The Why

There is a great Ted Talk about the golden circle (I highly recommend watching it, especially if you want to be leader- How Great Leaders Inspire Action). In summary the golden circle idea is that you must first start with "why" not "what". A businesses/movement/person starting with what doesn't inspire any action and there may not even be a why. But if you have a story, a  purpose, and start with why you will inspire and it will lead to greater connection with people.

The past few days of training we have been working on developing our story... if we don't know why we are an activist then this may not be the right path for us. In order to inspire people to join a cause you must be connected to it and genuine.  So, I've been thinking a lot about what drives me and why I want to work for the Public Interest Network. Since I have someone in my life that doesn't fully understand why I chose this path, I decided I would share my story so that I can help people make sense of why in the world I changed to a minimum wage job way out in California all on a one week notice (and 3 weeks of knowing about the job/research).

Once upon a time in a small Southern town there lived, me. Ever since I was a little girl I was taught that I could do whatever my heart desired, and that I should use my life to help others. There are a lot of things that I think are "wrong" in the world, and I think the solution to many of these inequalities is an effective government. The government should be working in the interest of the people and ensuring that each citizen has equal opportunity to education, jobs, and health, among other things. Today I am sad to say that I believe we do not have an effective government and that the people's voices no longer matter. I think this is a societal problem in general because a majority of people are acting in their own self interest. However, the leaders of this country are suppose to be just that, leaders. Not corporate sell outs that work in government to boost their own self image and wallet. And I apologize for making a generalization because public service is difficult and there will always be criticism, but if you look at the amount of corporate donations to campaigns and the correlation of this to voting patterns (within the House/Congress) this phenomenon is very real. I find that wrong, unnecessary, and infuriating. I live in a single income home, and my dad works extremely hard to provide for our family... we do not have a lot of discretionary income to put towards a campaign we believe in but that should not make our voice any less than someone with money (1 person, 1 vote). Plus, why would we donate if a wealthy special interest pays off our legislator to vote against a policy we believe in anyways? I receive emails about 4 times a day from political parties asking me for money in order to win campaigns because the other party is outspending us 2 to 1... and that's all the email says. Nothing about where the money will go, what the candidates believe, where I can help get involved with the campaigns... just spend the money now so we can even play the politics game against the other person since they have the money. This is NOT a game and I refuse to do nothing to stop it. There are very important issues that affect our health, income, and the planet that are being over looked because of low, mudslinging politics and dirty deals. Lately everyone is in the business of pointing fingers and bickering... But PIRG is in the business of realizing there are more problems than we should tolerate, and more solutions than are utilized. After being with my new trainees and people that have been with PIRG for 5-30 years I see that this organization genuinely cares about educating the public on the issues and providing facts in an ethical manner. Integrity has been brought up on many occasions and is the foundation of this training. This work is definitely not meant for everyone.. it will be long hours but the results will be long term. I have had so many people invest time and love in me to make my world a better place so I want to do that for everyone else. I think I owe it to the people that got me here to help others reach this point in their lives.

Also,  I have lived a very privileged life. I have never been wealthy but I have also never been without. Anytime I needed something I had the means to get it. I know how to budget but I don't know how to be frugal or what it means to live pay check to pay check.. and I want to know what that's like. I want to understand how a majority of people in the world live (even though I will still be better off than a majority of people). I'm not saying there is anything bad with having a high paying job, living in a nice house or taking vacations... I'm just saying I want a different perspective. That is something I have wanted to do for a while now. I'm sure I'll call my parents needing something every now and then and I'm fortunate to have their support, but I'm really going to limit it since I've relied heavily on them my entire life and particularly the past 4 years.

Anyways! I think this is a great thing for me and I feel so proud that I am actually living my values instead of talking about them. I am optimistic but I also see the realities of the journey I have embarked on. So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I hope that you follow your values and allow them to lead your life. Too often we measure success by the amount of your salary and that is not what matters in life.. the number in our bank account is not what we reflect on at the end of our lives and are thankful for (at least I don't think so...).

So I hope you understand my story and that part of it has resonated with you!

Best wishes and much love,
Alyssa

P.S. This week I challenge you to really think about a passion you have that you haven't found time for lately. Take that passion and pledge a certain amount of time each week/month/year to fulfill your passion!