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

Want to receive these blog posts direct to your inbox, plus hear about special offers? Simply subscribe for free here.

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

What does ‘respecting our elders’ mean for us today?

Meet Pippa. She’s 59 next month and while many women nearing 60 may have settled into a comfortable rut, heading for retirement, she’s out there looking for ways to make a difference.

A freelance writer and editor, she’s also heavily involved with the Transition Town and Be The Change movements and is perpetually busy dreaming up, organising and helping hands-on with events. This summer found her in Tibet trekking to 16,500 ft.

I was curious to find out what motivates her to stay so involved when she could be excused for reaching for her slippers and a TV guide…

What inspires you to be so active?

I’ve had a very full life, rich in experience with lots of change and some huge personal challenges so I’ve never developed any expectation of how my life ‘should’ be as I got older. Seeing my mother – who is now 90 – in poor health for many years, makes me all the more determined to be as fit as I can for as long as I can. I’m very committed to a daily kriya yoga and meditation practice, which means I have far more energy for the things that are important to me.

You certainly seem to be passionate about making a difference in the world. What is it that drives you?

Drew Dillinger wrote a poem that begins:

Those words haunt me. If I become a grandmother, and perhaps a great-grandmother, how could I face those young people when I’m 90 and their world is falling apart – knowing that I haven’t done whatever I could to raise awareness and inspire people to work towards an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just human presence on the planet?

What are your toughest challenges now?

Letting go of self-doubt and a preference for supporting others while staying in the background myself; finding the will and commitment to keep on doing the next thing that needs to be done, without being too tough on myself; keeping a sense of humour and lightness so that people I talk to feel inspired and not beaten up; getting out of my own way so that, in Ghandi’s words, I can BE the change I want to see in the world.

What would you say to a 20-30 year old struggling to find her way?

Get in touch with what really excites and inspires you and then give it everything you’ve got. Make sure you find ways to resource yourself so that you can stay grounded and connected to your purpose. Spiritual connection, in whatever way you find it, is invaluable.

Pippa, and other women like her, challenge the stereotype that at age 60, we’re meant to bow out and ‘retire’ out of involvement. Instead, these women inspire us with their continual dynamism and well-earned wisdom, suggesting to the younger ones among us that perhaps life is just beginning….

The World Needs Your Passion, So…

1) What stereotypes are there about what you should be doing at your age?

2) What do you want to be able to say about your life at age 59 (and 69… 79… 89… 99)?

3) Leave a comment on this blog post, letting us know how you feel about your age. What does it help with? What do you feel it hinders? What inspiration do you draw from people around you of different ages? Who are the elders that YOU respect?

© Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2009

Want to receive these blog posts direct to your in-box, plus hear about special offers? Simply subscribe here.

Want A Different Kind Of Christmas Present This Year?

I’d like to make it easy for you to avoid the same-old nothing-really-changes presents under the tree.

Simply copy and paste the message below, deleting where applicable and with links intact, and send to your friend, family, colleague or partner to receive a gift which you actually want.

“Hello! If you’d like a Christmas present idea for me this year, I would love this:

- An e-course to help with my new year resolution

- A place on a workshop to combat my fear of failure / to kickstart my venture

- A one-to-one coaching session

- A coaching journey of eight sessions

When you buy this for me, mention in the Comments section that this is a present and then you’ll receive a voucher back which you can give me for Christmas! Thanks in advance”.

Now sit back and wait hopefully

I recently watched The Waitress, a highly recommended film about a woman’s journey to escape an abusive relationship and create a more fulfilling life for herself. It was with shock that I discovered that Adrienne Shelly, the writer, director and a cast member of the film, was murdered before the film was released; she did not see her project premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007, nor see it go on to win its many awards.

Her husband set up the Adrienne Shelly Foundation in her memory, providing grants to help young women pursue their film-making dreams. One of those grant recipients, Cynthia Wade, won an Academy Award for her documentary film, Freeheld. I feel raw to my emotional core as I watch the trailer of this film, which I urge you to do here.

