NJ's Taking A Leap!

Why has this program excited me so much? Why have I forgone sleep and personal hygiene to work on a Squidoo lens for a week straight? Why am I ready to drop everything and move to NYC in 5 weeks from now?

Simply put: to go work and learn with some brilliant individuals in a no holds barred environment, and then, to see what comes!

Last week, a friend said, "Never fight a man who has nothing to lose."

For those of us who are taking this leap, we have nothing to lose. Some people - like our families, our current employers, our friends - might argue that point with us, but for those of us who are applying, we are thrilled to know that there is endless potential as to what we can do in these six months and beyond.

So, I want to do just that: risk everything so that there is nothing to hold me down, because then we can make real change happen.

That's my Why.

At this point, I'm planning to take the leap, but I'm not quite ready yet.

Before an athlete can be handed their access pass to the Olympics, they need to prepare. They need to train and plan and visualize and eat their Wheaties.

Well, I'm eating my Wheaties and getting ready for January 19th. Part of my training program requires me to answer nine questions; below are my answers with a few other goodies to help those who want to take their own leap.

All I can say is that we need more Wheaties!

I think and dream a LOT.

I obsessively read up on the news and others' ideas, findings and opinions (see some of my faves below).

I work with the current leaders of the Young Women in Business (YWiB) Network to make great things happen.

I love wine and cheese and, well, just food in general.

My favourite pastime is engaging in extensive conversations with friends and strangers about business, life, politics, philosophy, music, marketing, health, ideas, fundraising, goals and dreams and so much more.

I ramble sometimes on my Typepad blog.

I help coordinate Comm 486R - Leadership and General Management with Professor Rawji, an incredible group of students, and a couple other fantastic TAs.

I try to get people excited about improving their learning experience at my alma mater, the University of British Columbia (this is my latest pet project).

I don't smoke (just to clarify).

I speak English and while it may not be perfect, I try to practice it everyday.

I coach the Non-Profit Strategy team at UBC for the JDC West Business Student Case Competition.

I go to lots of workshops and sometimes even host them too. In November, I did one on networking - I had fun and hope the Enterprize Canada organizers did too.

My paid gig is to connect with people who believe in, love and support the Arts Club Theatre Company in Vancouver, BC.

I believe in doing what I do every day for a reason and to have fun while I'm at it.

I try my best to live with no regrets. Risks and leaps of faith and mistakes are so much more exciting.

I find artists, entrepreneurs and students have some of the greatest souls and aspirations; if I can help them realize their dreams, I'll be a happy person.

I believe in that lovely ripple effect, that someday the favour will be passed on to someone else.

In Top 9 style...

1. How you created your tribe.
2. How to think outside the big box and have big thoughts.
3. How to do something with those big thoughts.
4. How to work with other people who have those big thoughts and to get something done with them.
5. How to create an environment for others to step outside of the big box and have big thoughts.
6. How to share and spread ideas more effectively. I'm preaching to the choir with this one; if you can't communicate effectively (with effectively being the key word), how can you get anything done?
7. How to build and excite a community without face-to-face interaction.
8. How to exceptionally manage a personal/organizational "brand".
9. How to eat and survive in NYC without savings, a sugar-daddy or a paying job. But I'd say that's the easy one.

How's that for a start?

I don't believe my current personal agenda will be the same in six months nor might it even be relevant anymore with the new perspectives and knowledge that will be gained in that time. I am thrilled that we can create endless possibilities, so in all honesty, I can't clearly say what am I going to do at the end of the program.

However, I am currently doing what I am doing for certain reasons: I believe in my projects, I know I can make a positive difference there, and I believe there will be a ripple effect. For some specifics that I would love to continue with after gaining these new perspectives, experiences and ideas, I am going to:

• Spend some TLC time with my family. They are making the largest sacrifice in this journey, and they'll deserve some serious "NJ/Mom/Dad/Barbara" time after the six months.


• Build the Young Women in Business Network into the community it can be.


• Get the students, staff and faculty excited about learning at UBC. Not just research and not that lecture-and-listen type of education, but real learning.


• Learn about different cultures and politics and and economies and religions and ways of life. I want to understand our world at large so that I can mobilize and support those linchpins who will make a larger, sustainable difference in our world. I am certain our problems cannot be solved this easily, but for now, my ignorance is bliss.

For those who know of JDC West, you could probably say a lot about it. I won't say a lot, only a little about something I'm proud of.

When I was Co-Chair of JDC West 2007, I worked very closely with 15 team captains in preparing their teams for the competition, a large part of which was a charity challenge. This charity challenge allowed schools to raise money and contribute volunteer hours to a select charity in order to receive points towards the "School of the Year" award.

In 2005, the University of Lethbridge team had a phenomenal success with their polar bear dive, raising $5000 for the United Way and bringing together their larger community. Based off of this resounding success the previous year, I advocated and worked with the team captains to bring "Chillin' for Charity" to the national stage. I helped to create a transferable event and promotions model for schools to use across the country, and to garner university, media, and community support for Chillin' for Charity, in hopes of spreading the word about our initiative.

