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 Interviewing AJ Leon was a very special event for me. My name is Martyn Sibley and alongside Lou Shackleton from the YouCan Hub, we organised and delivered a special Cambridge night at Hot Numbers recently. Here’s my take on the night.

My introduction for anyone not familiar with my blog or Disability Horizons magazine is this – I’m a dude in a wheelchair, who travels the world, runs e-projects on disability matters and just loves life.

Enough of my story though. None of my blogging, tweeting and world changing exploits would be possible without AJ, his awesome wife Melissa and his groundbreaking company Misfit-Inc. Back in July 2009 I approached AJ at the Institute of Fundraising convention following a breathtaking presentation. I shared a vision of empowering disabled people, and he saw potential. After a Starbucks meet up; we chatted, dreamed, agreed to collaborate and stated to never give up!

AJ and his crew run a digital agency, carry out social humanitarian work, encourage artistic creativity and travel the world beyond belief. They’re never in their New York home! 

Having launched his book: the event, a Cambridge Misfits meet up if you like, brought together like-minded people and gave me a personal chance to show my gratitude of AJ and also find out some new things too.

The former part was easy. Since the Misfits supported me creatively, strategically and instilled confidence we have chatted, laughed and got drunk numerous times. Our friendship runs deep and dreams remain.

The latter was an interesting one. Lou and I had base questions. However the best of interviews and questions tend to be off the cuff. I enjoyed asking him if everyone should be Misfits, to which he replied “yes but not everyone will be”. I also loved his recounting of how we must live this one life the best way because even if you believe in reincarnation, we only get one chance. In acknowledgement of his depth but also the seriousness in the room I lightened the atmosphere with the random statement “I agree, it’s not possible to tweet when you’re a snail”. A testament to our philosophy and humour.

I felt as though the audience were stunned as to what AJ stood for, what he has achieved and how his character embraced everyone. More so, the questions showed intrigue, an appetite for more Misfit gold dust and a general demand for more of this vibe of an evening.

Working with Lou was a pleasure. She’s a true Misfit too. I hope we can recapture such an evening again in the future. Whilst AJ returns to his life journey I know he sparked people the way he did with my dream in 2009. On leaving Hot Numbers, the buzz in the room was incredible.

For me, the key take-aways were: dream big, never give up, love life!

Want to see more about the night? Check out the storify here.

Community – what does it mean to you? Community is one of those words that has a different meaning to everyone, and everyone defines their community in a different way. That’s the amazing thing about community – your community is unique to you, because it starts with you and then reaches out based on your interests, the places that you go, the people that you see.

For us, community is what helps you when you ask and inspires you when you’re stuck – and you return the favour. It surprises you endlessly, and enables you to surprise yourself. We love community, and so we’re very proud that our You Can Check It Out Team founder member Ellie McKenny has been editing the Cambridge edition of the Community Lover’s Guide to the Universe – collecting stories by individuals about what community means to them, through the innovative community project they have been working on.

You can read the first stories here. Even better, you can come and meet the people behind the projects, share ideas and ways of working, and enjoy coffee and cake as part of a Community Lovers’ Meet Up during the Romsey Art Festival:

Wednesday 7th August

7pm to 9pm

CB1 Cafe, Mill Road, Cambridge

You Can Bike Too in the early stages back in 2011!

Our project, You Can Bike Too, is one of the stories captured and members of the project team will be going along, together with the people behind the other stories captured too. Anyone who is interested in any of the Cambridge stories, or who is interested in community and doing things collaboratively is welcome! If you’re planning to come please email Ellie to give her an idea of numbers: emckenny@hotmail.com. Unfortunately the venue isn’t wheelchair friendly.

Find full details of the Romsey Art Festival here (another great community event!). You can find out more about Community Lover’s Guide to the Universe and explore the other editions from all over the world here.

You can see what You Can Bike Too is up to lately here.

We look forward to seeing you at CB1!

Why Portland? Why the World Domination Summit?

DangerLou and her Nemesis – The Robot of Mediocrity

#DangerLou is in Portland because 10 months ago, I took a risk. I knew that I’d seen the awesomeness that is Chris Brogan giving the best speech he ever gave from last year’s conference on vimeo.

I know that it is the conference to get to if we want to kick conformity’s ass and meet people trying to find different ways of living and earning.

I didn’t know that I definitely had the money to go. I did know that it would be very competitive to get tickets. So, I took a risk. I waited for the day and time to apply for a ticket and made myself a deal. If I put my name in the registration page and got a ticket, then I would find a way to get there. If I didn’t, I would be sure to catch up online.

