Posts tagged impossiblepossible

Do something that both scares and excites you. This is day 25 of my 30 day Scare The Crap Out Of Myself Video Challenge.

I claim to be a singer…or at least I used to. I was in the choir and jazz choir. I loved it. Then, high school finished and I stopped singing… except in the car. So, I bought a guitar. And all through university I said that I would learn to play it. Learn to play the guitar so that I could sing with it. But, in the corner the guitar still sits….many years later. So, I’ve decided to do something about it. I have now signed up for Blues Guitar lessons at the local community centre. Here goes nothing!

For the next 30 days I will post one video which will describe doing something that both scares and excites me, one learning point, and a take away. Join me through my ‘Hell yeah!’ moments and my ‘Oh Sh*t’ moments for the next 30 days and please do cheer me on!

Why on earth would you do this, Mel?

For Me: To bring some structure back in my life. To prove to myself that I can follow through. To document my journey at this scary time. To feel alive.

For You: Perhaps you are on a similar journey, thinking of making a change or needing to give yourself a kick in the bum to get going. I hope that following my journey will help you feel that you are not alone and inspire you to go out and do things that scare you too. Because in the end, it is by finding and doing something that makes you come alive that we truly start to make a dent in the world. Want to scare the crap out of yourself on film? Start your own challenge and let us know that you do! Share it on twitter with #stcoom (short for scarethecrapoutofmyself!)

Why Portland? Why the World Domination Summit?

DangerLou and her Nemesis – The Robot of Mediocrity

#DangerLou is in Portland because 10 months ago, I took a risk. I knew that I’d seen the awesomeness that is Chris Brogan giving the best speech he ever gave from last year’s conference on vimeo.

I know that it is the conference to get to if we want to kick conformity’s ass and meet people trying to find different ways of living and earning.

I didn’t know that I definitely had the money to go. I did know that it would be very competitive to get tickets. So, I took a risk. I waited for the day and time to apply for a ticket and made myself a deal. If I put my name in the registration page and got a ticket, then I would find a way to get there. If I didn’t, I would be sure to catch up online.

I took a risk and the Universe decided I got a ticket; now, here I am in Portland. I inspired my co-conspirator Mel to take a risk too. So here we are, ready to meet you.

So if you are also in Portland, come and find us. Today, Friday, you may even spot Danger Lou in her cape alongside her nemesis, the robot of mediocrity. And if you are wondering what this Danger Lou thing is about – “Sure, it’s fun but what’s the point?” Then check out the Danger Lou trailer here and remember these three questions and prompts that Danger Lou is keen for everyone to explore and answer:

1. Do something small that both scares and excites you every day
2. Every superhero needs sidekicks
3. Strike a pose – copied from your favourite superhero – it will help you feel like a superhero too*
4. Define your impossible – what are you stopping yourself from even starting?
5. Name your nemesis – what’s holding you back?

#DangerLou is about celebrating small risks, being playful and helping each other achieve our impossible Danger Lou is my not-so-secret identity – what’s yours?

What would happen if you answered the questions above? That’s why I’m in Portland. To help myself answer these questions while prompting you to answer them for yourself too. Meeting a whole ton of people who are revealing their superhero powers. And if you need a team of sidekicks, you can join the You Can community and we’ll do our best to keep you laughing and living and taking risks every day.

*Check out Amy Cuddy’s TED talk on the value of power poses and how they can help you.

So let me know – what’s your secret identity? I’d love to hear it, in the comments below…

On Throwing Your Hat into the Ring

Three weeks ago, on 4th June, I’d just got back from Fargo, North Dakota, for Misfit Conf – a tiny conference about making a huge dent in the Universe. I wasn’t supposed to have been there. This is how it happened.

Back in April this year, I was having a tough time. A year ago, my dad died two days before my 30th birthday in May. It was coming up to the one year anniversary of my dad’s death, and my 31st birthday. I wasn’t sure how to handle it; I just knew I felt pretty grumpy and emotional all the time. People kept asking me, what do you want to do for your birthday? And I couldn’t really answer. I didn’t want to do anything. I wanted to tell everyone to get lost. I wanted to find a cave to hide out in.

My dad at my wedding in July last year, two months after his death

In the past weeks and months, I’d been playing a lot with stories. I’d gained confidence with video and storytelling. And I was browsing Twitter one day when I saw my friend @martynsibley tweeting with someone called @ajleon. I followed the Twitter trail, as you do, and before I knew it I was reading a post all about the Power of Small (which you can read here).

It resonated.

A lot.

Especially in the world of social enterprise in the UK, when it seems that one of the first questions people ask you is, “Is it scalable?” (usually right after, “How are you funded?)

