As a freshman, I struggled with understanding what I wanted to do with my life. I switched majors three times within my first year; the thought of committing to just one field felt so unrealistic. I think that is what drew me to the Big Idea Center – through them I saw the opportunity to explore my passions outside of my major, to build something meaningful to me, and to bring an idea to life. To surround myself with like-minded people, meet others who are redefining industries, moving mountains, and truly changing lives for the better. It’s an exciting, driven, and innovative community like no other!
A lesson I learned pretty quickly from my involvement in the Big Idea Center is that entrepreneurship doesn’t just happen. It's not something that you can dream up one day and bring to life the next. It’s a long and windy road with wrong turns and setbacks every day. It’s a journey that requires failure to succeed, and it’s a journey that nobody can do alone.
This summer I set out to learn from an experienced entrepreneur, to take notes on how they go about their journey, and to watch as they take something they are passionate about and use it to change the world. I found just that in bestselling author and entrepreneur Seth Godin. During my first meeting with Seth, he told me right off the bat that his current project is by far the most important project he has ever worked on. His idea? The Carbon Almanac: a book of non-disputable facts about climate change, paired with clear and effective actions that people can take to negate its effects. A book that is more than just a book; it’s a community. It's a movement. Seth generously invited me to join the movement – and I dove right in!
After that meeting, I knew I had hit the jackpot. To watch a seasoned entrepreneur right as they are about to launch their chef d'oeuvre, it’s a rare thing. I was thrilled to be a part of it, and even more excited to learn from it.
And so, I began my experience as a part of The Carbon Almanac team. I expected to be handed work, or to be told to do something by a specific date. Surprisingly, that never happened. Instead, I was told to introduce myself to the other people, and to explore the different projects that were being worked on. When Seth said he wanted to build a community, he did just that. It is a melting pot of people from different backgrounds, with different experiences, interests, and expertise, all working to achieve a common goal. The community is made up of other entrepreneurs, scientists, photographers, writers, and various other professions. The discussion boards were filled to the brim with ideas, encouragement, and people taking initiative. While everything was organized and structured by Seth, there was so much room for everyone to be a leader. People gladly stepped up to contribute anything they could, because they genuinely cared about what they were creating.
This didn’t look like any project or business I have ever been a part of. The concept of being able to suggest and lead an initiative at any time without being the leader of the whole project was confusing to me. I needed to learn how to be a leader, and to take initiative, even though I wasn’t in charge of the entire operation.
The first project I participated in was contributing to The Carbon Almanac’s LinkedIn learning course by creating a short educational video. While this was an extremely fun and rewarding experience, I wanted to educate myself a little more about other aspects of the business. Next, I decided to join the group that was working on expanding our partnership program. I took initiative by deciding on which companies I would reach out to, and I claimed these companies as my own to the other members. Not getting a response is something that took some getting used to, but eventually, I got some replies from interested companies. It was a fantastic opportunity to interact with so many different brands and discuss their core values and beliefs on climate change. By getting these companies onboard, we broadened the TCA community and widened our impact.
If I take anything away from my experience with Seth, it is that a business is only as meaningful as the people that allow it to exist. That if you start to build something that other people care enough about, they will gladly build it with you. By recruiting and involving people and organizations that want you to succeed, ideas can grow into communities, and that is what creates a successful organization. Beyond entrepreneurship, maybe this is how we should approach all our problems: together.
To create big change, it takes a community, and a movement. This is exactly what The Carbon Almanac is about. It is for people who feel otherwise insignificant, and like they can't do anything to change the climate situation, and it provides a framework to allow all of us to team up and do something big.
Materials that teach about climate change should not be hard to find; in fact, they shouldn’t have to be found – they should be constantly present in businesses, organizations, bookstores, schools, etc. Therefore, I encourage anyone and everyone to check out The Carbon Almanac, and not only get involved, but spread the word!
The tentative release date of The Carbon Almanac is July 12, 2022. To learn more about the book and to preorder a copy, click here.