Join us at Square's "Open for Business"

Come talk some business talk at Square's Open for Business: Celebrating Women Entrepreneurs.

We're going to be hanging with one of the founders of Twitter (also the founder of Square), Jack Dorsey, and celebrating women entrepreneurs. As one does.

Maggie will be opening the evening with a talk. Attendees will choose breakout sessions to help business growth with topics focused on Social Media, Analytics, Finance, and HR.

Monday, March 10th

4:00pm - 8:00pm

Square Headquarters 1455 Market St San Francisco, CA 94103

Bubbles, bites, you, us. Come! 

Throw a Life List Party

Inspired by Camp Mighty, Go Mighty community member Sarah Chong (sarahmia) decided to throw a Life List party. We are always game for a party.

Sarah decorated, had a full schedule, gift bags, and food abound. We're bummed it was 5,000 miles away, or we would have been there like whoa. Sarah's mom did, however, travel 200 miles to attend. Aw, moms. By gathering up all her friends and family and having them each contribute a skill they have mastered, everyone learned a little something and got to share their smarts with the group. 

Want to throw a Life List party of your own? Gather up some friends in the park, at home, in a coffee shop, or your local diner and get down to it. 

Each person should bring their #MyFives, or the top five goals they want to accomplish this year. Everyone shares with the group. You can keep each other on track, offer up resources and advice, and be inspired to add Goals to your own Life List.

Sarah had the great idea of having everyone at the Life List party contribute a skill. Each person devised a quick course on how to master their skill, and taught the group. You can even check off Life List Goals of your own. Learn to bake scones? Check.

Throw a Life List party and let us know about it! Write your story on Go Mighty and share your pics, tips, and fun.

Sarah Chong is a sassy-glasses-wearing UK based blogger, magazine editor, panda lover, techie, and avid Go Mighty community member.

6 Tips for Editing Your Life List

This post originally appeared on Mighty Girl

Editing your Life List isn’t cheating, it’s growth. I know some people feel like their Life Lists are set in stone, and presumably those people are still saving for the tribal band tattoo they wanted when they were fifteen.

Every year or so, I go through my Life List and make sure it still makes sense for me. A few of the ways I approach the editing process:

1. Break goals down. “Become conversational in seven languages” has been one of my favorite goals. So erudite! So chatty! But I’m stalled. I currently speak English and Spanish. I keep saying that “someday” I will tackle the rest. Someday what? Someday I’m going to sit down and learn five more languages in an evening? Maybe on a Tuesday in 2023?

So I changed the goal to, “Learn French.” I have, in fact, taken French classes. I have also been to France, and would like to return. Hence, I will learn more French until I can have a conversation. And once I do, we can talk about those other four languages. In French, si vous préférez.

2. Make symbolic goals more tangible. “Buy stock on my own” was on my list, because to me it was a symbolic marker of someone who had their shit together financially. Turns out I don’t want to know how to buy stock. I do not care. I want to keep my checking account balanced, and know I’m on track for retirement. New goal? “Get my financial life in order.”

3. Consolidate. “Get organized and own less crap” is the same as “Become a tidy person,” in my mind. But the latter is what I actually want.

I don’t want to clean out my apartment, I want to change my relationship to material things. So I kept “Become a tidy person,” and added organization and closet clearing to the sub-list.

4. Examine your motives. I tried “Start a daily meditation practice” and it didn’t stick, but I don’t feel too worried about it. I deleted the goal because the whole point of meditating was to worry less anyway? So it worked. Everyone should try meditation.

I also had “Write 365 thank you notes” on my list, because I wanted to get back into the practice of writing them. Gratitude makes you happier, and more evolved, and increases muscle tone. Read the studies.

Anyway, I didn’t feel excited about it. Turns out I just like to think of friends finding real mail in their mailboxes. So I changed my goal to “Send 365 pieces of real mail.” And now I’m all set up for success. Stamps!

5. Speak for yourself. Hank was really into robots for about three weeks, and we decided to make a robot zine together. I added it to my list, because awesome. Then when I sat us down to do it? He was into it for 10 minutes. So instead of forcing him to draw robots as some sort punitive exercise for being an indecisive six year old, I removed it from my list. Zen parenting, om.

6. Own up. One of the questions I ask myself is, “Do I want to do this, or do I want to say I’ve done it?” Often it’s the latter. Case in point? Multi-day biking trip. Would I do it? Sure. If someone showed up at my door and said, “I have arranged an all-expenses-paid biking trip, Maggie Mason! Here is your bike. I have packed your bags and your food and lodging await.”

Rad. I shall pull on some spandex forthwith!

But. Assuming that doesn’t happen, do I want to go on a biking trip enough to plan it myself — or spend a year pitching it to potential backers? Do I want to spend a lot of money on an adequate bicycle, recruit friends, arrange for lodging and food, set aside vacation time, find child care?

No. I will never do that. Delete.