One thing led to another and I ended up here. A tiny conference in Fargo. I read the small print and it said, “All applicants will get access to the recordings.” I thought, this is amazing! A whole host of knowledge in one place, knowledge we know we need at You Can Hub right now. Crowdfunding, writing, creating a business that moulds to the life you want to lead, and makes a difference in the world. And I can fill in one short form with two questions, and get access to recordings and all that stuff? Win win! I filled out the application in quite a blase playful way. You can read the application in this post.

Cut to two weeks later. I’m sitting up in bed on a Saturday morning with a cup of tea. I write a little in my journal, the briefly check my emails. Something catches my eye – an email with no subject from someone called Melissa Leon. I recognise the surname but I can’t place it. I open the message. I turn to my husband and say, “Shit!” He says, “What?!” I say, “Shit, I’ve got a place at a conference in Fargo at the end of May.” He says, “What?!” This went on for some time. At this point is seems better to hand over to Melissa herself and her email to me:

Hey Lou it is great to see you here! Thank you for submitting to attend Misfit Conf: Fargo. I wanted to reach out to you because as we were sorting through and reviewing all the applications we received so far – yours really stuck out. Wow I am just blown away by your application and the courage that you are taking to make Misfit Conf Fargo a reality. As you said it is time to take the gloves off Lou! Needless to say we would love for you to come to Fargo! To confirm your spot at Misfit Conf please purchase your ticket by the end of the day next Tuesday.

No pressure then. Two days to work out if we could make this happen and if I could go – knowing that we didn’t have any money in the pot at You Can Hub to fund the ticket or flights…

I was gobsmacked. How had this happened? I wasn’t supposed to actually get a place, merely be unsuccessful in my application and then be able to access the recordings from the relative comfort of my own sofa. My husband and I talked it through over the weekend, and then I had a meeting of the You Can Check It Out Team on Monday. I presented them with what had happened and the aims of the conference. I told them I had worked out that if I got 30 people to each donate £50, I could do it – I could get to Fargo. They told me to go for it! And I got my first donor. And so, I was taking my first steps on my way to Fargo… and it was time for the fear to kick in!

So there you go – I’d thrown my hat into the ring for an off-the-wall conference in the middle of nowhere, and the You Can Hub team was now going to hold me accountable in raising funds to get to the conference and bring back some top-notch learning. In my next post, I’ll let you know how I ended up in a field full of cows in Cambridge wearing a cape, and what I learned about asking for help.

Excited to read the next step? Sign up for our mailing list to get a heads up when the next post is up – straight into your inbox!

**Update!** You can now read Part Two: Inviting People In by clicking here.

You can still make a donation to support our work by clicking here.

You can also listen to me talking about this on the social media show #TSMShow with Ann Hawkins and Eric Swain – and the great thing is my friend Martyn Sibley, whose nonchalant tweet led me to finding out about conference, features on the show too! Click the link!

Do something that both scares and excites you. This is day 8 of my 30 day Scare The Crap Out Of Myself Video Challenge.

7 years ago I sold most of my stuff, packed everything I owned into a big backpack and moved from Vancouver Island, Canada over to England. We had no idea where we would live or where we would work. I’d never been before so really had no idea what to expect. All I knew was that I would stay for one to two years…I’ve been here for 7. Today I reflect on some of my learnings from what was one of my first big challenges.

For the next 30 days I will post one video which will describe doing something that both scares and excites me, one learning point, and a take away. Join me through my ‘Hell yeah!’ moments and my ‘Oh Sh*t’ moments for the next 30 days and please do cheer me on!

Why on earth would you do this, Mel?

For Me: To bring some structure back in my life. To prove to myself that I can follow through. To document my journey at this scary time. To feel alive.

For You: Perhaps you are on a similar journey, thinking of making a change or needing to give yourself a kick in the bum to get going. I hope that following my journey will help you feel that you are not alone and inspire you to go out and do things that scare you too. Because in the end, it is by finding and doing something that makes you come alive that we truly start to make a dent in the world. Want to scare the crap out of yourself on film? Start your own challenge and let us know that you do! Share it on twitter with #stcoom (short for scarethecrapoutofmyself!)

Finally, Danger Lou, thank you so much for the inspiration. This is my journey towards Danger Me

From helping you find your spark and surrounding you with people that believe that you can, through to grouping you with others who are interested in similar things – this is our story. And with it, this is why you see people with disabilities in most things that we do. It is also why and how we are not a disability service. Let’s think about disability differently.

Are you in?

*To view this Prezi just click ‘start prezi’ in the middle of the box and then the play triangle on the bottom left. You should hear my voice taking you through our story.