I took a risk and the Universe decided I got a ticket; now, here I am in Portland. I inspired my co-conspirator Mel to take a risk too. So here we are, ready to meet you.

So if you are also in Portland, come and find us. Today, Friday, you may even spot Danger Lou in her cape alongside her nemesis, the robot of mediocrity. And if you are wondering what this Danger Lou thing is about – “Sure, it’s fun but what’s the point?” Then check out the Danger Lou trailer here and remember these three questions and prompts that Danger Lou is keen for everyone to explore and answer:

1. Do something small that both scares and excites you every day
2. Every superhero needs sidekicks
3. Strike a pose – copied from your favourite superhero – it will help you feel like a superhero too*
4. Define your impossible – what are you stopping yourself from even starting?
5. Name your nemesis – what’s holding you back?

#DangerLou is about celebrating small risks, being playful and helping each other achieve our impossible Danger Lou is my not-so-secret identity – what’s yours?

What would happen if you answered the questions above? That’s why I’m in Portland. To help myself answer these questions while prompting you to answer them for yourself too. Meeting a whole ton of people who are revealing their superhero powers. And if you need a team of sidekicks, you can join the You Can community and we’ll do our best to keep you laughing and living and taking risks every day.

*Check out Amy Cuddy’s TED talk on the value of power poses and how they can help you.

So let me know – what’s your secret identity? I’d love to hear it, in the comments below…

On Throwing Your Hat into the Ring

Three weeks ago, on 4th June, I’d just got back from Fargo, North Dakota, for Misfit Conf – a tiny conference about making a huge dent in the Universe. I wasn’t supposed to have been there. This is how it happened.

Back in April this year, I was having a tough time. A year ago, my dad died two days before my 30th birthday in May. It was coming up to the one year anniversary of my dad’s death, and my 31st birthday. I wasn’t sure how to handle it; I just knew I felt pretty grumpy and emotional all the time. People kept asking me, what do you want to do for your birthday? And I couldn’t really answer. I didn’t want to do anything. I wanted to tell everyone to get lost. I wanted to find a cave to hide out in.

My dad at my wedding in July last year, two months after his death

In the past weeks and months, I’d been playing a lot with stories. I’d gained confidence with video and storytelling. And I was browsing Twitter one day when I saw my friend @martynsibley tweeting with someone called @ajleon. I followed the Twitter trail, as you do, and before I knew it I was reading a post all about the Power of Small (which you can read here).

It resonated.

A lot.

Especially in the world of social enterprise in the UK, when it seems that one of the first questions people ask you is, “Is it scalable?” (usually right after, “How are you funded?)

One thing led to another and I ended up here. A tiny conference in Fargo. I read the small print and it said, “All applicants will get access to the recordings.” I thought, this is amazing! A whole host of knowledge in one place, knowledge we know we need at You Can Hub right now. Crowdfunding, writing, creating a business that moulds to the life you want to lead, and makes a difference in the world. And I can fill in one short form with two questions, and get access to recordings and all that stuff? Win win! I filled out the application in quite a blase playful way. You can read the application in this post.

Cut to two weeks later. I’m sitting up in bed on a Saturday morning with a cup of tea. I write a little in my journal, the briefly check my emails. Something catches my eye – an email with no subject from someone called Melissa Leon. I recognise the surname but I can’t place it. I open the message. I turn to my husband and say, “Shit!” He says, “What?!” I say, “Shit, I’ve got a place at a conference in Fargo at the end of May.” He says, “What?!” This went on for some time. At this point is seems better to hand over to Melissa herself and her email to me:

Hey Lou it is great to see you here! Thank you for submitting to attend Misfit Conf: Fargo. I wanted to reach out to you because as we were sorting through and reviewing all the applications we received so far – yours really stuck out. Wow I am just blown away by your application and the courage that you are taking to make Misfit Conf Fargo a reality. As you said it is time to take the gloves off Lou! Needless to say we would love for you to come to Fargo! To confirm your spot at Misfit Conf please purchase your ticket by the end of the day next Tuesday.

No pressure then. Two days to work out if we could make this happen and if I could go – knowing that we didn’t have any money in the pot at You Can Hub to fund the ticket or flights…

I was gobsmacked. How had this happened? I wasn’t supposed to actually get a place, merely be unsuccessful in my application and then be able to access the recordings from the relative comfort of my own sofa. My husband and I talked it through over the weekend, and then I had a meeting of the You Can Check It Out Team on Monday. I presented them with what had happened and the aims of the conference. I told them I had worked out that if I got 30 people to each donate £50, I could do it – I could get to Fargo. They told me to go for it! And I got my first donor. And so, I was taking my first steps on my way to Fargo… and it was time for the fear to kick in!