Have you edited your list recently, or did you have it tattooed on your person? If so, pics please. And if you don’t have a Life List yet, you should make one on Go Mighty, which is our community site. Come hang out.

Saying thank you is a wonderful thing.

As we approach the close of another year, it's important to take some time to reflect. What were the highs of 2013, and what were the lows? Many of you are putting together your #MyFives and setting intention for the year ahead. It's important to asses the past year as a building block for the future.

When thinking about the strides you have made, the growth you've experienced, and the changes you've endured, you should feel proud, elated, and motivated. Good job. 

The thing is, we are not alone. We are all in this together. Surely you could not have done what you did, and be who you are, without the help and support of those around you.

Go Mighty is that community of supporters. Your friends and family are those cheerleaders we all need. Your neighbors and community members contribute that inspiration to help reignite your motivation when things become overwhelming. The power of these people is colossal. The impact they can have is astounding. 

Saying thank you is a wonderful thing.

Spend a moment to feel gratitude for the people in your life. Acknowledge the value of their contribution, their support, their kindness, or their being. This is a small yet powerful way to lift your mood, enjoy life, and be happy. 

Giving creates joy.

Create some joy for yourself and others by expressing your thanks. Make a goal to express your gratitude. Tag your goal with #gratitudegoals, and you could win an Illume glass boxed candle to gift to your recipient.

Every winner will be able to send a candle to their recipient and include a note of their thanks.

Shine a light for those people in your life that deserve a thank you. Create a goal now >>

photo: rishibando cc

We Have a Winner

We are overjoyed to announce that the winner of our #goaustralia contest is Kristin Guy of The Cuisinerd.

Kristin listed some pretty amazing #goaustralia goals on Go Mighty and was selected to receive a trip to Australia to complete them, thanks to Air New Zealand and Tourism Australia.

There are so many delicious adventures ahead of her: learning how to butcher, getting lost in a cheese cellar, tasting artisan coffee, and making the perfect meat pie. Kristen will be logging her experience on Go Mighty, so stay tuned for her culinary feats and travel stories. 

Thank you to all of the Go Mighty members who participated in this contest. Your #goaustralia goals are truly epic, and we look forward to seeing you tick some off your life list.

Congratulations, Kristin! There's nothing better than Australia.

#GoMighty4Kids

Next Generation and the Clinton Foundation have teamed up to provide tools and build the skills needed to help children succeed. Research shows that early years are crucial to a child’s success. Through their Too Small to Fail initiative, the organizations hope to close the word gap and improve the lives of children 0-5.

Our Work Together

We are running a campaign on Go Mighty to help garner visibility for these issues. Our work with Too Small to Fail is gaining a lot of momentum. You can see what Go Mighty members are doing in their #gomighty4kids posts. 

Heather is donating books to a hospital to promote early interaction for babies:

Latest Happenings

Next Generation and the Clintons recently went to Hollywood to meet with studio execs to discuss strategies for educating audiences on closing the word gap. Hillary and Chelsea Clinton both spoke on the importance of these issues.

Talking about how we can empower the next generation in LA with @ChelseaClinton @2SmallToFail & @ServiceNation pic.twitter.com/RYROq1Z8hp

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton)

November 9, 2013

Too Small To Fail

Extensive research is pointing to key early actions that will greatly impact the future lives of children. One of the greatest ways we can have an impact is by closing the word gap. The Too Small to Fail campaign is working to achieve this by providing education and guidance for parents, improving workplace policies, improving key access to nutrients and vitamins, and more. Parents are encouraged to promote positive interactions and speak words of encouragement.

Talking is teaching. Help close the #wordgap with @2smalltofail. << Tweet This

How to Participate

We would love to see your participation on this with some Go Mighty goals and stories. How can you help children in your community, your own kids, or those nationally get a step up? Please share your efforts with us by tagging #gomighty4kids. Reading, spending quality time with kids, encouraging learning, and having conversations with children all contribute to closing the word gap.

For more info on how you can help, follow @2SmalltoFail on Twitter and Like them at facebook.com/2smalltofail.

Go Mighty + Illume Candles for #gratitudegoals

We're announcing a new #gratitudegoals project with Illume candles to celebrate this season of giving.

Fifty Go Mighty members will be chosen to win a beautiful Illume boxed glass candle. There are two ways to enter -- receive or give an act of kindness:

Set a goal to express gratitude to someone who deserves a glowing thank you. Tag your goal with #gratitudegoals, and lucky winners will be able to send a candle to the person they are grateful to. 

-or-

Set a goal to do an act of kindness for someone else. Tag your goal with #gratitudegoals, and lucky members will win a candle to give forward. 

Add goals and stories now through December 9th, and we'll be picking weekly winners. Whatever your goal, big or small, celebrate giving and shine a light for those around you. 

Add your goals now >>

Hello, October

Last month was an incredible month for Go Mighty!

