How are you with with making decisions, not knowing how they’re going to end up?
Often, acting from passion of conviction takes us into the unknown. We take actions blind, not knowing whether they’ll have impact or even if they’ll feel good. And yet these actions can take us down avenues we’d never have dreamed of and can lead us to unimagined bounties.
Ruthie Collins, who founded Positiveworld Studios in Cambridge, shares with us her experience of what can emerge when you do what you believe in:
“Two years ago I made a pledge to stop buying fashion from the High Street because I couldn’t go on supporting the manufacturing of clothing in sweatshops. I care about gorgeous clothes. Frivolous, yes. Uncommon in young women, no. And I also care about staying true to your principles and following your passions – and I believe what you wear is… well, political.
I started it as a six month experiment; it felt a bit like going on a diet… exciting, liberating, with that dizzying sense of possibility. Only with my new diet of sweatshop-free fashion, far from feeling denied, what actually happened was that a whole new world of uber-green style and abundance opened up to me. It was one of the best moves I’ve ever made.
I’ve discovered the joys of supporting small ethical fashion designers, knowing that my custom makes a difference. I’ve researched sustainable fashion blogs, books, campaigns, portals, writers and magazines and discovered the sheer joy of thrift shops in New York. I’ve found myself at workshops at the London College of Fashion – offered free to anyone interested in sustainable fashion. I’ve been invited to take part in a fashion show as a model and go on the telly to take part in a massive live clothes swap. I was even offered a little PR work for an eco-shoe designer AND the chance to write for the Ethical Fashion Forum’s soon-to-be-launched online magazine, Source.
I had no idea that any of this would happen when I made my pledge. I just did it.
Whatever injustice is unsettling you, you can do something about it. You might not feel that baby steps can smash the system but without them, change will simply flutter off out of your grasp. My boycott has taught me that the best way to change something in the world is to start with yourself. Revolutions start from within.”
Look at the language Ruthie uses – “discovered” “found myself” “was invited” “was offered” “a chance”. Once she made a pledge in line with her principles and when she allowed herself to be driven forward by her passion, opportunities she couldn’t have planned for came her way.
If we can leap without a net… If we can bear the unknown and the unplanned… If we can trust that what our heart tells us to do is the right thing to do… then we break away from the tyranny of having to know how it’s all going to work out before we start.
We are then on our very own treasure hunt; we pick up the first clue in front of us and trust that it will lead us to the next and then the next and so we find that we are on our path.
The World Needs Your Passion, So…
1) What is your impulse? What has been playing on your mind? What do you want to just do – without being strategic and without an ‘end goal’ in mind? Consider these questions now.
2) Trust in that passion enough to take one step. Notice what happens – what the first clue is that you stumble upon and where that clue then leads you.
3) Leave a comment on this blog, letting us know about times when you’ve acted from your passion and principles and what the outcome was. Also let us know: How are you with the unknown? What stops you from taking that first step?
© Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2010
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Kickstart Your Own Treasure Hunt
What are you passionate about? What’s that seed idea, that one clue you’re holding in your hand but not yet making any moves about because you can’t see the end goal?
The Kickstart Your Venture workshop has been designed to both bring your end goal more clearly into focus AND to build upon your passion at this starting point. It’s next taking place on Saturday 24th April in Cambridge.
For more information and to book your place, click here.
It was very thought provoking indeed – I was surprised at the extent to which it expanded my idea. I could actually have left at lunch time and been satisfied! I’m now a lot further down the development process and feel a lot more confident about it being a viable idea. I felt reluctant to leave, I don’t ever want to go back to where I was before today.
– Ben Marsh, South East London, Archive & Technical Assistant at the British Board of Film Classification
Wow, what a wondeful blog. Thanks.
What’s my passion? Well it has got to be around connecting with coaches. I’m a coach myself and I love the energy of the coaching community. Such generous people, very supportive and keen to give.
I run networking events for coaches where presenters give their time for free and they then become participants and listen to others. I become so inspired with these kinds of events. I love it when people (businesses) are collaborating and supporting rather than competing.
