#economyofinspiration

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I could not sleep.  My mind is running on overtime (at least one part of my body is running hehe).

I have in recent weeks been exposed to so many inspired gatherings that I could not stop but feel awed by the collaborations and potentials I see around me.



Which of course brings me back to the reasons why JOY is everywhere if we look hard enough. Often times, when i am worried about something, I have to remind myself to just ...GET OUT OF MY OWN HEAD and look for inspiration outside.

Let me just share with you some platforms that are sources of inspiration for me now.

1.  Connected Women Philippines - is a global community of women entrepreneurs, freelancers and professionals.  They organize meet-ups all over the country. Founded by Ms. Gina Romero and Ruth Owen, Connected Women aims to gather women who support women and I think they are doing just that.  The amount of collaborations borne out of the gatherings are inspiring.  You can join the discussion on Facebook to witness what I mean.  The meet up for  this month is on August 15, 2018 and if you are near any of their meet up locations, please register and connect!



2.  MakeSense.  MakeSense is an international organization (originally from France) engaging citizens and social entrepreneurs to build solutions for sustainable development goals. Simply, they help social entrepreneur startups in their early stages and connect them with relevant actors in the social entrep ecosystem to structure and/or accelerate their endeavors.

Recently, I joined an activity they had out of curiosity.  The inner "atrebida" took control so instead of joining any of the other enterprises who pitched their ideas, I ended up pitching my own, just for the fun of it.  Luckily three gentlemen joined me to work on it and it landed the project a chance to get a  spot in the MakeSense's very first MakeSense Academy in the Philippines.  This is still pending the result of the boot camp held last weekend (August 4 and 5) and a final Jury on August 7 but already, I have met amazing people, spoke to wonderful mentors and learned so much about the noble and creative efforts entrepreneurs are exerting to do business right.

Their next activity is SenseDrink  on August 9 in Makati.  Check out the details here.


During the first MakeSense Academy Bootcamp




3. QBO. QBO reminiscent of the "bahay KUBO" is an initiative of the Department of Trade and Industry to provide incubation support for social entrepreneurship startups in the Philippines. By tapping on their network of stakeholders, communities and enterprises, they aim to enliven the social entrepreneurship ecosystem in the country.  They have courses, meet ups etc.  I am yet to attend one as I only learned about them with my co-participants from the recent boot camp.  I looked them up in Facebook and I was really excited about the future of the collaborations they are making through QBO. 






4.  HR Nation HR Happy Hour.  This gathering happens every first Thursday of the month bringing together HR practitioners in an evening of fun, learning and networking.  It is a hip venue to talk about common concerns and opportunities.  The free food and drinks doubles the fun and prolongs the interaction! If you are in the field, join them in their next Happy Hour.



5. SCRIBD.  Ok this is not an organization or an event. Scribd is a subscription based app that has loads of books and audiobooks to feast on.  I used it in moderation before because access used to be limited to a certain number or books each month.  However, a few months back, they decided to give their subscribers access buffet style.  We can now access all books and audiobooks for the same subscription rate.  How cool is that!  Its now my go to whenever I feel like my mind is idle and have nothing better to dictate but worry (yes, that's me!).


Ok, now that I have emptied my latest inspirations in this post, I hope you do try some of them out.  If you are far away and could not attend any of the meet ups, the discussions, the ideas shared in the websites, in facebook and in the books available might still help.

When I started Xperience Travel Services, our travel agency, I wanted to "invite" people to travel.  That was my tagline.  I wanted them to "move.learn.change" because I know that travel is one very effective way of learning.  Of recent years, I also engage as a Trainer for ConsultAsia Global and thanks to the opportunity to run our programs, saw how people change, learn and strive to inspire others to do the same. 

Economy of inspiration starts when we spread what inspires us.  It is a cycle that does not end with the receiver though.  The joy of being able to share and the fruits they bear inevitably goes back to us in varied forms.

What inspires you nowadays?

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