Every good super hero needs a nemesis – whether it’s Superman and Lex Luther, Batman and the Joker, Wonder Woman and (..umm… well, you get the idea), any superhero worth their salt is working tirelessly to make sure their nemesis fails in their world-dominating quest.

So it’s time to reveal Danger Lou’s nemesis…

… The Robot of Mediocrity!

Tell us what you think in the comments below or join the conversation over on our facebook page.

Danger Lou needs you – click here to find out more and support her!

Every good super hero needs a nemesis – whether it’s Superman and Lex Luther, Batman and the Joker, Wonder Woman and (..umm… well, you get the idea), any superhero worth their salt is working tirelessly to make sure their nemesis fails in their world-dominating quest.

So it’s time to reveal Danger Lou’s nemesis…

… The Robot of Mediocrity!

Tell us what you think in the comments below or join the conversation over on our facebook page.

Danger Lou needs you – click here to find out more and support her!

On the eve of the launch of the Danger Lou trailer, it seems appropriate to talk about fear. I feel like I’m at the start of something and I don’t know where it will lead me. Putting Danger Lou out there and committing to taking more risks in my life and work. Committing to kicking ass and holding myself accountable, taking the gloves off… scary stuff! Hello inner chicken…

What does fear feel like? I find it pretty difficult to describe my emotions. I was discussing this with Ruth from You Can on Monday – that with big emotions, it’s just so difficult to find the words! Thankfully, I found the words I needed from someone else. Karen McMillan, Retreat Muse, and I had a conversation via email about flying by the seat of your pants, which she calls…

“Scary fabulous!”

This is such a perfect phrase! Right now, I feel like I’m at the start of something amazing. I’m doing a lot of new stuff lately; getting fit and learning to pitch and trying out a comedy workshop (more on these experiments later). And there’s more new stuff coming:

• Flying on my own for the first time
• Going to America for the first time
• Making the most of Misfit Conf where I’ll be at a tiny conference about making a huge dent in the Universe (warning – this is not a conference for normal people)

What I feel is a mix of excitement and apprehension. It’s like being a child in the run up to Christmas. Except in this version of Christmas, the presents will be so much better than material things like a Barbie house or an iPad or a Smurf doll or a Rubix Cube – they will be gifts of learning and skills and things I can’t even imagine right now. However, lurking in the background there is also a chance that when it comes to Christmas day, Santa Claus might turn out to be the Big Bad Wolf from Little Red Riding Hood… Scary fabulous!

Karen explained some more:

“Scary fabulous came to me a year or two ago while sharing with my then MasterMind circle (we’d been together 3 years and I was comfy). Now I still say it, and when things get really scary, remind myself, “It’s OK. Just lean more into the fabulous!”

Lean more into the fabulous.

I hope I’m going to remember this in the coming months, embracing Danger Lou, flying by the seat of my pants. What makes you feel scared? How do you put it into words? What do you do that helps?

Find out more about my journey to Misfit Conf here: http://theyoucanhub.org.uk/2013/04/18/the-art-of-being-asked/

Find out more about Karen McMillan, Retreat Muse, here: http://www.kdmcmillan.com

The Danger Lou trailer comes out on 1st May – tomorrow! Keep an eye on our facebook page for the latest… https://www.facebook.com/TheYouCanHub

As the campaign for Misfit Fargo begins, I am already taking the gloves off, talking to more people about what we’re doing and how this campaign fits in, and holding myself more accountable. I had a great conversation with Adelina from Presenting Good Practice who wanted to know more about what I will learn at the Conference, so I thought I’d share my reflections of my response. Danger Lou would definitely not be afraid to put her thoughts on tape. Cue VT…

Here’s what I committed to in my successful application:

Tell us a little about yourself

Three years ago, five of us, all either at risk of redundancy or just wanting a change, wanting something different, started to come together once a month over a  shared meal. We called ourselves the Change the World Gang. Ambitious, hey?

We started with each other, supporting each other through this time of transition. A few months later, I’d started a new job and then almost immediately quit and had really bad whiplash from a car accident. Since then, I’ve been on an incredible journey. I co-founded this not-for-profit, The You Can Hub, with fellow Change the Worlders. Together, we have helped over 300 people in Cambridgeshire to cycle, many of whom thought they couldn’t, or hadn’t cycled for a very long time. It started Small, with one person – Aaran, who couldn’t cycle a two wheeled bike.

I was pretty proud of what we’d achieved. Then in October my dad was diagnosed with brain tumours. He died seven months later, two days before I turned 30. It totally shifted my perspective. What I’ve done so far seems mediocre. This coming May, it will be the one year anniversary of my dad’s death. I will turn 31. I want to celebrate by kicking ass.

