3 Mobilizing Tips for Movement Makers

How many of you think the world can be a better place? How many of you have an idea about how to do that but have not implemented it? Wokie Nwabueze asked these questions to kick off October’s Emerging Women Live panel Movement Makers: Amplifying Vision, Voice and Influence to Change the World, and was answered by a room full of raised hands.

When we live with our ears to the ground, Wokie said, we get ideas that would absolutely improve quality of life for a group, a community, the planet. But we get afraid of that idea, thinking “Who am I to start a movement?”

We at Emerging Women have a favorite quote, from Move The Crowd founder Rha Goddess: “We are moving out of the age of the celebrity and into the age of the citizen.” That means we don’t have to wait for Angelina Jolie to start a movement. We can do it ourselves. We must – now more than ever.

To dig into the how, Wokie interviewed Joan Blades, founder of MoveOn.org and MomsRising.org, and Vicki Saunders, founder of SheEO and #radicalgenerosity. What did we learn?

1. Put it out there.

In 1998, Joan Blades sent a one sentence political petition to less than 100 friends, and it went viral. Within days the petition had hundreds of thousands of signatures. For the first time in history, an online petition broke into and helped transform the national conversation. Joan realized that online organizing had the potential to disrupt and fundamentally alter the course of our democracy. The signers of Joan’s petition became MoveOn’s first members, and a powerful movement of millions was born.

Vicki Saunders believes in socializing ideas. At a networking event, she’ll say, “I have this super crazy idea. Imagine this. Would you do it?” When she applied this tactic to SheEO, she realized it resonated in a big way. Though she had been running from the idea for 20 years, she couldn’t ignore the response she got when she put it out there. In 2013, she launced the website and quickly raised $500,000 to invest in women-led businesses.

2. No more guru.

Echoing Rha Goddess, Vicki pointed out that we’re living in a post-hero world. “It’s going to take all of us to change this world,” she said, “so don’t follow a guru. Follow the energy. If there’s something resonant in your idea, it becomes an uncontollable force. Don’t try to control it. Let it go, and that’s when you’ll really see it take off.” Vicki allows SheEO Activators to invest directly in businesses they feel passionate about. By giving women the power to invest in ideas they personally believe in, SheEO emboldens everyone involved – no guru necessary.

Joan embodied the no-guru rule by cultivating an agile team with outstanding ability to listen to and serve MoveOn’s membership. “They don’t need me – they’re incredible,” Joan said. She surrounded herself with good people she loved and respected, and who were aligned with a shared purpose. That gave the movement great collective power to grow and prosper, in service to the community and not just the leadership. She now serves on the MoveOn’s Board of Directors, and is free to found new movements like the much needed MomsRising and the especially timely Living Room Conversations.

3. Start with relationship.

“Design an experience for people to be in relationship together,” said Vicki. In SheEO’s model, women fall in love with the kinds of things they want to put their capital towards as a kind of gateway for falling in love with investing itself. Without that relationship, SheEO wouldn’t have the magic that makes it work.

“People are ready to pay for what they value,” Joan said. The key is deep listening to what the people want, and the ability to serve and facilitiate those desires. “We’d just say, ‘Do you want to do this?’ And they’d say yes and we’d have the money to do it!” When you allow people to choose what they’re passionate about and how they want to be involved, they will happily supply the resources you need to take action.

A final thought from Wokie to sum it all up? “You allowed the idea to be surrendered to community,” igniting the alchemy that transforms good ideas into massive movements. “We don’t have to take a hero’s journey. We can take a heroine’s journey and do it with community.”

Are you a Movement Maker? We’d love to hear about your expereince in the comments. And if you want to make deep connections with other women ready to make waves in the world, join us at Emerging Women Live 2017 in Denver, CO.


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Mallika Chopra & Joan Blades join Emerging Women Live!

Mallika Chopra

We are thrilled to announce that Mallika Chopra will be joining us at Emerging Women Live 2016, with a keynote presentation entitled Living With Intent – My Somewhat Messy Journey to Purpose, Peace and Joy.

Mallika Chopra is a mom, media entrepreneur, published author, and a notable voice in the fields of parenting, meditation and the power of intention. Her most recent book is Living With Intent – My Somewhat Messy Journey to Purpose, Peace and Joy; and her previous books, 100 Promises To My Baby; and 100 Questions From My Child, have been translated and sold in dozens of countries worldwide.

