I work with an amazing organization called Starfish Impact, which aims to create global gender equality by offering educational and leadership opportunities to indigenous girls in Guatemala. Run for and by the indigenous community, Starfish is the epitome of #ChangeIsAWeThing – using collaboration, community resources, and innovative empowerment strategies to lay a sturdy foundation for tomorrow’s leaders.
One of the best benefits of working with an organization like Starfish is absorbing new insights and wisdom from the people I collaborate with. This held true while on my most recent trip to Guatemala, when I learned a new word, “chispa” which means, “spark.”
The world changers I know in my life (many of whom I’m now interviewing for my podcast Talk to Jess: Conversations with Today’s Thinkers, Movers, and Shapers) all share a similar Chispa. They are all lit up by helping others become their best. Whether they run an organization that encourages girls to lead, or help women look deeper within to find their sense of purpose, or lead a start up innovating technology, the people I most admire are constantly in service to and protecting that spark.
Have you found your Chispa yet? If not, don’t worry. Here are three things to get you started!
- Follow the Fire:
You know that fire in the belly you get from connecting with someone fabulous, from reading a juicy piece of poetry, or waking up in the middle of the night from an inspiring dream? Listen, learn, and follow that fire. When you are excited, curious, intrigued – that’s a good sign you are connecting to your spark.
- Stay Curious:
Now, once something lights your Chispa, explore it. Contemplate it. Act on it. Rather than shy away from something new and unfamiliar stirring within you, let it guide you in creating something new – perhaps a book or a business or a healthy lifestyle change. Curiosity is a key ingredient for self-discovery.
- Trust in Timing:
If you’re not feeling a spark all the time, relax – it’s normal. We can’t glow 24/7 – trust in the timing of your ignition, nurture yourself with good care, slow down, dig deep, and know that in any moment – bam! That spark could hit. And you’ll be ready when it does.