our weekends, without feeling like they are our only source of happiness and/or escape. This is a big goal of mine in 2010 – and I hadn’t even realized it until I thought more about what I spend my weekends doing.
Recognize the good in the week. This is one I constantly struggle with, and will probably continue to. This makes weekends easier to savor – because you understand the GOOD things about the week ahead. My husband’s really good at this. I need to get better.
Make plans that won’t book up every free minute. This is key – mostly to your sanity. There are always going to be a million things you COULD be doing. Just make sure they’re really things you WANT to be doing. You need to remember to leave some space open for just…being.
DO SOME EXERCISE. This is something you should be maintaining all week long – but it could be a good time to do a long run, or class, or something (even a walk counts!) that makes you forget about the things that make you the most stressed.
Try not to Segment. This is a hard one for all of us color-coded nerds out there. We are used to calendars, Outlook invites, scheduled gym time, and other things that keep us limited. Sometimes I find myself thankful for DVR because it provides that type of segmentation – it’s dangerous. If things take you longer on the weekend, try not to let it get to you. The fight’s not worth it, and ultimately, we all should de-segment more of our lives.
I am trying to make the weekends work for me more…get things done without the loom and gloom of obligation. It’s really HARD. The more things I have to do, the more I feel secure. But sometimes we have to enjoy life for what it is.
I wake up, kiss B and think that I am really GLAD it’s the weekend.
Feb
18
2010
Making a Dream Happen
So today I took a baby step. I think dreams are all really a series of baby steps – each piled one on top of the other until they reach somewhere. They are ideas, and then they are passionate ideas, and then they are something more than both of those things put together.
I have ALWAYS wanted to turn my job into consulting. It has been a component of what I do for a long time (in my head.) Don’t you love circumstances like that? You have this passion and this drive, but it hasn’t made it out of your mind.
Today, in all attempts to leave behind the “just in your head” syndrome, I am starting my pro-bono fundraising business. That’s right – nonprofit worker? Working on a government grant? Interested in strategizing about philanthropy?
Look no further. For more details, click here.
It’s a work in progress. It’s my DREAM, part one. So if you know anyone who is looking to get involved – Get in Touch.
Help me make it happen.