Great post! What you are talking about and what Ruthie did is also called “Social Artistry.” Check out Jean Houston’s work and the International Institute for Social Artistry to find a whole world of people taking these kinds of “small” creative steps: http://www.socialartistryinstitute.org/
I was feeling a divided heart between my love of coaching and my desire to make a difference. I was making up that coaching had to be delivered only to rich people.
One week I had a Facebook status about wanting to explore coaching and social justice. That led to a meeting and collaboration with another coach to deliver coaching to women who had suffered domestic violence. We put out feelers which didn’t go anywhere AND they led me to a social enterprise Striding Out – http://www.stridingout.co.uk . Striding Out finds coaching solutions for young people, often disadvantaged young people and often from public sector funding.
I’m involved in something now which gives a couple of hours free career coaching to unemployed professionals, via Job Centre Plus.
That tiny tiny step of putting something ‘out there’, in my case on Facebook has had great results!
Rosalyn
Rosalyn´s last blog ..No cost career coaching for unemployed professionals
Liz – So apt your point about collaborating rather than competing. Ruthie runs workshops in Cambridge to help women wannabe entrepreneurs create their business plans and when thinking of featuring her on this blog, I wondered “Is this foolish? Will everyone go to her workshop rather than my Kickstart Your Venture one?” And actually there is an overlap but there is also a big difference – she does the logistical literal business plan bit which I don’t and I’ve always wanted to find someone good who I can refer my clients/workshop participants to for that. When we truly follow our unique passion, we can feel safe that there’s more than enough room for us all. We can trust in the unknown, that some people need what I offer, others need what you offer, and we can trust in the process rather than holding on possessively.
Miriam – Thank you for that link, it’s amazing to discover how many people are doing so much – often through small steps which have big impact. Glad to have you here.
Rosalyn – I love your story! How mentioning your interest, putting feelers out, leads you into places you couldn’t have planned for. And like you say how a tiny step can lead to great results. One of the best things I’ve ever done career-wise was to offer a free 1-hour workshop for a conference. That led to someone hiring me who then introduced me to her whole leadership training network which led to more wonderful clients, workshop participants and we’re now about to do a piece for a magazine together. We continuously marvel at how fortuitous it was that we both showed up that day. When we follow that “Ooh that looks interesting…” impulse, we naturally go down paths we’re aligned with and that lead to results that are nourishing for us.
Corrina´s last blog ..You Can’t Plan For Everything
Wedding dress fabric dilemma: can anyone help?!
This article from Corrina is quite timely! I am imminently about to have a wedding dress made and was going to use silk.
However, I just discovered today that most cultivated silk involves gassing/ boiling thousands of silk worms while they’re in the cocoons so that they don’t damage them when they come out. Not quite what I had in mind for my green wedding.
a) Does anyone know if wild silk, which involves harvesting silk cocoons of already hatched moths is truly ethical and not just publicity? (one website suggested it too had a darker side, though this was by a gasser/ boiler, so unsure! He did make a point that ‘peace’ silk i.e. cultivated silk which lets the moths hatch, doesn’t work as the subsequent caterpillars produced by these moths need to be killed/ starve).
b) Does anyone know of any good sources of ethical fabric that would be an alternative to silk? (fairtrade, organic, no child labour etc) Is hemp the main option?
Thanks for any advice anyone can give!
Emma
Just an extra note that I just looked up hemp fabrics for wedding dresses and they seem to be intertwined with silk anyway. Oh dear – can anyone help on helping to find fabrics suitable for a wedding dress? (doesn’t need to be too formal)
Emma – We got our wedding dresses from Oxfam. Fabulous solution all round. Mine was from Oxfam in Poole (Dorset) where they have a dedicated bridal team and we spent a good few hours there. Sam’s was from the Cambridge Oxfam on Burleigh Street. They’re not second-hand generally but rather have been used once in a fashion show and then donated. Totally brilliant brilliant.
Corrina´s last blog ..No Bad Parts: How To Handle Criticism & Other Attacks