How to Harness your Skills to have a Big Impact

LinkedIn: [00:00:00] Linkedin presents.

Listener Heidi: [00:00:05] But it also is hard to set down the immediate work around climate action to write the bigger project. Those types of things.

Jonathan Fields: [00:00:16] Today's listener, Heidi, poses a big question that is very pertinent to this moment in time. She shares her devotion to advocacy, particularly around climate activism, and asks, how do you harness your skill set to show up and work in life and make a meaningful difference? Heidi is hopeful that a lot of us are also asking the same question when it comes to the climate and asks, how do you know where to focus your energy to have the biggest impact? And on deck with me this week from the Spark Brain Trust to help tease out what really matters and share insights and ideas, is multi-time founder and CEO of Jadah Sellner Media, the co-creator of the Simple Green Smoothies social and business phenom. Sought after advisor to entrepreneurs and best selling Bestselling author Jadah Sellner. So quick note you'll hear us talking about something we call Sparketypes in conversation. Well, what is that? Well, it turns out we all have a unique imprint for work that makes us come alive. This is your Sparketype. And when you discover yours, everything work, life, even parts of personal life and relationships, they begin to make more sense. And until we know ours well, we're kind of fumbling in the dark. And just like today's listener did, you can discover your Sparketype for free at sparketype.com. You'll find a link in the show notes. Now onto Heidi's story and question. I'm Jonathan Fields and this is SPARKED.

Listener Heidi: [00:01:47] Hello, Jonathan. My name is Heidi Harmon. I prefer she her pronouns. And thank you so much for this opportunity. I've been a climate activist for 20 years and was recently the mayor of my city for five years. I stepped down early because I wanted to do more on climate change at the state level. I live in California and I have a great job in that regard, working on policy at the state level. And I am an advocate, obviously. And I think my question is that I really ask myself every day is with climate crisis in particular, but what a lot of folks are calling the meta crisis, with all these intersecting crises happening right now, the limited time frames, it seems that we have to address them. And with my particular skill set, where is really the place I can show up and make the biggest difference. And I think that's hopefully a question everyone's asking themselves, I certainly am. Where is that perfect nexus of what brings me alive, what I'm good at, and how I can best serve the world? And I'm working on a book. But it also is hard to set down the immediate work around climate action to write the bigger project, those types of things. So that's my main question. If we really want to show up at this crucial moment in history. Where is the the best spot for that? Thank you so much and I really appreciate your podcast. Thank you for the work that you do.

Jonathan Fields: [00:03:16] Such an interesting question and certainly so of the moment. Right. Because I think there are a number of layered questions within that. And I'm sure we'll we'll peel that advocates onion a little bit before we dive in, and I ask you some of your thoughts probably make sense to just shout out in case anybody missed it. And Heidi's quick question that her primary Sparketype is the advocate, and the impulse of the advocate is all about championing ideas, ideals, individuals, communities, whatever it is that you feel called to. But it's they tend to be folks who see things that just aren't right, things that are not getting the attention, the need, the energy, the resources that they believe in their hearts are due them. And the advocate. Maybe the hardest thing in the world to do for somebody who has the advocate sparketype is to sit quiet is to be a bystander or an observer. It literally will consume them. Their DNA says, I can't do that. I'm here to shine the light. They don't necessarily need to be front and center as the person leading the charge, but they in some way need to invest their energy in shining the light and championing this thing.

Jonathan Fields: [00:04:30] So that's like that's our starting point, right? That's that is her impulse. And then her question really is how do we figure out how to orient that. Like where do we direct it. What do we do with that when, as she describes it, you know, she's been really focused in this domain of climate crisis for years, and she's still very focused in it. But she describes what what folks are calling a meta crisis, sort of like this overlapping moment of multiple large scale crises. And as somebody whether you're you have the advocate Sparketype or not, these days almost everybody is feeling the impulse to get behind something. But when there are so many somethings that all feel urgent and life defining, how do you figure out where to go and what to do? And I think she's teeing this up in the context of her Sparketype. But I think this is also a broader thing that we're all feeling these days. I see you nodding along.

