22 Lessons Learned in the First 12 Months of 180º of Impact

REFLECTING ON A YEAR OF EDUCATION, INSPIRATION AND INCLUSION

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1 .ON EUSSI

22

 reminders to ourselves as we navigate 2018

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MATT SCOTT Creator, 180º of Impact (Let's Care LLC) Lead of Storytelling & Engagement, SecondMuse

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On January 1, 2017, 180º of Impact, a storytelling research project celebrating 180 people changing our world for the better, was born. In the 12 months since, it’s been quite the year and, if one thing is for sure, it’s that I’ve learned a lot through the people I’ve met. Here are 22 lessons I will be carrying into 2018 as the creator of 180º of Impact (Let’s Care LLC) and, fulltime, as the manager of storytelling and engagement at the business accelerator SecondMuse.

Before getting into those lessons, I want to sincerely thank YOU (all of you, seriously) for being part of the journey. It’s hard to express how much it means for you to to believe in me in one way or another, whether signing up to receive emails, sharing our stories online, being interviewed, sharing your wisdom, or even donating to help me make this vision something very, very real. Without you, there would be no 180º of Impact -- and I wouldn’t want that! If you have opportunities or ideas for 180º of Impact leading into 2018, please let me know.

Thank you! Thank you for who you are, for what you do, and for making an impact.

MATT SCOTT CREATOR

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SPECIAL THANKS To you! To thought partners Erik Douds, Jackie Biederman and Cassandra Lam, and to fellows Michael Wang and Elizabeth Williams.

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HUSTLE

Just do it (no regrets).

“The only person you hurt by not pursuing that idea that keeps you up at night is yourself, because you’re always going to wonder ‘what if?’, ‘why didn’t I do that?’”

CASSANDRA LAM AKIN

SELFWORTH Realize that what you bring to the table matters, regardless of who you are, what you look like, or where you’re from.

“Tell your story, no matter how insignificant you think it is.”

TAYO ROCKSON

UYD MANAGEMENT / AS TOLD BY NOMADS PODCAST

CURIOSITY You don’t need to follow in anyone else’s footsteps. You can blaze your own trail, but it begins with that first step.

“Stay curious. If there's something that you even might be a little interested in, or something that you hear about, why not go out and research it and find out if it's for you? I think a lot of people miss a lot of opportunities in life by not stepping outside of their comfort zones.”

LYNDSEY SCOTT

VICTORIA'S SECRET MODEL, ACTRESS, CODER

DISCOVERY Believe it or not, you can be the next Einstein.

“People don’t seem to realize important discoveries are made everyday.”

MARK JACKSON

SCIENCE PARTNERSHIP FUND / CAMBRIDGE QUANTUM COMPUTING

RESILIENCE There’s a light at the end of the tunnel, if you put the pedal to the metal and put in the work.

“I’ve been working everyday of my life since as healing for me, but also to promote a change on the issue, and it’s 30 seconds at a time. 30 seconds of bravery. That’s all it takes.”

DANYA SHERMAN KNONAP

EVOLUTION Life can be difficult, but you have to flip the page and evolve in order to progress and live.

“For those of us that have been hurt, for those of us that are in pain, it is sometimes tough to flip that page; we have to flip that page.”

JOSE SILVA

DENVER LATINO COMMISSION

VULNERABILITY

Authenticity is how you build relationships and achieve collective, pure bliss.

“When you appreciate people and where they’re coming from, you can form really deep connections, and that’s really how you change the world.”

MAIMAH KARMO TIGERLILY FOUNDATION

SELFLESSNESS Have a good heart and be motivated by good intentions and you can improve lives.

“We have a short time on Earth. Let’s make the most of it.

Let’s use our lives for love. Let’s use it to make the people around us better.”

TIM YOON

TEAM OREO SWAMP

CELEBRATION Use your voice to shine a light on others and give a hand-up to those who can use it.

“If we can just tell the stories of these amazing people who are inspiring me and my community on a day-to-day basis, maybe we can get their employers, their businesses, and their communities as a whole to recognize them as leaders.�

EMILY RASOWSKY WDCEP / ALL WOMEN IN TECH

OPENNESS

Genius can come from anywhere but, first, you need to realize that you don’t have all of the answers.

