Have you ever had the itch to travel? Well today’s guest takes that itch to new extremes! Having traveled to 24 countries, saying that Sarah Barnett likes to travel is an understatement. All this travel creates incredible, unique and downright entertaining experiences. Sarah shares an unbelievable story about singing in China that is a must listen.

What’s exciting through is she uses her global travels to connect with artisans in emerging markets. She goes farther than just connecting. She actually brings their products back to the US to share with customers here through her company International Blessings. Now we can enjoy stunningly crafted jewelry, ornaments, bags, shoes and more.

Sarah and I actually met at Christy Wright’s Business Boutique in November of 2015. This phenomenal event brought together women across the United States to help empower each other in business. I’ve actually had the pleasure of interviewing several attendees, including Christy Wright. I so cherish the opportunity to have met Sarah and get to hear first hand her passion and dedication to International Blessings.

Note - we decided not to share the video from China to ensure the safety of those involved.

Mantra

Take one step at a time. Do something everyday that moves your business forward.

Memorable Moment

Sarah describing her crazy experience in China singing worship songs with a police officer.

Recommended Reading

Push by Chalene Johnson

How to Make a Positive Impact

Think about what you are passionate about and what change you want to make in the world. Then research organizations are doing that. Be open to ideas that those in your life might not be open to. Be confident in your passions in your life.

Episodes Mentioned

Christy Wright | Business Boutique

Julie Colombino | Deux Mains Designs

Connect with International Blessings

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Sponsors

Journey to Social Entrepreneurship

Audible

When I interview Evan Delahanty from Peaceful Fruits, it is obvious that he is incredibly passionate about his socially conscious company. There is a lot to be excited about. It’s a new all-fruit snack that harnesses the power of naturally grown acai. It’s scrumptious, nutritious, and made without all the toxic junk you often find in fruit snacks. Additionally, it is helping to create sustainable employment opportunities in rural areas of the Amazon rainforest.

But where he comes alive is when he talks about his partnership with Blick Clinic to employ individuals with a disability or mental health issue.

To dig into this powerful relationship we have AJ Haas, Chief Label Officer, and Peg Haas, former Quality Control, who helped initiate this partnership at the very beginning. What started as a conversation about fruit snacks and Brazil is blossoming into a powerful relationship bringing together a community.

From Star Wars to Indian Jones to music to travel, we see a unique behind the scenes insight to this dedicated labeling team at Blick Clinic.

This is more than just snacks. It's about empowering individuals to work to achieve their dreams and to celebrate what brings them to life. That applies to both individuals in the Amazon and here at home.

Needless to say, this is one comprehensive snack!

Listen in:

 

Here is a glimpse into the team working at Blick Clinic.

A photo posted by Positive World Inspiration (@positiveimpactpodcast) on Feb 15, 2016 at 7:02pm PST

 

When I connected with Evan about his new title, “Big Cheese,” he sent this. I think he approves.

Evan describes his former corporate life as almost a literal cog in a wheel. The analogy is alarmingly spot on as his corporate job facilitates the efficient moving of screws and cogs around a warehouse.

That is, until he throws in the towel in on the unfulfilling corporate route and opts for the Peace Corps.

Check out another successful entrepreneur who skipped out on the norm, leveraging Peace Corps to launch a new approach to travel.

This life-changing journey to Suriname and the Amazon rainforest charts a new course for Evan’s career path. In his words, he goes from, “making a big impact on a small and meaningless thing, such as moving screws, to having a small impact on a meaningful endeavor.”

This new meaningful endeavor comes with a triple social good punch:

Producing a highly nutritious all-natural fruit snack;

Sustainable sourcing of acai;

Employing individuals with developmental disabilities.

Listen in to hear Evan’s incredible journey from cog to social entrepreneur.

Mantra

Produce a snack that people can enjoy with a peace of mind.

Memorable Moments

Evan describing the nuances of wearing a kamisah (including the mystery of the cell phone)

Talking about bears and hiking

Recommended Reading

Mission in a Bottle: The Story of Honest Tea

How to Make a Positive Impact

Get outside of your normal life.