Jadah Sellner: [00:05:30] Yeah. I think, um, one that she's already living the advocate. She's expressing that, and it sounds like she's really grounded and connected to what's needed in the moment and taking a step down from being the mayor of her city and saying, I need to get on the ground and do the work. So I think something really important for her to tune into is that her intuition, like she's really deeply connected to what is needed and to keep trusting that voice and really listening for the call. Like the next call, it feels like she has a natural rhythm of of where she's pointed in that direction. And I think that there's something around, uh, the word that she used is like bigger, whereas like the biggest impact or the imperfect, those were some of the words that were little signals to me to possibly take those off the pedestal of where is the biggest, where can I make the biggest impact? I think of this quote that Oprah shares from Maya Angelou and, you know, and she was telling Maya, like, my legacy is going to be the schools in Africa that I'm building my girls, my daughters. And Maya says, you have no idea what your legacy is going to be like. You are touching so many different lives and so many different moments. And so what I take from that is to not for us not to define what our biggest impact is to just live fully our our Sparketype fully express doing the work that lights us up. If you already have that advocate within you, you are showing up and being of service and really trusting that. So I think there's something, if we take that off for her to not think about the biggest impact and just where is that intersection for her? And I feel like she snuck in the book. So I definitely want to reach on that for a minute. But let's, you know, I want to hear what your your thinking.

Jonathan Fields: [00:07:36] And I think it's an important issue that you bring up. Right. And I do want to circle around to the idea of the book, because I think embedded in, in her question is actually like these two subquestions, which is like, where do I focus from a topic or a cause standpoint? And then where do I focus from a channel standpoint? Right. And those are those are two different things. And I think it makes sense to dive into them. But before we leave, the point you just made, I agree with you. I think sometimes we sort of like we focus on the bigness and we want to like, where's the biggest thing? There's this delicate balance that I wonder about though, where, you know, especially in this context of the quote, meta crisis with all these overlapping things happening, is that we might feel called. We're like, there are these five different things that are going on right now that I can identify. Each one of them feels equally urgent to me. Each one of them feels equally big to me, and I happen to have a skill set where I could see it. I could make a real difference in any one of those, or if not, a real difference in an equal level of difference, you know, because sometimes we don't like we feel like small cogs in a big machine. But so whatever it is we can bring to it, like I could bring that same energy to all of them. So how do I choose? And I think the flip side of what you're offering, and I agree with what you're saying, is also and I feel like this is embedded in her question a little bit, is the fear of fragmenting your effort so that it's like the drilling five wells at once.

Jonathan Fields: [00:09:03] Like, you know, like thing. Right? So it's sort of like, well, if I say yes to all five of these, knowing that I'm equally passionate, they need me as much as I can, and I can make a difference in all five of them that may so fragment my effort and my energy, that it really doesn't make a meaningful difference in any one of them. And in turn, because it's going to be incredibly frustrating for me because I'm going to feel like just as a human being who's here to serve express this impulse to champion, I'm going to feel like I'm not able to actually be effective in any one of those different domains. So on the on the one hand, it's like, I like your invitation to sort of like heed not being overcome by like having to like, pursue bigness. And on the other side, there's this, you know, like delicate balancing act of, of being careful not to spread your energy and your efforts so thin that you feel like it's kind of not worth it in any one of the things that you're devoting yourself to. I mean, where does that. How does that land with you?

