Right now, the news is overwhelming. We’re in the midst of a global pandemic. Unemployment is at an all-time high. Racial tension and demonstration is that a boiling point. It can feel completely overwhelming. It can feel like no matter what you do it isn’t enough.

Remember – perfection is the enemy of the good. You don’t have to be 100% right, 100% perfect, or 100% qualified to go out and try to change the world. PMWS Is such a stellar example of that. Two out of the five women on our amazing leadership team don’t even know how to sew. But here we are, nearing 100,000 masks. Don’t let your inner critic defeat you before you even dip your toe in the water.

Even if you aren’t the most qualified, the most informed, or the most natural fit for something, if your heart and soul tells you to go for it… Listen. Who knows what wild adventure it’s right around the bend.

But also, take a good look before you dive in. Is there someone else doing the same work you are hoping to do? Is there someone with wisdom that you can listen to and learn under? Can you use your voice, your energy, your enthusiasm to amplify voices that are already speaking in the space you are looking to fill? Can you use your talents in unexpected ways to help the work that has already been done?

Brooke Michael Farmer is such an amazing example of this for me. She couldn’t sew, but that did not keep her from jumping in with Project Mask WS. She stepped right up and agreed to coordinate delivery drivers. Then she recruited Facebook moderators. Then she made a website. She used her energy, her skills, and her enthusiasm and took a good thing and made it great. And I could tell the exact same narrative about Ritu Virmani Hagan or Claire McDermott WItten or Heather Heather Morgan Zifchak. Repeat that story times 2700 and you get the crazy beautiful phenomenon that is Project Mask WS. How can this amazing, talented, enthusiastic group change the world next?