The Learning Curve

  I have so much to learn.  Each day I am reminded of this fact.  Twitter seems to be the way to go, and I am making some connections that I think are valuable, but one never knows.  Trying to figure out how to best engage, I know that I need to build my following, which I am trying to do each day.  In the last 3 days I have managed to pick up 20 more but it is slow going.  Slow and steady wins the race?  I just would rather have it done in a sprint, but this isn't a sprint it's a marathon.  The resume building that this whole experience gives me is amazing, but will I ever be able to do anything with it?  I hope so.  I love doing this type of thing.  I was speaking with an ex of mine a couple of nights ago, getting caught up on what is going on in each of our lives, and when I told him what I have been up to, the first words out were "wow, sounds as though you have finally found your passion."  He is right, I have found my passion, it's so cool to know that, finally, after searching for so long.  I need to get a grasp on the task at hand, and I am really not sure how to go about it.  I feel as though I don't have the time to properly devote to it, which scares me because of the responsibility involved.  I just want so badly to do well for them, the mission is amazing, I am engaged, and yet sometimes I feel as though I am spinning my wheels.  I want to do well for them, I just know that we are going to succeed.
  We came to the harsh realization yesterday that there is still so much more to learn if we are to go to the next level.  There are careful considerations to be made, and little big stuff that wasn't really thought of.  Like the importing aspect, there are a lot of little details associated with that, such as do the baby garments have to be flame retardant?  The fibers must be disclosed on the label, and god forbid we use real wool, then the restrictions get even worse. The textile industry in the US is carefully protected, through limits of the amount of items that can be imported.  Can you imagine?  Then the duties, are they from a most favored nation status?  If so then the duties are less, if not why state the obvious.  I for some reason have a hard time believing that Colombia is in the most favored nation status list.  There are special considerations for items that are knitted or crocheted.  a whole chapter in the importer's manual, which I might add is like reading stereo instructions.  It is just a lot to wrap the brain around.  Not having the funding to spend to bring in expert, we are left to rely on contacts, and and self discovery.  The stakes are high, and the losses  could be even greater.
  In the mean time, this past week has been one of tremendous growth for me.  I managed to put together a video
 Check out the video here
I also put together our first flyer to start an email list, with an e-newsletter.  I am discovering that the visual medium is one that I enjoy working in.  I am realizing that there is more I have to offer, most days I learn so much, the resources are endless, if you have the time to look, it is out there.  I also came to realization that I really don't know that much when it comes to leveraging social media for maximum exposure.  I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well as there are others depending on me, and I worry I will let them down, but I am still on the learning curve on that one.  One day at time.
This is what gets me up in the morning

Mr. Toads Wild Ride

This has deffinately been an roller coaster week.  I have felt the swoosh of decending down the steep hill only to dip back up to crest of another peak.  When all looks lost we must look forward and continue on. 

The week started with the loss of an important sector key to taking this thing to the next level, the battered women we were training.  It looked hopeless, like this was yet ANOTHER set back to getting the co-op started,  but the universe will provide.  Another door has opened, and the future looks bright for now.  

  I am learning that when dealing with a completely different culture, and being thousands of miles away, that in and of itself presents a  whole new set of challenges, but also the uncertainty that we constantly face.  Will we be thrown out of our current location?  What if we loose our current group of women?  What will happen to them?  How will we get more funding?  How do I make the most of our virtual networks? How do I maximize our exposure? If it were easy then everyone would be doing it.  

  For now the program will continue in a positive direction inching closer to formation of a knitting co-op.  Closer to having these women who have been cast aside by society to having a better future. Closer to that utopian world I so dream of.  I am a realist, I understand that true utopia will never exist, but is it so bad to continue to strive for it?  

  In the meantime I will continue to learn more about the virtual network and how to build it.  How to best gain exposure in this mass market glut of NPO's all looking to grow and gain market share.  Each one having a compelling story, each one looking to be heard.  I will look for the formula that resonates out.  I will shamelessly advocate for those whom society has cast aside because they were broken.  I will advocate for their repair because I care, because they are worth something.  I will advocate on their behalf because they can't.  Someone has to speak for the voiceless, until they can find their own.  I will do what I can.
Check us out here

The Passion

So I have figured out my passion, what gets me moving and motivates me, it's working in the nonprofit sector.  I have always had drive for it, my former and current employers usually having something to volunteer for, I always sign up.  I'm not sure what floats my boat about it, other than I can sleep at night and wake up knowing I have played a part in changing or improving another human being's life.  It keeps me humble too. I have always wanted to work with a group that actually teaches people how to improve and empowers them with the skills to help themselves.  I have found such an organization, grass routes starting from scratch, with one goal in mind, that morphed into a greater goal.  An incredible mission with an incredible goal, and need for growth, and funding.  

  I have grown so much in the last four months, learning on a curve, sometimes  flying by the seat of my pants, but still growing.  Some days my brain hurts from information overload, but still I want more.  I so want to see the individuals in this program succeed.  I want them to taste the flavors of success and accomplishment.  I already see the pride in their eyes coming through in pictures that don't lie.  That's what it's all about, giving someone a sense of self worth that once was not there.  

  So I continue on, pressing towards the goal.  Working towards a greater good, after all it's not a sprint, but a marathon.  I constantly think how can I improve this or that? What can we do different?  What is working, what isn't working.  It's amazing how consuming passion can be, but it keeps my brain firing on all 4 cylinders, maybe even upgrading it to a V-6, with the eventual goal of a V-8.  It keeps me sane.  It keeps me grounded.  I just wish it would pay the mortgage, but when one is doing what they are passionate about, "the universe will provide" a friend has unknowingly reminded me, more times than she knows.

This is what keeps me going. Click to check us out