Jadah Sellner: [00:10:04] Yeah, I think this is coming back to that intuition piece. There is a practice that I do with my clients called the embodied decision making. And so let's say that she has a couple of, you know, crises that she wants to pursue to really advocate for and to what's the problem that she wants to solve or lean into, whether that's through the book or a specific topic, but to kind of try on each one as if, you know. So if there were three things that she was considering and like, which which one do I put my effort towards for the next 3 to 5 years and really take that on the same way that she did stepping into being a mayor. And so, for example, you might have three options that you're considering. And the first one, you could write it down and then read that answer out loud as if this is what I'm doing, present moment. And really see how it feels in your body, the tonality. Does it feel like a resounding yes or a reluctant no? So really just paying attention to that and then saying option number two and really say it out loud and see how that feels in your body. And does your voice get quieter? Does it get louder? And then you would read option number three out loud and really embodying it as if this is the answer that I've chosen.

Jadah Sellner: [00:11:29] This is this is what's happening. And there's something in that. When we embody a decision, when we try it on that gives us clues and intuition through our own body, through our, our vocal tonality. So that's one way that I really like to when I am, I can't intellectualize or overthink it enough. Pros and cons like the logistics of that. Sometimes just really feeling it in our body can give us a clear sense of our intuition and what feels true and right for the next decision moving forward, and most of the time my clients can feel it and sense it in themselves. But it's helpful to have someone outside of you listening or tracking your facial expressions or your body to see where do you light up and expand, where you fill in Sparky with your Sparketype? And where do you feel contracted and like it's it's something's not right. That's a a more embodied way to think about choices. And then also we can look at our own capacity of how much time, energy, hours in a day do we actually have and what do we want to prioritize for the next quarter, the next year, the next three, five years?

Jonathan Fields: [00:12:41] Yeah, I love sort of like the blend of doing that where you've got this embodied. It's sort of like intuitive approach. And then you've also you're looking at the hard metrics and you're saying, let's like put them all together. Let's not discount one, but let's actually acknowledge the fact that, yes, I may get a strong signal, you know, embodied signal. And then at the same time, let's look at realistically, they do have the skills, the resources, the time, the mental and emotional and physical bandwidth to be able to actually do this thing on the level. That would make me feel good at it. Because maybe if, you know, the embodied answer sort of like has a, you know, has a clear number one and then kind of like a runner up that's not too far behind. And then you look at the clear number one, and then you realize from a practical standpoint, from an impact making standpoint, you actually are probably much more likely to be able to make a meaningful difference in that runner up. Then maybe it's like, you know, it sounds like you have to do this broader analysis in order to figure out the one.

Jonathan Fields: [00:13:37] But I think the bigger thing that we're both saying here also is, as much as we may all be called to devote energy to many different things all at once because many different things are happening. The fact that you choose 1 or 2 to go all in on, doesn't mean that you care less about these other issues. Doesn't mean that you know you're not even going to do something on the side. But what? It's simply an acknowledgment of the fact that in order to make a meaningful difference, make a difference on the level that most of us will feel good about devoting ourselves to, we very often have to say no, or at least not now, to a number of other things that we genuinely do care about, but would just not allow us to actually be as effective as we can in one particular domain to make a real, meaningful difference. And that that can be really hard for people to do. But it's important at the same time.

Jadah Sellner: [00:14:31] Yeah. And I think the part of conserving the energy, paying attention to the ones that you might have to say no to for now is are there easy resources for you to give in another way that's quick? You know, so there's some things for me that I my nervous system gets really overwhelmed by, not only how much is going on in the world, but how many ways that I could support financially this organization time, energy. And so something that I really always try for myself is to follow my impulse for generosity. If I get the email or I get something and it says donate, I just I don't try to overthink it. Overresearch I just gotta like, follow whatever, whether it's $1, $100, something that it's like, that's just kind of how I'm going to choose for these other things that I can't put my time, energy and resource resource into right now. But I'll support this one organization that can at least make me feel like I'm contributing, even in a smaller way, but not to overthink our impulse to be generous in other forms, and not to belittle how little it might feel, and also being able to lean in to questions and problems that won't be solved in our lifetime to get comfortable that the bigness of, you know, climate crisis and and things that we're trying to advocate for, that leaning into a bigger question and allowing ourselves to contribute without knowing if we'll actually reach a resolution while we're still on this Earth.

