5 Ways to Spark a Movement
It all started with a piece of paper that said fill in the blank with a question to the universe. Dear God ______? I had friends, family and anyone with paper and pen ask their questions snap an image and post to my feed. I began to see all the interesting questions about what people wanted to ask the universe. Inspired with these humble beginnings, I have begun 52 States & 52 Conversations within the USA to spread ideas, conversations and questions like wildflowers nourishing our minds and enabling a society to listen and know that it is okay to agree to disagree.
So I said this is a movement and here are my humble beginnings and top five ways to get started:
1. What is your why and why is it your why? It’s funny when you begin to dig deeper on why you are writing or emphasizing what you believe you start to peel off the layers into another realm.You would be surprised at how many people you can inspire. When I started my fashion line I had no idea what my why was and as I began to do business workshops, I realized the pain and struggles as a startup had such an influence on my mindset. I was self-taught and my mother taught me how to sew not Parsons. Therefore, I used the strength of those emotions those setbacks and fueled them to inspire other designers because I could relate to them.
2. No one is perfect, stop aiming for it.When I first began writing grammar nazis were tearing me apart, and they still do. I literally would cry every time I sent my revisions to my Editor, and then I came tothe realization that I’m a work in progress in this roadtrip of life, and so is my writing, English is my second language, and I needed to own that. I needed to reflect on what I am good at and all the people that can help me reach my audience eloquently. I needed to stop striving for perfection because writing is an art and everyone will perceive it differently.
3. Practice what you preach. If you believe in something stick to that belief and show your audience that you live by those words. Not everyone is going to agree with you, and so many times you will get tons of advice or commentary that might not always be nice but take everything with a grain of salt and be transparent. On my podcast, I welcome people to talk about everything and anything but when it comes to Politics, I don’t have much to say, and I don’t pretend to know what to say because politics have never been my forte. As I grow older I see the social and government issues, and I make an effort to get informed, but I don’t go around telling people to think or do something when I don’t know even do it myself.
4. It starts with 1.When I began this movement I had two fans, my wife and my dog. That was all I needed to keep my head up to know it was possible. I speak on my podcast as if I have a million people listening and I make videos as If I am talking to a billion people because if I can impact just one person, I could die today and be happy and fulfilled. I am still trying to grow my movement every day with people who want to hear what I have to say. It’s hard in a world where people can buy bots or show some cleavage and instantly have a gazillion followers. So I stay grounded and remind myself amazing things take time. So be patient with yourself because it starts with you.
5. Don’t be bitter, get better.I have a folder in my email called rejections for every literary agent, publisher, and influencer that has given me feedback or mentioned I just wasn’t a good fit for them. At first, I used to be bitter and complain and become grumpy with myself on all the reasons why it’s their loss but then said; Alicia seriously get it together. No one is going to always like your cup of tea no matter how sweet it is you need to find your tribe and use the No towards getting better at what’s essential and what you can change.