The knock-on effect of Adrienne’s work is a reminder to us that our actions never exist in a vacuum. When we tell ourselves that we can wait until ‘one day’, when we fritter our time away and procrastinate, we are depriving others as well as ourselves. If Adrienne had waited even another year to move her project from idea to reality, the film and its legacy would not be with us.

We all, like Adrienne and Cynthia, have stories to tell, messages to convey, gifts to share. Our uniqueness is such that when we hold back, our piece of the collective jigsaw is simply missing. Life is too short to procrastinate. Life is also too long to procrastinate. There are hopefully too many years ahead of us to spend with shelved dreams and regrets.

The World Needs Your Passion, So…

1) How would you define procrastination?

2) Investigate your own procrastination strategies. Do you play “What celebrity are you most like?” on Facebook or colour-code your nail varnish? Do you take up an honourable new hobby? Or spend hours on ‘very important’ internet research work? Keep an honest list this week of activities you engage in which don’t move you forward in the direction you truly want to go.

3) Inquiry: What is underneath my procrastination? This is a BIG question so just note your instincts as they come up. Do you detect fear of failure, fear of success, lack of organisational skills, fear of the unknown, fear of change, lack of support, fear of visibility, lack of self-confidence…?

4) Leave a comment below and watch as others join in, creating between us a supportive online community.

© Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2009

** Do You Dream Of Creating A Film Which Matters? **

Or an event… pieces of art… workshops… a retreat… an album… a healing centre…. ?

Then join us in Cambridge on Sat 24th April 2010 for Kickstart Your Venture, a community workshop. Click here for more details.

Also see Recommended Resources on my website for films, books, people and resources to inspire.

NB Copies of the featured book Be The Change by Trenna Cormack will be available at a special rate at the forthcoming Kickstart Your Venture workshop.

“At school, certain kids were being labelled as ‘disruptive’ or ‘low achievers’. Then we created a farm. Suddenly, these tough kids with harsh backgrounds were going gooey over the rabbits. It was the first time some of them had ever cuddled anything. They were people, not labels. That’s when it started for me.”

Jane Tewson is the pioneering imagination behind Comic Relief, PilotLight & Timebank. We’d met at the Chain Reaction event (see my earlier post) and I asked for her words of wisdom: What would she say to other women who had ideas that could make a real difference in the world, but were blocked from seeing them into action?

Her perspective is that our focus needs to be over there on those we want to help. “People sit back and say ‘I’d love to help’. I say, if you have an idea, just get in there. Go and test it out. If you want to work with homeless people, find out about a charity, visit the night hostel, learn more about the area. Talk to people, listen to what they need. Once you do that, you can’t not follow your passion”.

She finds her way through blocks that many of us would stumble over because of this focus. She’s also an advocate of acknowledging what you’re not so suited for. “The reason I do the work I do is that I learnt very early on that I’m not made of the stuff you need to work directly with people who are suffering. I do the second best – which is supporting those people who are made of that stuff.”

I tell her she makes it sound so easy. “You have to find where you are most able to use who you are. I recognise that I’m not very good at very much. I’m shy, I’m not good with numbers or writing or speaking. I’m not actually that clever or talented. At school, I really lacked confidence because of my dyslexia. As I’ve got older, I’ve got much more honest about that. What I am good at is being a catalyst. I have an idea, I think about all the people you need to get a campaign off the ground and I get us all together in a room to brainstorm. My role is to inspire people and help them feel confident about the idea. More and more, people just come and say, ‘I want to work with you’. I’ve been overwhelmed by that.”

As we find and follow our passion, what would it be like to make it less about us? Imagine if we could all put ourselves fully in service, warts and all, knowing that we aren’t brilliant at everything, that we won’t always be successful, but that we will act anyway because something other than us compels us to do so. Each of us carries ideas and gifts which others need. It is our duty and our honour to put them into action, into reality.

The World Needs Your Passion, so….