What do you hope to get from Misfit Conf: Fargo?

I want to reveal my inner superhero – Danger Lou. We’ve made a little dink in the Universe. It’s time to look at the dink and see how it could become a dent. Enterprise in the UK is obsessed with scale. I don’t want to “scale up” what we’ve been doing at You Can. I want to look at what is Small about what we’ve done so far, and see where to go from here. I want to push past the shame and celebrate, get more confident in my voice and not censor myself… I want to take the gloves off! I want to return to Cambridge ready to start a (Small) revolution. I know that I’m making choices that are safe right now. I acknowledge the value in being aware of that. I want to come back from Fargo dangerous, and contagious.

Why support me? Because you’re just like me – figuring things out, finding your feet in the world, wanting to earn a living and make a difference, wanting to create a new definition of success for yourself. The skills that I will learn aren’t part of any degree course or Adult Learning course – they’re not on the school curriculum. I’m writing my own curriculum now, based on learning from Scott Dinsmore, Chris Guillebeau, Leo Babauta, and Andrea Scher. Scott Dinsmore who has built a career around what excites him and is busy creating a community of people who all want to do the same. Chris Guillebeau who recently completed his mission to visit all of the countries in the world and is the instigator of the World Domination Summit. Leo Babauta who focuses on doing less, not more. Andrea Scher who is honest about the support she needs to function, and creates treasure hunts and transformational learning about dreaming. And, of course, A J Leon, the creator and organiser of Misfit Conf, who cancelled his first bookdeal and crowdfunded a truly independent book project. Do you want to lead an unconventional life? Take the road less travelled? Have a working life that feels more like a holiday? Do you want to write your own curriculum?

The real question is – do you want to experience Contagious Danger? Catch the Danger Virus yourself? What would your dangerous alter ego be capable of?

If the button above doesn’t work for you, go straight to this link: http://localgiving.com/charity/youcanhub

Three years ago, we started something amazing with a small group of incredible people. There were five of us, all either at risk of redundancy, wanting a change, wanting something different. So, we came together once a month over a shared meal and called ourselves the Change the World Gang. We had big ambitions but we didn’t start with the world. We started small, with each other – supporting each other through a time of transition. Since then, we co-founded this very out of the ordinary not-for-profit.

If you know The You Can Hub, you know that we’re not your usual not-for-profit. That last year our first birthday involved making superhero capes. That most of us are overly fond of ginger beer, we share our secrets and our meetings often involve talk of The Hulk and Mission Impossible. That our registered address is the local community pub where the villagers came together to save it from closure and are now the shareholders – and where my husband and I held the music festival part of our wedding last year (and got shares in the pub as a wedding gift). You’ll know that we have passion and purpose and that we’re working out how to live a life we love while helping you figure it out too. That we include people who are excluded elsewhere and emphasize the power of community, connections and ‘doing’ together. That we look for the impossible and work out how to make it possible.

This Spring, I have been offered an incredible opportunity. I have been invited to join 29 other people who think like we do and to gain a whole host of new knowledge and skills at the Misfits Conference in Fargo. It’s ‘a tiny conference about making a huge dent in the universe’. With topics like The Economics of Crazy and Writing Your Own Revolution, I’m fairly sure I’m going to come back a changed person – revealing my inner super hero, Danger Lou. Check out my successful application here: Lou Misfits Conf Application 

This is where I get to be vulnerable. To make it there, I need your help. This is my impossible – I can’t do it without you. Think of it like enabling a huge amount of inspiration that will come back to you through post-event blog and video posts, in person socials and so much more.

Will you help me to reveal my inner superhero, and come back from Fargo dangerous and contagious? If you read my application, you’ll know that 30 seems to be a pretty important number to me right now. So I’m looking for 30 people to back this Misfit-Adventure by donating just £50. I want to be able to know you all by name and either physically / virtually give you a hand shake.

Will you be one of the thirty? Contact us as soon as possible if you want to be one of the 30 – use our contact form (scroll down) and put “Hell yeah Danger Lou!” at the start of your comment or tweet us @youcanhub with the hashtags #dangerlou #imin. I can’t wait to hear from you! Check out the full low down on the Misfit Conference here: http://aj-leon.com/misfit-conf/ Oh, and thanks to Danger Mouse for the inspiration! Watch out for more posts from me on revealing my inner super hero coming soon…

What would it mean to reveal your inner super hero?

**Update** There is now a donation link available here for you to make your donation directly. And if you’re a UK taxpayer, you have the added benefit of Giftaid! Click the button… and make sure to include the message “Hell Yeah Danger Lou” with your donation!