I started Campowerment back in 2013 because I wanted a special place that mirrored my childhood summer camp experiences, with some grownup perks built in. An experienced TV Producer who’d overseen dozens of live events, I searched high and low for something like this. When I couldn’t find it? I created it myself.
Krista Parkinson started her career at the iconic William Morris Agency and for years, helped people and their kids kids get hired in Hollywood. After creating a course for the USC Film School, Krista realized there was bigger business there, which she aptly titled “My Grads Get Jobs”. In three years, she’s helped 500 jobs get filled in the cutthroat entertainment biz that traditionally, has had a high barrier to entry.
What do Krista and I have in common? When we couldn’t find what we were looking for, in areas where we spent decades doing the work, we took it upon ourselves to build it. Because if someone had the cred and the confidence to build it, why shouldn’t that be us?
But you don’t have to be a Founder of anything to shift your perspective, and the way you live your life day to day.
Freda Johnson Hobbs was a Life Coach who wanted to expand her horizons, while continuing to work from her couch. Four years ago, she became a Rep for Bedroom Kandi, not just selling sex toys at passion parties, but building a giant team of sales reps to work under her. (Not a pun!) Today she’s one of the multi-million-dollar company’s top salespeople, with 680 team members. See, Freda didn’t have to reinvent the wheel to grow her talent. Not exactly an Expert in the world of erotica, Freda was smart enough to realize she could plug her people skills and organizational skillset into something that already existed, because she had the confidence to bring her own kind of magic to someone else’s brand, in her own unique way. Without ego. When Freda realized she and Bedroom Kandi were “better together,” as we all are when we can find ways to collaborate and bring out the best in ourselves, and each other, her business exploded.
It takes an insane amount of courage to pursue a dream, or recognize that you deserve a seat at the table- the one in that shiny conference room or the dining room table with headstrong families. Further, it takes even more courage to understand there’s no secret potion that can get you there. The minute you commit to believing you’ve got this, and to doing everything necessary to collect the knowledge to do whatever it takes to pull it off, is the moment you are poised to spring into action.
Life experience, access to resources (human or material) or old fashioned DNA has made every one of us an Expert at something. What are YOU uniquely good at? (i.e. Being a parent to happy triplets, being a solutions-oriented thinker among creative dreamers, selling ice to Eskimos, inspiring people to feel comfortable enough to share their feelings, you name it…)
And if you know more than most about whatever you excel in, why shouldn’t YOU be the one to share your gifts with the world?
Whether it’s branching out on your own, or finding an existing infrastructure to plug your unique talents into, there’s no legit reason you can’t shift gears and bring your talents out in a way that hasn’t been invented yet.
There’s no better time than now to get started on building out your dream, even if it goes nowhere. Start by listening to your own voice, and letting it guide you in a direction that feels like maybe, just maybe, you were actually born to do whatever it is you’re so good at. Because if you don’t do it, who will?