“We don’t have all the answers. I think our best quality has been listening and learning, constantly, and also listening and learning from a full range of people. Not listening only to experts and research, but listening to mothers and daughters and kids on the ground and mayors and school teachers and our kids, the kids in our programs.”

MARY MCVEIGH

SOCCER WITHOUT BORDERS

INCLUSION The status quo is exclusive, but you have the power to create spaces that invite unlikely participants into the fold.

“Inclusion is not ‘Okay, so this is the way you should live now.’ Inclusion is ‘okay, I understand that you have your culture, that you have you way of living and it’s beautiful, so let’s buIld a world where everything fits.’”

JULIANA CASTRO HILOS DE INCLUSION

EFFORT

Show up! Nothing’s going to come from refusing to leave the comfort of what you know.

“You can start small… Asking questions, getting involved, being curious.”

REGINA NORTHOUSE FOOD RECOVERY NETWORK

INSPIRATION You're doing great work! By spreading the word, you're helping other people benefit.

“As Cady Coleman actually told us, there’s a responsibility here. If you’re doing something inspiring, share it, because then you’ll light sparks somewhere else.”

MICHAEL DOYLE ISSIE

BOLDNESS You’re never too young to start!

“To change the world, get started early.”

LAURA DOYLE ISSIE

PERSPECTIVE If you shoot for the moon, you just might hit a star. If you’re inspiring even just one person to change the world for the better, you’re doing meaningful work.

“Put positive things out there into the world. If 10 people watch it, that’s great. If a couple thousand people watch it, that’s great. It’s all about producing content and making sure people have the resources and knowledge to do more and give back.”

TOM BAKER

ALLEGHENY COUNTY / GET INVOLVED / BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS

FLEXIBILITY It’s okay not to know, so don’t fear the unknown.

“You don’t know everything, you don’t know what you’re going to run into, you don’t know what path you’re going to take, and that’s okay.”

JACKIE BIEDERMAN CHANGEMAKER PODCAST

GRATITUDE Time is limited, and you and many others may be able to relate to that. Rather than letting it get you down, make the most of it.

“I think anyone that experiences their life changing over night, which is a surprising amount of people, I think they have an appreciation for how short things are.�

ERIK DOUDS

DIABETES ABROAD / DIABADASS

WILLPOWER When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

“A lot of entrepreneurs start things because they have a great idea and they have a lot of drive. The process is a rollercoaster; there are peaks and valleys… Be patient, ride through it and there will continuously be a rollercoaster ride as long as you’re doing the work right.”

VIVIEN LUK WORK

PATIENCE Progress requires you to be patient and, as a result, have the quality of “sticktuitiveness” when times get tough.

“Progress is definite but slow… Any progress of any movement in our history, anywhere, requires first that people ignore you, and then they laugh at you, and then they get angry with you, and then you win.”

IAN ROSENBERGER THREAD / WORK

CONFIDENCE Sometimes, you look in the mirror and you see that you don’t fit the mold, and that’s okay. What matters is that you know you belong and will thrive.

“I knew that i could do it. I didn’t have opinions like ‘what if this goes wrong’... I knew that I was capable of doing it. I knew, if I were persistent, that I would reach my goals.”

ANITA KIRKOVSKA NASA DATANAUTS

GRIT

You should know that life isn’t easy and, for all of the highs, we stumble and also have lows. You have to brush yourself off and continue on.

“Sometimes you make a judgment or a call that doesn't work out as well as you thought it would. You have to own it and go, 'Next time I'm in that situation, that’s what I did, this is what I need to do instead.’”

MAURA KOLKMEYER SITTERLY

COPING

You have your own barriers to reaching your goals; everyone does, or else they would be accolades.

Somehow, someway, you need to rise above that.

“In spite of that cloud that looms over our head or is inching closer to us, we, as people who battle with mental illness, have to learn to make it in the shade, how to make it in spite of our brain chemicals being completely out of whack and love ourselves for who we are.�

ROCKY CAPIZZI

MADE IN THE SHADE PROJECT

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