Jonathan Fields: [00:16:05] Yeah. And this also kind of tees up that other the other side of the question that we were talking about earlier, and it makes sense to circle back to which is choosing the channel. So like even once you figured out where where does it make most sense to devote my energy, then the question is like, how? Like what are the modes or the channels? What are the mechanisms? That makes most sense to me? And again, you know, this could be anywhere from like Heidi was saying, like writing a book. It could be champion, it could be becoming a spokesperson. It could be marching in the streets. It could be donating money. It could be creating video, audio, social. There are so many different modes of contribution right now that even once you say yes to okay, so this is the thing I'm going to focus on for the next two, three, four, five years. Like because that's the that's the thing where I think I can actually as, as Brad Feld said to me years ago, pick my 2% and put everything against it. Right. Then the question is like, what is the mode that makes most sense, both in terms of maximizing impact and also allowing me to operate in the mode that is most sustainable and nourishing. What's your take on exploring that side of of the question?

Jadah Sellner: [00:17:17] Yeah, I think the same way that I would look at it from a business perspective is really looking at, you know, from a contribution is where are the people hanging out, where what are the channels that you can make the impact on? And so seeing where people are actually hanging out, you know, what I would call like a dance floor is the channel and the mode that you would choose for that expression or contribution. And then using your Sparketype or your gifts, your skills, your strengths, your resources of where you feel the most ease and excitement and a little bit of challenge, but in a way that you are growing and learning. And where do those intersect? So really kind of making the list of what are the channels that I could contribute on, making a list of where that is, and then what are the ones when you look at that, those would actually be the easiest for you to get out, you know, in the quickest possible way or that you can get lost in. Like for example, she mentioned the book because, you know, we were just talking about books before this conversation and it's the impact, you know, takes a couple of years before it actually lands. But then think about all of the books that have impact our lives and how many people that you can reach through a book. It's it's accessible, it's affordable. You can get it at a library. You can pass it on to a friend. So there's that word of mouth that I think everyone's really comfortable in consuming that media and that channel and can reach a lot, a lot, a lot of people. But the upfront investment in time, energy and effort you're not going to make. I feel like I've been quiet in my creative cocoon, working on a book where it's like, I'm not changing anyone's lives right now. I'm just holed up with my laptop and typing away. But I know that was a very intentional decision, that it's a very one to many impact. A few years down the line.

Jonathan Fields: [00:19:16] Yeah, I love that. And what you just brought up at the very end, there was something that that I was going to float. So I'm glad you teed it up. You shared it so very one to many. And I think one of the other things we want to think about here is what I call modes of engagement, you know, and and these functions tend to function in three different domains. One is, you know, 1 to 1, one to some, one to many. This is sort of like scale, right? The other is synchronicity. So do you want to be in real time conversation with those who you're seeking to empower or influence or change or share ideas with? Or are you totally cool just creating things like a book, a video, whatever. A podcast that goes out into the world and anywhere from seconds to years down the road. People would interact with it and that that actually feels good to you. And then the third select there is the face to face or in person versus remote. And again, so all of these can be effective 1 to 1, one to some, one to many. They can all be effective in person versus virtual. Either one can be effective or hybrid.

Jonathan Fields: [00:20:16] You know the synchronous real time conversations or advocacy versus asynchronous. You create something that goes out and people interact with it over time. They can all be effective, hugely effective. But what we've we've seen and I know you've experienced this, you and I have talked about this over the years, is that we tend to have really strong preferences about how we want to step into whatever the impulse is, in this case, advocacy in a way that's both impactful but also just for some reason, lands in a way where we feel it's sustainable and enlivening for us just on a on a personal fulfillment level. So run those experiments. And how do you may already know like what what those modes are for you. Very often we do. We just haven't really sort of like looked at that and realized we had a choice to make. But it can make a huge difference. But both in the impact that you make, but also in your ability to make it a sustainable endeavor. So you don't either get bored or burned out or whatever it may be, because you're aligning the modes of engagement with who you need to be as you step into your your sort of like role.

