Free-Range Drama Farm

Chris Brogan recently started a group called the Grasshoppers Network, and I jumped on board immediately - the purpose of the group is “to connect a network of people who seek to help others, in lots of ways: help people find jobs, contribute to social causes, share resources. You decide.” It’s a pretty amazing thing - it’s only been a few weeks, and at last count the group had 364 members; in the 3 weeks since I joined, I’ve helped a musician find retail outlets for his children’s safety songs CDs, learned about easy ways to donate a little money and make a big difference, and gotten a great business plan template from a pretty cool blogging mom.

Chris’ suggestion on how to be helpful this week:

“This week, at least twice, spend a moment of your time promoting someone else. Do your best to tell someone else about a friend or colleague of yours that you admire, and that you feel deserves more attention. Use your blog or podcast or email or LinkedIN or whatever to get the message out there.”

Chris is great about promoting others. If he thinks you’ve got something good - be it a business, a talent, or an idea - he spreads the word to everyone he knows, and makes a special effort to connect you to people who might be interested. Derrick Kwa took his suggestion to heart, and was kind enough to promote the Drama Farm on his blog today. I’ve mentioned him before in passing, but I want to take a minute to single Derrick out, because I’ve been just as inspired by him as he says he is by me.

Derrick is 17 years old and has chosen to leave the formal education system and embark on his own journey through other forms of learning. Far from being the “quitter” that he says many people see him as in Singapore, he’s more interested in learning what he wants and needs to learn for himself than he is in completing the courses and exams he’s “supposed” to take. He has some great thoughts on formal vs. informal education, and on finding your own path through life - if you’re interested in making your own decisions and choosing the path that’s right for you, I’d definitely encourage you to check out his blog.

The goal is to promote at least two people this week, so I’ll write another post in a few days introducing you to another amazing person (all those people up there at the top of the post you get as freebies!). In the meantime, think about the amazing people you know, and tell someone else about them - it’ll give you a warm fuzzy feeling inside. And consider joining the Grasshoppers - the more talented people we have looking to help, the more good we can do!