 One of the best pieces of advice I recently got from a fellow community changemaker Andrew Wilsterman went like this:
“Start with what you have.” In other words, we’re often fooled into believing that we need to buy all this stuff in order to realize our passions and make a true impact upon the world around us. But it’s just not true –– in many cases, what we most need is not a grant, a bunch of fancy equipment, or a huge team. No, what we need is initiative and a little creativity. And the internet helps. We now have the ability to access tools and information that catapult us into making projects come to life, even if we don’t have rubberband banks in our pockets, a la T.I. So, I’ve compiled a few of my favorite (and generally free!) tools to help you get your next community project launched and in motion. These resources have supported me in launching many a community project, as well as working on virtual teams and in startups. What are you lacking in your next community project? Maybe you’ll find it right here.  Lately I haven’t felt particularly creative.
Every time I sit down to write something, it’s like trying to eat soup with a fork. Why even try? Like any normal, well-adjusted human, I immediately start looking for who or what to blame –– commence the finger pointing. Is it my sleep schedule? My work-life balance? My dog? (I wish I had a dog!) It’s perplexing, in large part because I love what I write about. As the career books would say, I’m passionate about helping people help the world. So, why in the HELL is it so hard sometimes to come up with the right words sometimes? I want answers! Spoiler alert: might be my own damn fault. And yours, too. 
Up until recently, I've had an incredibly erroneous belief about life and time: that eventually things would calm down, and I’d have all the hours I needed to dedicate to my passions.
While in high school I rushed from the final bell to my part-time job to late night studying sessions, I wondered if things would be less hectic in college. At the university, I juggled massive course loads, extra curricular activities, a job, and “extra curricular activities”. Surely things will calm down once I am out of school, I thought. Then came post-academic existence, spending my full-time hours serving with AmeriCorps, while nannying on the side for extra money, and managing a social life. So it went. So it went. Spoiler alert –– things never got less hectic. Things never slowed down. Life never felt “less crazy”. A perfect time never presented itself for me to dedicate my time towards chasing the dreams that swirled through my mind daily. Eventually, I realized: life’s limitations weren’t going to change, so I had to. 
Newsflash, folks.
Despite our instant, live, clickable, 30-second bites of life we now consume on the regular, one longer form model has stood the test of time: blogging. It’s a little like a zombie. Every time someone proclaims it dead, it surges back in popularity with a vengeance. You might be thinking that they’re right, that blogging is boring, uncool, or irrelevant, but I’m here to tell you: blogging can actually open a lot of doors in your social impact career. Done right, a quality blog can help you find new opportunities, create meaningful connections with others in your field, and help you become a thought leader, educator, or other distinction in your field. Often times, the only thing getting in your way is yourself. Let’s look at five of the most common excuses people use to avoid starting a blog, and how you can be one of the smart cookies who overcomes them.  These days, everyone wants to be a #hustler.
Not in the long-con, steal your inheritance kind of way –– but in the Rihanna work-work-work-work-work kinda way. Thanks to a society that served up the gig economy in lieu of stable, high-paying positions, and a generation of purpose-driven job hoppers seeking world change through their professional lives, the landscape of work as our parents knew it is changing –– fast and epically. A work revolution is taking place, right under our keyboards. Where once, landing a steady full-time job at a respectable company spelled success, young and seasoned adults of today are taking another path, ready or not. |
Let's change the world.
Who wrote this?Gina Edwards, Impact Explorer founder and lover of all pun jokes, making a positive change in the world, Stephen Colbert, Jif Peanut Butter, and staying inside on rainy days. Order may vary. 
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