A Day That Marks A MIlestone

I officially have my own corporation. Today I received my approval from the Secretary of State for my very own corporation. createACTivity, Inc. Now, one last step. My 501 c 3 approval.

Through the last week I have recognized one main difficulty that I have had in moving from corporate world to starting my own business and/or working without a paycheck for charities that that I believe in. That difficulty is measuring productivity as well as rewarding accomplishments. As many people, I have always been motivated by either the appraisal of a boss, or the tangible act of receiving a paycheck at the end of a pay period. It was not necessarily the money, but the fact something tangible was received for doing work. Through the lack of both of these acts,  I have realized that it is very easy to set unrealistic expectations as well as feel unaccomplished no matter how hard you work.... (even if you are working the 11-16 hour days including weekends to see your dreams come into fruition).

With this, you can imagine the excitement of opening a tangible piece of paper with signatures stating that your company has been approved. The long days and email exchanges with lawyers (who seem to constantly block creativity with some law that restricts almost any idea that you have, or the mere statement of "I will have to look into that, it has never been done before") has finally paid off. When leads me to my lesson: KEEP GOING. Orchards do not grow overnight, they take a patients, a lot of nourishment, and continuous love to keep them going.

One must also to recognize that when something significant is accomplished, one should reward themselves for that accomplishment. And for me, today deserves reward.

I am so excited to update you about my plans for createACTivty, Inc. once closer to my 501 c 3 approval date. In short, createACTivity will be a sustainable way to generate funds for organizations that are forming ethical solutions for people living in harsh, undesirable, and uncomfortable living conditions caused by extreme poverty through creativity.

With a tangible sense of accomplishment, I am pleased to sign off to a day that marks a milestone.

Es-Bee

Shikinee Party

On the 27th of November, I threw a Shakinee Party at my home to support the Hamar tribe in Ethiopia. The Hamar are one of the oldest cultures in the world and are now endangered due to global climate change. I know, weird huh? Who knew a group of people could be considered endangered. Basically this tribe (currently consisting of about 23,000 people) are using the same tools and methods that have been passed down to them from generation to generation and due to global climate change, these tools and methodologies are no longer working.

What is Shakinee and what does it have to do with anything? Well, Shakinee are handmade beaded bracelets that are made from the women in the Hamar tribe. They come in beautiful vibrant colors of red, blue, yellow, green, pink, orange and black. Each bracelet costs $15 dollars each, and when purchased feeds 6 people for 10 days.

The bracelets are sold by a wonderful organization called Global Team For Local Initiatives (GTLI). I was introduced to this cause by Chris Lawrence of Facing Africa who met one of the founders while working in Ethiopia. After learning more about the Hamar tribe through the GTLI website (www.gtli.us), I wanted to raise as much as I could to support their cause in helping the tribe survive. So, I decided to throw a Shakinee Party. About 14 friends of mine came over to drink wine, eat great food, chat about what is going on with the Hamar, and buy some pretty awesome handmade beaded bracelets. Together we sold 36 bracelets which feeds 216 people for 10 days.

If you are interested in holding a party yourself, please visit the GTLI website. A box will be sent to you with all of the bracelets and information you will need to host a party.

-EsBee