 SoCal Locations Selling Peaceful Fruits

Pacific Health Foods in Carpinteria

Natural Life Foods in Pleasant Hill

Alameda Natural Grocery

Connect with Peaceful Fruits

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Sponsors

Hello Fresh

Journey to Social Entrepreneurship

Audible

 

Here is a photo of Evan in the traditional kamisah:

 

A photo posted by Positive World Inspiration (@positiveimpactpodcast) on Feb 16, 2016 at 9:06pm PST

 

  Check out the actual snacks!

 

A photo posted by Positive World Inspiration (@positiveimpactpodcast) on Feb 17, 2016 at 7:22pm PST

}"If you have an idea that moves, then go for it!" That is the message that Randi Gloss hears when she connects with Millennial Train Project (MTP).  It's not just an enticing idea. MTP actually helps aspiring leaders move their ideas forward both figuratively through an innovative mentorship based incubator and literally through a train journey across the United States.

 

Yeah, it's pretty awesome! I know I am wishing I could enjoy the scenic view of our country via a vintage rail car.

 

For Randi, this journey is her ticket to thinking bigger in her business, as well as connecting with GLOSSRAGS customers around the nation. What she finds is more than just raving fans. Hear how Randi's cross country journey is helping her shape social change apparel company and the stories of under reported injustice nationwide she encountered along the way.

Here are few photos from Randi's trip {photo credit @obshoots_}

A photo posted by Positive World Inspiration (@positiveimpactpodcast) on Feb 13, 2016 at 8:32pm PST

A photo posted by Positive World Inspiration (@positiveimpactpodcast) on Feb 13, 2016 at 1:46pm PST

Can you imagine being transported to a 1950’s rail car to travel across the country, discounting from the pull of modern day demands? One pioneering nonprofit founder is recreating that exact experience to incubate young innovators as they push the boundaries on what they can accomplish.

Patrick Dowd, founder of Millennial Train Project, believes that often times it is more than the destination. In fact, he is so committed to the idea of embracing the journey he hosts an annual train ride for changemakers to crowdfund their way across the country.

It’s a journey of mentorship, friendship, exploration, self-discovery and more. Yes, it includes laughter, good times and a lot of train puns.

While I have never enjoyed the luxury of traveling the United States by train, exploring the Italian countryside by rail was a unique experience. I can only imagine the transformative experience of touring America in a vintage boxcar, engaging with likeminded individuals and connecting with leaders and communities around the nation.

It’s not just the destination. It’s about the journey through geographies of innovation. And with this journey, 25 changemakers are able to shape the tracks while enjoying the ride.

Listen in to my interview with founder Partick Dowd and hear how he went from asking the question “At what point does technological advancement impact the environment?” to “How can a cross country train ride transform millennials?”

Mantra

Sometimes the worst thing that can happen is the best thing that can happen.

Memorable Moments

“On the journey I felt like I was really myself. And I loved who I was.”

“Building a community of people behind your ideas are what gets you on board.”

“Not identifying by where they are from, but by the change they want to make.“

Recommended Reading

Biographies of those who inspire you;

If you are looking for other recommended reading, check out our top recommended list.

How to Make a Positive Impact

 Encourage some else. Encourage their ideas. Help someone else who is struggling.

Connect with the Millennial Train Project

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Have you ever been apart of a company that gives back to different community nonprofits? Think back to that experience or any partnership with a nonprofit.

How would the organization describe that experience?

Here’s a word to shoot for: transformative.

That’s how Darcy Walker Krause from The Center for Grieving Children describes the partnership with the Philadelphia Eagles Care. Not only did she describe it as transformative, she points out several different levels that the partnership helped her organization.

This included literally doubling the capacity. As a larger corporation, this is the ideal ROI on your community relations.

Listen in to hear how the entire staff of the Philadelphia Eagles gets involved in creating meaningful relationships in the community. There's a lot of magic in these partnerships (including one extraordinary player who masters real magic tricks).

 

 

This is a picture Paul took with one of the Eagles as they ran back to the locker room when he got to watch the training camp.

 

 

While I thoroughly enjoy watching football, I never in my wildest dreams anticipated the Positive Impact Podcast crossing paths with the NFL. Believe me when I say I've dreamed big too. Still, the NFL feature never crossed my mind.

That was until they contacted me.