Mallika is the founder of Intent.com – an online destination for turning your intentions into tangible actions, and inspiring others to do the same. Her intent is to harness the power of social media to connect people from around the world to improve their own lives, their communities and the planet.

Her varied background includes launching the Heal The World Foundation in the 1990’s with Michael Jackson, being part of the initial team to re-launch MTV in India, and starting The Chopra Well, a premiere YouTube channel with her brother, Gotham Chopra, and father, Deepak Chopra.

Mallika enjoys speaking to audiences around the world, and has shared her passion about Intent at TedXBerkeley, the 2016 Milken Institute Global Conference, the Robb Report Health and Wellness Summit, Ideacity, Business Innovation Factory, the Green Festivals, LOHAS, The California Women’s Conference, The Prevention R3 Conference, and many more. Mallika has an BA from Brown University, and MBA from Kellogg Business School.

What intentions will you set when you join Mallika Chopra and the rest of the Emerging Women community for our transformational annual event in San Francisco? We’d love to know.

Joan Blades

Joan Blades is a progressive political activist, businesswoman and entrepreneur who co-founded MoveOn.org after selling her software company Berkley Systems in 1997 for 13.8M. She also co-founded MomsRising.org, the grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to achieve economic security for all moms, women, and families in the United States.

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We are so proud to bring this champion for equality and respectful civil discourse to the EWLive stage. Trained as an attorney and mediator, and with decades of experience under her belt, Joan Blades will bring a fresh perspective on the importance of the feminine value of communication to authentic and effective leadership.

What would you ask Joan Blades if you could?

New Workshops

We’ve added three juicy descriptions of workshops to the schedule this week. Which ones are a “can’t miss” for you? Register today to save your seat.

“Playing Big: Practical Wisdom for Women Who Want to Speak Up, Create, and Lead​” with Tara Sophia Mohr

​Tara Sophia Mohr, women’s leadership expert, speaker, and author of the acclaimed book, Playing Big, offers women wise, simple, and proven strategies to make big changes in their own lives, their careers and the world at large. With stories from her own journey of playing bigger, and those of women on the playing big path, Tara will share why so many women today are playing small and the simple but surprising shifts that enable us to play much bigger. You will learn tools to:

  • Manage self-doubt
  • “Unhook” from praise and criticism
  • Deal wisely with fear
  • Begin taking bold action to play bigger right now

tara

“The Crossroads of Should & Must” with Elle Luna

Have you ever asked yourself the question “How can I find and follow my true calling?” That moment is what Elle calls “standing at the crossroads of Should and Must.” “Should” is what we feel we ought to be doing, or what is expected of us. “Must” is the thing we dream of doing, our heart’s desire. And it was her own personal journey that inspired Elle to share her story which, in a few short months, has touched hundreds of thousands of people who’ve read it or heard Elle speak on her new book: The Crossroads of Should and Must.

Starting out or starting over, making a career change or making a life change, the most life affirming thing you can do is to honor the voice inside that says you have something special to give, and then heed the call and act. Many have traveled this road before. Elle’s keynote will share how you can choose must, too.

“MoneyType: Learn How Your Values Impact Your Money”with Amanda Steinberg

How do your values impact your money? No matter your level of financial knowledge, you have a MoneyType that shapes your unique perspective on your finances. Amanda Steinberg, CEO of DailyWorth and WorthFM, will discuss how everyone is a unique combination of 5 MoneyTypes, each with their own gifts and sabotage patterns. Learn how to make your money work for you.

“Outrageous Openness: Letting the Divine Take the Lead” with Tosha Silver

Tired of running yourself ragged? Of constantly efforting, striving, and pushing to manifest your desires? Come join Tosha Silver as she speaks to a different way of Being, of a life of aligning with Divine Source. When the Divine is invited in fully no problem is too big or too mundane; everything becomes holy.

The first step in this invitation is the sacred act of Offering. Offering isn’t about giving up, it’s actually impassioned, soul-deep surrender. It allows miracles and surprises far beyond what the mind can conceive.  The right actions get shown at the right time.

Offering navigates that tricky space where Desire and Detachment meet. It’s truly the key that opens the door to Love and yet it’s actually very, very practical! Solutions arise in ways the ego would never imagine.  When all is Offered, life begins to happen through you rather than by you.

Check out more workshop choices HERE.