i’ve just spent the last 10 days in and around san francisco for the inaugural girl effect accelerator: the first unreasonable institute program dedicated to helping companies that make a positive impact on the lives of millions adolescent girls do so better and faster through social entrepreneurship.
there are so many totally amazing learnings that came out of this event, and i have a long form post drafted now, but i thought i’d jot down a sneak peak during a flight where i’m as happy to be flying home to my colorado family as i am sad to be leaving my new unreasonable one ;-) === ;-(
get ready to vulcan mind meld; here’s my highlight reel in no particular order:
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at the airport using the chrome debugger to forge an expired driver’s license at the rental car company…
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suddenly realizing that this funny caring guy has built a multi-billion dollar company. a couple times…
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standing in circle laughing so hard with what is absolutely the funniest group of people ever to stand in such a circle, or possibly to stand period…
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social impact means solving problems that real people actually have and exchanging your solution for a price that is fair to them and you…
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being impressed by the deep personal interest that seth godin has in, apparently, every human being he is around…
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companies actually can do better than governments…
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wow. the kitchen staff has more actual entrepreneurial skill than 80% of the tech startups in the world…
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many people just don’t even have fucking light…
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yes, some people really do make deliberate use of their life to make millions of other peoples’ better
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on vineyards there be so much wine…
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girls actually drop out of school because they lack pads. the sell their bodies to buy pads to stay in school. this is incredibly fucked up.
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all problems revolve around understanding people…
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die antwoord videos are best consumed outside on the grass at night with africans and a classical musician…
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the bravest people listen to themselves…
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people and politics make every company hard…
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girls need voices 10,000 times louder speaking on their behalf…
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rahul is a real live sadhu aghori and a hell of a nice guy…
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first world and third world problems need new names like ‘waste of your life’ and ‘hair on fucking fire urgent’…
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christen lien is a new type of a super being whose descendants will leave earth to colonize new planets made of pure sound…
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is your own startup is actually just making problems…
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large groups of empowered women are extremely fun to be around…
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if you need cash, and have absolutely no clue what the pin on your only credit card is, buy a group of strangers a round and ask ‘em for the dough in exchange
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as a hiker i am apparently categorized as ‘very white’…
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extremely-well-spoken-lawyer-girl can par-tay!
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hope, honesty, and vulnerability can condense a lifetime of friendship into the first 42 seconds of every conversation when the community allows it to happen…
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being massively unprepared for travel is so much fun…
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the unreasonable institute runs on blood, sweat, and a new brain wave pattern that repels the need for sleep…
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my back doesn’t hurt anymore…
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mobile is absolutely massive in the new markets…
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‘naan and curry’ makes the best indian food, and techno, in the world…
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technology is the single most useful tool to close the gap between rich and poor…
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hugging michael fitzpatrick after being transported into space by his cello…
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feet covered with blood blisters from so much walking along the bay…
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people who stay to stay the course turn back when they’ve gone off it…
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every person at this camp works at least twice as hard as every other person i know…
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7 people and luggage actually do fit in a prius…
i’d be remiss not to make sincere shout out to the nike foundation for helping to make the event happen, but also to the 1/2 dozen nike people who helped create many of the aforementioned memories and transformations.
stay tuned for more about this, and what it means to dojo4.
and one, final, thought:
- thank you.