While I would like to say I was calm cool and collected when responding, I wasn’t. I guess coming from a family that is obsessed with professional football, the novelty will always be there.

That’s a separate story though.

I admit I’ve never thought about a professional team in terms of impact they make in a community. I limit my views to the plays they make on the field. When it comes the Philadelphia Eagles, that’s a mistake. Three years ago they evaluated the impact that their charitable programs and philanthropies were making in the community.

They weren’t seeing the returns they wanted in the community.

This led to an entire overhaul of how they approached their community relations through the Eagles Cares program.

Listen in to hear how this new approach transforms nonprofits in the community and activated the entire staff (including players)

We’ve talked a fair amount about how to help women break into different industries. From tech to business to STEM and more, there are so many social entrepreneurs creating incredible incentives supporting women in these measures. (Check out all the features so far)

After my interview diving into the incredible work Geek Girls does to engage women into all areas of technology with Leslie Fishlock, it got me thinking about women currently in these different industries. Luckily for me, I happen to have several friends totally rocking it in the engineering space.

This includes my best friend Kelsey Riedesel who happens to be on a short vacay to sunny San Diego in between work trips. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to connect with her about being a process engineer in a very male dominated industry.

Listening to her journey to become an engineer really drives home the power of encouragement. Even little actions like letting kids tinker with broken VCRs can open up a world of possibilities.

For those of you who have no idea what a VCR is, let’s just say that there were a lot of components to tinker with…. Be grateful we advanced beyond them.

 

Here is a photo from our Torrey Pines hike. While she is in town, we are exploring many of the awesome elements of San Diego. This includes the beach, scrumptious Mexican food, kayaking, hiking and more. Oh yeah... there may have been some serious geeking out as well. That's just standard though.

Did you know that there were more women in tech fields in the 1970’s and 1980’s than today? If your eyebrows just crinkled into a weird position you’re skeptically reading this, then I’m with you.

But it’s true. Turns out that many early tech positions fell to receptionists or secretaries. These women were some of the early tech pioneers in a sense.

Fast forward to today and the rates on women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) are pretty dismal. Some of the powerhouses like Google, Facebook and Twitter only employ 10-20% of their women employees in tech positions. While at first glance it might not seem like a big ordeal, these jobs tend to be more secure and have higher salaries.

Luckily we have Leslie Fishlock, founder of Geek Girls, breaking down tech barriers and making it sexy for women of all ages. Well, at least making it cool and a little easier to understand. A line of code being sexy is a stretch (unless you happen to wear a codable bracelet).

Listen in to hear all the cool things that Geek Girls is doing in the STEM space:

Mantra

Anything from Yoda. Specifically, "Do. Or do not do. There is no try."

Companies and Influencers mentioned:

Ada Lovelace (First Female Programmer)

Hedi Lamarr (Invention of Spread Spectrum Technology)

Admiral Grace Hoper (Pioneering Computer Programmer)

Makeda Ricketts (Tech Startup Founder)

iBesties (Modern Dolls for Modern Girls)

Roominate (Building Toy for Girls)

GoldieBlox (Engineering Toy for Girls)

New Relic (Software Analytic Tool)

Connect with Geek Girls

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I highly recommend following @GeekGirlCamp for a snarky and down right hilarious feed. Here's a sample post (although I was SO tempted to post their Star Wars posts to celebrate my inner geek).

 

 

A photo posted by Geek Girl (@geekgirlcamp) on Nov 25, 2015 at 8:27am PST

What defines sustainable efforts? The more and more I dig into the social space, the more I ask myself this question. Let’s be honest, sustainability is a sexy term. Some people like to put it on a label to increase sales.

But what does it all mean? How do you know if it is actually "sustainable" compared to a marketing tactic?

While I can’t help with identifying this for every brand that slaps the term on their label, I now know exactly what sustainable means when applied to Cura Coffee's support for sustainable dental care in Nicaragua.

Listen in to hear Dr. Jordan Buzzell's insights to how when you drink a cup of Cura Coffee, you really can be confident in the socially minded efforts they are supporting. Oh yeah,  you will also hear the four key components to their measure of sustainability.

And then you know us. We like to actually define the impact. Don’t worry, we cover that too!