1) What’s it really about? Your dream, that nagging ambition that won’t go away…. Imagine that the idea is not yours, not for you, but that you are just a vehicle for it. Who are you carrying the idea for? Action: Make a list of the people your idea would help and commit to speaking with some of them about what they need and how you can help. (Some would call this ‘market research’)

2) What are the strengths that you currently have which you can rely on to help you turn this idea into reality? What are the areas you need to seek the help of others? Who could you enlist? Action: Contact them to ask for what you need.

3) Leave a comment here on this blog, letting us know what it’s like to see yourself as carrying an idea which is for others, what it’s like to put your focus on others, and what it’s like to enlist the help of others…

© Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2009

** Ready to make the difference you’re here to make?**

If you’re blocked by fear of failure, it’s not just you who’s missing out. Your project could be helping others… and that means you need to risk the highs and lows, the successes AND the failures. Ready? Join a Fail Is NOT A Four Letter Word workshop – visit the Workshops section to read more and find a date and location which suits you.

I wasn’t there to talk about the rollercoaster of teen life, however. I was there to speak at their Careers Convention about enterprise – or more specifically, How To Start A Business By Accident. I had a scheduled speaking slot and also a consultation table where a short queue developed. Students and their parents sat down expectantly, wondering what this world of enterprise might hold for them.

One story in particular had a big impact on me. A mother and daughter joined me and I asked the girl, “So, what are you interested in?” She looked down and shrugged nervously, “I don’t know”. It was quite late in the evening and she’d clearly been to table after table, gathering information on careers in engineering, accountancy, law etc. I ascertained that she was in Year 8 (a.k.a 12 or 13 years old) and so qualified the question with a smile: “I don’t mean what you’re interested in later, I mean now.” She still looked bewildered until her mum whispered to her: “You like dancing, don’t you?” Suddenly, the girl lit up. “Wow!” I said. “What do you love about dancing?” A different person answered me – a lively, confident, excited young woman who seemed energised just by the thought of being on stage. “It sounds like you feel at home there”, I said. She nodded enthusiastically. Whereas before she’d avoided eye contact, she now couldn’t take her eyes off me. Her mum looked a little anxious and informed me: “Yes, but I’ve told her it’s a very competitive field and she should pursue something else as a career and do dancing as a hobby”. The girl’s head fell again and she nodded compliantly.

Why? Why do we sell our dreams away so easily? The sadness I feel at a story like this is my constant inspiration to keep doing what I do. Any time someone calls me ‘naive’ or an ‘idealist’, I tell them of the so many people I know who are fully living their dreams. Whose passions got them through the challenges of competition, whose drive kept them going through any obstacles in their way. This is realism and it’s time teenagers – and indeed all of us – really get that life is just too short to do anything other than what brings us fully alive.

People aren’t meant to know at age 12 or 13 what they want to do for a career. They are meant to have their passions nurtured, they are meant to feel that they are valid, important, significant human beings – right now, as they are in these moments. They are meant to be encouraged to fill their lives with as much joy as possible, trusting that the path of their heart will continually lead them through a fulfilling life. They are certainly not meant to sell their dreams away before they’ve even fully formed.

This is the perspective I offered that girl and her mum – who herself had spent the last 30 years doing work she didn’t care about. I hope it awakened something in them both.

And yes, if you’re wondering – that photo is me at age 13.

The World Needs Your Passion, So…

1) Connect with the 13 year old you. What did you dream of? What could you spend hours and hours engrossed in? Where or what felt most like ‘home’?

2) What happened to those dreams? Were they supported, strengthened and explored? Did they die of their own accord, replaced by more powerful dreams? Or were they sold away?

3) Give your 13 year old self an hour to do what she wants. Does she play guitar, help at an animal sanctuary, develop a computer programme? Given that your adult self could now turn your passions into the basis for work, what of your working life might you like to do differently?

4) Extra: You might like to listen to Pink’s Conversations With My 13 Year Old Self

© Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2008

* Time to claim back your dreams? *

Is your 13 year old self still holding a passion, an idea, a project venture? Did a dream get ignored as a teenager and now you’re ready to take a step forward with exploring it? Then join us for Kickstart Your Venture, a community workshop.