LiftOff!4 & Garden the City 2012 Update

By Jami Scholl | August 25, 2011 | 2:55 am | Comments (0) |

Two weekends ago I somewhat reluctantly climbed aboard a plane, leaving the care of my three children with friends. The destination: PDX, Portland, Oregon where I would spend 4 intensive days at Lift Off! 4 with 14 other participants at a retreat centre where Charlie Gilkey and Pam Slim with assistance from Angela Wheeler would lead us through a journey I could not have imagined. I only half jokingly called it boot camp for creative heart centred soloprenuers to those who asked me “What is Lift Off?”

Was it worth the dollars spent?Absolutely.

Endurance

What did I learn? That neither I, nor anyone of the rest of us there were crazy for pursuing our dreams to live a life where we can invest our hearts, body, mind.

What is something that I discovered? My business model is not typical.

This became very obvious on the third night when I contemplated my product funnel. What I do is more complicated having expertise and experience in areas as diverse as photography, writing, Permaculture and advocacy in the realm of urban agriculture.

I felt relieved when, during the last morning exercise, Charlie came over with a large sheet of paper to hang on the wall where my partner and I were working on her idea of a writers/book cooperative.  It took me a few moments to get my bearings when looking at the coloured lines shooting across the page, abbreviations I did not recognize with boxes, triangles and circles framing these abbreviations. Ahhh, it is about relationships, not only between products but relationships between people. Now I get it.

But that was only one thing which occurred over the span of those days. We talked and listened, my mates challenged me and I challenged them, we helped one another achieve those “aha!” moments of realization and clarity, which may not be so easy to accept. So there were tears, too. And this was ok, because we are heart-centred business people whose mission is not the bottom line (although we DO have to eat and take care of our families), but that our personal mission was to help others improve their lives in order to change the world with our own unique gifts. Now THAT is NOT something I have ever taken away from any meeting for entrepreneurs. We are a new breed of business person. Our mission originates from the joining of heart and mind and through cooperation with one another rather than direct competition. It is a model of abundance that there is enough for all as long as we are not greedy. Tears are accepted because our authenticity and beauty was let loose like rainbows streaking across the sky… colours which would overlay across others, enhancing us all.

Some other things I learned besides how awesome Charlie and Pam are? Days start with a song to dance to, and somewhere through the day will likely be a quote from the Tao Te Ching. I learned that it is ok to be an introvert, to take time to process the information and experiences because this is part of taking care of myself. I learned that I am a social entrepreneur and a leader, that beauty is a healing power (and my super power!), that Charlie’s business structures are extremely valuable, that service to your client is a promise, and that sometimes the people we are searching for for years can be found when we least expect them. (Who appears in the form of a laughing massage therapist shaman!) And that the quarterly phone calls to be scheduled are good incentive to get the butt in gear to work the plan – set goals, break them down to actionable steps, and get moving.

My projects include learning more about leadership, creating and maintaining relationships, creating a subscription service that will send you weekly garden/homesteading tasks to do so that you do not need to think about them but just enjoy the experience, and to go full steam ahead on Garden the City 2012: Painting with Edibles. Which reminds me – I want to update you all on the latest news!

As of the writing of this post these locations and partnerships for Garden the City 2012 have been established:

1)      The Venue Fine Arts and Gifts (www.thevenuebloomington.com)

2)      Computer Repair Now (www.computerrepairnow.com)

3)      WonderLab (www.wonderlab.org)

4)      Sublime Design (www.mysublimedesign.com)

5)      Crosstown Cleaners (located at 116 East 3rd Street, Bloomington. 812 333 6900)

6)      Thrive (www.facebook.com/thrivebloomington)

7)      FARMbloomington (www.farm-bloomington.com)

Three more garden sites are needed, two of these I am working with non-profits and need to wait for the members of the board to review the project and vote on whether to accept the proposal to become a garden site.

Funding and marketing for this project will be fun artsy and guerrilla-ish!  A video is in the works as is all of the backend work to ensure a project of this magnitude comes to fruition. I will also be applying for a few grants as well, which is a bit tricky as I am not a non-profit 501(c)3 entity and I have absolutely NO experience in grant writing. That is a topic for another blog post!

Are you the type of person who wants to get involved in a project like Garden the City 2012: Painting (the town!) with Edibles? Then send me an email, give me a call – all the information you need is found on the contact page. And don’t forget to spread the word!

Ciao!

jami

ps. Many grateful thank-yous to the wonderful folks who cared for my children while I was away at Lift Off! 4. And if you should want more info about Lift Off!, you can find it here: www.liftoffretreat.com

Comments (0) | | Categories: Community Food Security,Gardens,Plants,spirituality,Urban Agriculture | Tags: Charlie Gilkey, Education, Empowerment, Garden the City 2012, Gardens, Lift Off!, Pam Slim, Permaculture, Urban Agriculture