So there you go – I’d thrown my hat into the ring for an off-the-wall conference in the middle of nowhere, and the You Can Hub team was now going to hold me accountable in raising funds to get to the conference and bring back some top-notch learning. In my next post, I’ll let you know how I ended up in a field full of cows in Cambridge wearing a cape, and what I learned about asking for help.

Excited to read the next step? Sign up for our mailing list to get a heads up when the next post is up – straight into your inbox!

**Update!** You can now read Part Two: Inviting People In by clicking here.

You can still make a donation to support our work by clicking here.

You can also listen to me talking about this on the social media show #TSMShow with Ann Hawkins and Eric Swain – and the great thing is my friend Martyn Sibley, whose nonchalant tweet led me to finding out about conference, features on the show too! Click the link!

Three years ago, we started something amazing with a small group of incredible people. There were five of us, all either at risk of redundancy, wanting a change, wanting something different. So, we came together once a month over a shared meal and called ourselves the Change the World Gang. We had big ambitions but we didn’t start with the world. We started small, with each other – supporting each other through a time of transition. Since then, we co-founded this very out of the ordinary not-for-profit.

If you know The You Can Hub, you know that we’re not your usual not-for-profit. That last year our first birthday involved making superhero capes. That most of us are overly fond of ginger beer, we share our secrets and our meetings often involve talk of The Hulk and Mission Impossible. That our registered address is the local community pub where the villagers came together to save it from closure and are now the shareholders – and where my husband and I held the music festival part of our wedding last year (and got shares in the pub as a wedding gift). You’ll know that we have passion and purpose and that we’re working out how to live a life we love while helping you figure it out too. That we include people who are excluded elsewhere and emphasize the power of community, connections and ‘doing’ together. That we look for the impossible and work out how to make it possible.

This Spring, I have been offered an incredible opportunity. I have been invited to join 29 other people who think like we do and to gain a whole host of new knowledge and skills at the Misfits Conference in Fargo. It’s ‘a tiny conference about making a huge dent in the universe’. With topics like The Economics of Crazy and Writing Your Own Revolution, I’m fairly sure I’m going to come back a changed person – revealing my inner super hero, Danger Lou. Check out my successful application here: Lou Misfits Conf Application 

This is where I get to be vulnerable. To make it there, I need your help. This is my impossible – I can’t do it without you. Think of it like enabling a huge amount of inspiration that will come back to you through post-event blog and video posts, in person socials and so much more.

Will you help me to reveal my inner superhero, and come back from Fargo dangerous and contagious? If you read my application, you’ll know that 30 seems to be a pretty important number to me right now. So I’m looking for 30 people to back this Misfit-Adventure by donating just £50. I want to be able to know you all by name and either physically / virtually give you a hand shake.

Will you be one of the thirty? Contact us as soon as possible if you want to be one of the 30 – use our contact form (scroll down) and put “Hell yeah Danger Lou!” at the start of your comment or tweet us @youcanhub with the hashtags #dangerlou #imin. I can’t wait to hear from you! Check out the full low down on the Misfit Conference here: http://aj-leon.com/misfit-conf/ Oh, and thanks to Danger Mouse for the inspiration! Watch out for more posts from me on revealing my inner super hero coming soon…

What would it mean to reveal your inner super hero?

**Update** There is now a donation link available here for you to make your donation directly. And if you’re a UK taxpayer, you have the added benefit of Giftaid! Click the button… and make sure to include the message “Hell Yeah Danger Lou” with your donation!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5-zAh-ERV4&feature=youtu.be]

The first step to meeting the challenge of change is to start liking yourself. To do that, stop thinking in terms of “you”, and start thinking in terms of “us”. Together we’re strong, apart we’re weak.

– Simon Weston – pictured at the end of the video

I find that quote amazing in and of itself. I also find that quote amazing because when we explored the meaning of “impossible” in our You Can Check It Out team meeting, this same theme came up.

Having someone else helps. Someone to reassure you. Someone who shares your interest. Maybe someone who’s trying to do what you’re doing too, and exploring similar goals. Maybe someone who’s done it before and can show you some of the smaller steps.

When we think about “Us,” everything seems easier. So how about it. Fancy joining us?

Note: I got to hear Simon speak because I’m currently being seconded to the Realife Trust for a Vodafone World of Difference placement – which you can keep up to date with here: Vodafone World of Difference.