Jadah Sellner: [00:21:22] Yeah, and I love that the list of the 1 to 1, one to some, one to many. And you can also have them feed each other depending on where you feel most expressed and engaged and excited. You know, I tend to probably like to live in the one to some, but I've actually been hanging out on the the outside of 1 to 1 while I write the one to many book, and the 1 to 1 conversations and coaching with clients is actually which has served the book to actually try on the experiments and the exercises and the case studies and the conversations. So a part for Heidi, her body of work that she has been doing for so many years. She has tons of stories that can be embedded into the book. So, you know, the on the ground, boots on the ground work that she's been doing can now be incorporated into that one to many thing or that that creation that you you spend several years up front, but then it lives on. And that can be a legacy of, of itself. I just think about all the books that we read from decades ago that are still relevant to our lives to this day.

Jonathan Fields: [00:22:35] Yeah, I love that. And by the way, just to put an end cap on on this, these modes of engagement do not always sync in the way that you think they would with your social orientation. Personally, like Jada and I both happen to be fairly strong introverts. You know, we love being with a small group of people or our families and or in our creative caves for an extended period of times. We're super comfortable with solitude. And yet I also like literally three days ago, I stepped out of a theater where I was presenting in front of a thousand people. And I love that. And sometimes you think, well, that doesn't make sense, but it actually does, because modes of engagement aren't necessarily connected. I can still actually be fairly introverted and be presenting to thousands of people in person or virtually, because in that moment, on that stage, I'm actually in my own sort of protected cocoon like space, and then I get to retreat from that. So if you're thinking to yourself, well, I'd love to do one to many, but I'm really kind of a quieter, more sensitive or more introverted person. That's totally cool. It's not. There is not necessarily a linear like connection, which says like, introverts really only do like one to 1 or 1 to a few people and, you know, remote so they can be in their little like private space and asynchronous. They don't have to talk to people. It's just really be open to exploring these ideas just on a personal level and see how try them on, see how they feel, basically.

Jadah Sellner: [00:23:59] Yeah, yeah. The experimentation I think is really, really important because that's going to give you a lot of information on your Sparketype as well of just trying things on. And does this align? Does this make me feel more engaged and alive with my work when I do it in this this mode of engagement?

Jonathan Fields: [00:24:18] Yeah. Love that. I feel like we covered some good ground here. Heidi, I hope this is valuable to you and anyone else who's listening in. Whether you are an advocate or have any one or the other impulses for effort that make you come alive. These are all really important questions. Given the moment that we're living in now and things to think about and explore. So, Jana, thanks so much as always, great hanging out and sharing ideas with you and to our awesome listening community. Thank you for spending time with us. We will see you all next week. Take care. Hey, so I hope you enjoyed that conversation. Learned a little something about your own quest to come alive and work in life, and maybe feel a little bit less alone along this journey to find and do what sparks you. And remember, if you're at a moment of exploration, looking to find and do or even create work that makes you come more fully alive, that brings more meaning and purpose and joy into your life. Take the time to discover your own personal Sparketype for free at sparketype.com. It will open your eyes to a deeper understanding of yourself and open the door to possibility like never before. And hey, if you're finding value in these conversations, please just take an extra second right now to follow and rate SPARKED in your favorite podcast app. This is so helpful in helping others find the show and growing our community so that we can all come alive and work in life together. This episode of SPARKED was produced by executive producers Lindsey Fox and Me, Jonathan Fields. Production and editing by Sarah Harney. Special thanks to Shelley Adelle for her research on this episode. Until next time. I'm Jonathan Fields and this is SPARKED.