Make It Yours

This week is our 199th newsletter - an exercise that we never realized would be quite so integral to our evolution and development. Although we can't claim that we've had stellar ideas in every single edition, the weekly practice of having to reflect on what we've seen, said, learned, and earned has made the entire process so much more rich. We hope that you feel the same.

We'll admit that we started with the fear of, Oh no, what if we run out of things to say? More often than not, the issue is exactly the opposite - Holy crap, how are we going to fit in everything that we want to say? It seems as though the more that we participate, the more ideas and action it breeds. This week, that is most certainly the case.

What we've learned after 4 years (we sent out our first newsletter on May 4th, 2010, exactly five months before the website launched) is that there is no finite number of opportunities when you are continually creating more. And that life is so much better when we all operate from a place of sharing, caring, generosity, and abundance (as opposed to apathy, scarcity, and secrets).

Below you can find concrete examples of exactly what we mean:

EDIBLE INSTITUTE TICKET WINNER

A hearty congratulations to Sasha Anemone, the winner of our Edible Institute Ticket Giveaway. We're so inspired by her winning thoughts on unpaid labor:

How have we come to a point where unpaid labor seems so necessary to many small innovative ventures and also so financially unsustainable to the people providing the labor?

Maybe instead of focusing on the financial woes of both young workers and small businesses (both very real issues!) we could also think about our relationship with "work" and with the people we're working for and with. When we think that we don't have time or energy to offer, are we truly unavailable or are we jealously guarding our labor because "giving it away" feels like a loss? What if we felt so enmeshed in our community that labor could be given freely, with the knowledge that help would be available to us when we need it and the belief that our work was creating the type of world and community that we want to live in?

OUR DECISION

Believe us when we say that it was so hard to choose. There were 17 entries, all of which brought up incredible points and specific solutions about how we can bring about change. The topic covered all manner of social inequities perpetuated via unpaid labor and the solutions included unionizing, sliding scale compensation, developing more cooperative business models, and creating a collective free labor fund that helped to cover the inevitable costs that every person incurs, even when working for free.

In the end, we were so drawn to Sasha's ability to address a fundamental issue about the flaws in our social system. As our Words of Wisdom feature points out: we can not solve our problems with the same thinking that we used to create them. It's certainly hard not to be protective of our efforts (for workers) and our resources (for businesses), but if we are to make forward progress, the whole system has to be less self-serving and more focused on how we can create opportunities that will benefit the collective good.

That said, for those that are on the employee side of free labor, we hope that you will think about where and how you can make your best contributions, understand your value, speak out for any injustices on behalf of you and others, and strategically and proactively place yourself in an environment where you can do the most good.

And for those of you that find yourself on the employer side, we hope that you will recognize that human resources are the most important resources that you have. There is such value in what they can accomplish, not just for you, but with you. It is far better to slow down the revolving door, take time and energy in training and developing people that care, and create an atmosphere where everyone prospers together.

Thank you to everyone - to the people who submitted and those who are simply following the conversation - for your attention, interest, and insight.

BIG NEWS

Those of you that entered to win a ticket to the World Domination Summit via Rob at The Hundred Dollar Club might have already heard the news, but Taylor won the ticket (yes, we were totally surprised and excited, too!)

Turns out that because she thought it was such a good opportunity she shouted it from the rooftops - entering direct emails to those she thought would make use of it, posting it via social media, including it in the newsletter... And the fine print of the contest was set up to encourage spreading the word - the more that you do so, the more your chances of being picked exponentially grow (by nature of the contest, for every referral you garnered, 10 more entries were made in your name). Our intention in spreading the word was to genuinely share an awesome opportunity - in fact, we did such a good job that it rewarded us in the end.

While we feel sheepish about accepting an opportunity that we intended to spread to others, we are so excited for what this will bring. We made a pledge to Rob that we would pay it forward, and hope to exponentially build on the good energy that he put out into the world.

While patience is a virtue, action and creativity are the gifts that keep on giving. We always aim to provide support to this community, but our hope is that we can - above all - empower you to understand that you have a say in determining what path you take. If there is anything we can do to help you we hope that you'll let us know. Your path might be self-directed, but we're happy to be your traveling companions along the way.

Cheers,

Taylor & Dorothy