On December 2nd, 2006, over 500 students took the chilly dive for charity (including myself - see pic above!). We garnered local and national media coverage for JDC West, but more importantly, for charities such as the United Way, the Children's Wish Foundation and Habitat for Humanity. We brought together universities and communities across the country and in total, raised over $28,000 for our charities that day.

The model we built that first year has allowed Chillin' for Charity to continue to be an annual event for JDC West. Last year, we raised over $150,000 for charity and the results are still rolling in for this year's event.

The success of Chillin' for Charity is the result of the devotion and organization of many selfless individuals and I am honoured to have played my small part in creating an event that will have an impact for many years to come.

The idea was first proposed in February 2007. I had just finished up my co-chair responsibilities for JDC West for the year and was on the search for the next big thing. I can clearly remember the day after the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs' Gala, my friend Kim came up to me and said, "we should start a business conference for young women".

It was an intriguing idea, but I really wasn't sure if this was it. So I started going to workshops and talking to people and researching and telling people about the idea, and the excitement built up quickly. Soon enough, a group of four women decided to make this thing happen and we started planning.

Then came the dreaded Dip.

After a month of research and putting our ideas together, we began to find that our schedules wouldn't match, that our ideas were clashing, that things started to seem just too difficult, and that the topic of gender issues too controversial. So after three months of nothing, we called it quits.

Until one day...

I was talking with my professor in our after-class social for Comm 486R and it just so happened that he was one of those people I originally talked to about the conference idea.

"What ever happened to the young women in business thing?"

I started rambling excuses: there weren't enough good people, the timing wasn't right, we didn't have the cash flow, et cetera.

And then, he called bullshit.

I was so fortunate that he was frank and bold enough to call me out that night because our class happened to have over 20 incredible women, including one of the original four women, my amazing co-chair Claire Frazer, that were now intrigued by this idea and wanted to make it happen, so we did.

Over the next three months, we incorporated the Young Women in Business (YWiB) Network as a non-profit organization, we set-up a test university chapter (YWiB@UBC) and we hosted our launch event, the Beyond Pink conference.

These three months were incredible. The shear energy in those rooms was near unbearable - we had set an example that the impossible was possible. In her keynote speech, Fiona Walsh outright said that the first time she spoke to us, she thought we were on crack. In hindsight, it probably seemed like we were. We were thrilled.

The fun part of this story is that we are now on our way out of YWiB Dip 2.0. After the conference, we had a commitment to launch our network and sadly, it quickly became a grind. There was no more three-month push. YWiB became maintenance.

In the summer, there were definitely times where I thought we might not make it through the Dip - that this YWiB ride might be over - but in the last month, the energy, the life, the thrill is beginning to come back. I think we have a better idea of who we are and what we want to do, I think the ideas are stronger, and I know that Paulina and Jen (the current leaders of YWiB) are the ones who can carry it forward and make YWiB great. I know YWiB will become the network of young, dynamic women who want to and will make a difference for themselves and the world. We just need to keep on pushing through.

---

A quick side note because I'm excited about this... I find the most fascinating part about how we've come out of the second Dip is that it hasn't happened because of an inspirational speech or a brainstorm session or even a wine night (although I'm sure there are many of those to come). It has all happened via Skype, Basecamp and E-mail. These discussions have excited a group of women to do something powerful, but this something powerful won't happen through individual Skype, Basecamp or E-mail discussions. It's the power of the crowd that will make it happen and I want to learn how to excite and mobilize that crowd. That is how YWiB can get through the Dip and become great. (Seth, can you help?)

astonish: (verb [trans.]) to surprise or impress (someone) greatly

So, to possibly impress/surprise you, I was once a personal chef for an Austrian billionaire. It was kind of cool.

P.S. I can cook vegetarian too!

My wish is that each and every person would have the courage and opportunity to find and pursue their dream.

Just think what our world would look like...

If everyone of us need not be concerned about our salary or our next meal or the brand of our car or any of the other many expectations and responsibilities that are placed upon us daily.

If we had nothing to lose and just did what we loved.

If everyone took the leap to live their life on maximum, to do what they loved and to do it at the fullest of their abilities.

Just think what an incredible place our world would be.

I know some people who are looking for something great. For an opportunity to do something big. For the chance of a lifetime. For someone to believe in them and let them make something happen.

There happens to be one person in particular who I know is applying for this program and whom I would highly endorse: Matthew Corker.

I have known Matt for over four years now and I will always admire him for his joy of life, his passion and drive, and his child-like curiousity that I hope he never loses. I am honoured to know him and will always speak the world of this man.

Whether or not you believe that I am right for the program, I ask that you please take the time to consider his application. He is already changing the world and I know there are much larger things in store.