First, we launched our amazing program with Air New Zealand and Tourism Australia. We're sending 10 Go Mighty members to Australia to cross items off their life list and perhaps hug a koala. They'll be covering each of their adventures on Go Mighty and we can't wait to see their take on the land down under. Because Air New Zealand so great, if you pledge to take a trip to Australia this year, they'll give you a $200 discount. Don't forget to list your #GoAustralia goals and you and a friend may get a trip for free. 

Just last week, we hosted an event in Seattle with Rivet & Sway. Not only were they amazing partners but they gifted a goal grant to Amy. She's now headed to spend a night in a lighthouse and we can't wait to watch her adventure unfold. If you purchase a pair of glasses on Rivet & Sway with the code FINDYOURJOY50 by October 31, 2013, you not only save $50, but you will be entered to win one of two $500 goal grants. We think you'd look stunning in a new pair of specs...

And finally, we have some numbers to brag about. Your numbers. Because you dream so big we have just passed the 20,000 goal mark. In fact, we've passed 21,000. We can't wait to see each and every one of them happen.  (Oh, and we totally hit 1,000 fans on Facebook. You guys rock).

We can't wait to see what October brings. Let's do good things together!

Last night we had the pleasure of hosting an event with the wonderful Rivet & Sway. In addition to being fantastic co-hosts they gifted a goal! 

Amy, had posted about wanting to spend a night in a lighthouse. We love it! Her #FindYourJoy dream is coming true. What's your goal? 

Follow Along As Ten of Our Members Begin A Trip Down Under

Go Mighty has partnered with Tourism Australia and Air New Zealand to send ten of our members to the land down under! From tea in Sydney to hugging a koala, their goals run the gamut of all Australia has to offer. We could not more thrilled and excited to watch them discover a new country and cross things off their Go Mighty lists!

Over the next few weeks, they’ll be taking off and sharing their experiences along the way. Here's each of their first installments. Take a look and maybe you can crib some of their amazing ideas for your #GoAustralia adventure. 

Todd Porter and Diane Ku of White On Rice Couple

Maile Wilson creator of Epiphanie Bags

Karen Walrond of Chookooloonks

Sean Kent of Modern Dads

Maggie Mason of Mighty Girl

Laura Mayes of Blog Con Queso

Jenny Lawson the Bloggess

Gabriel Cabrera of The Artful Desperado

Jordan Ferney of Oh Happy Day

Win Your Own Australian Adventure Do you want to head to Australia? We can help make that happen. Make a list of all the places you would love to explore and goals you’d like to achieve and tag them #goaustralia on your Go Mighty profile.  On November 1, we’ll select one lucky member from those who participate to travel with a friend to Australia. What are you waiting for? Starting dreaming and planning with us.  Join Us As We Fill-A-Plane  It takes 332 people to fill an Air New Zealand Boeing 777-300 aircraft. That’s how many of you are needed to register your intention to visit Australia in 2014 to trigger a special Air New Zealand flight discount code.  Visit Go Mighty and click on Fill-A-Plane to learn more and enter your email before Oct 31st to receive a code for a discount on the cost of your flight to Australia in 2014.

image source

Share Your Six-Word Memoir and Win A Ticket to Camp Mighty

Join the Mighty Crew this week for the Six-Word Festival on Twitter from September 24-26...that's this week, tomorrow throughThursday. The Six-Word Memoir project, created by one of our Camp Mighty Keynote'sLarry Smith and SMITH magazine, is hosting this virtual storytelling week which will consist of Six-Word prompts and tweets in response. Celebrities will share their own stories in #sixwords, retweet favorites and choose daily winners. HarperCollins, the publisher of the bestselling Six-Word Memoir series, will give out books every six minutes during the festival. The best #sixwords tweets could be in a new book of Six-Word Memoirs. Have a goal to be published? That's one way to do it. Plus, you can win a trip to Camp Mighty to see Larry Smith and Piper Kerman speak about the power of our stories. Go here for details on how to participate in the festival and remember to tweet your six-word goal or story with #sixwords #gomighty. We will select our favorites for prizes...the big prize, a Camp pass and hotel room at the Ace Hotel Palm Springs! Check out the full festival schedule and complete judge list with Jason Biggs, Katie, Couric,Tim Gunn, Jane Pratt, Rob Delaney, Michael Ian Black, and more.  

Go Mighty + Go Australia

Limited edition print of gouache painting by Matte Stephens. (Available for purchase here.) Go Mighty is headed Down Under! We have partnered with Tourism Australia and Air New Zealand to take members of our community on the adventure of a lifetime.   In the coming weeks, 10 people will be traveling to Australia with Air New Zealand where they will cross goals off their Life List. Find out who's going and follow along here.  Win Your Own Australian Adventure Make a list of all the places you would love to explore and goals you'd like to achieve and tag them #goaustralia on your Go Mighty profile.  On November 1, we'll select one lucky member from those who participate to travel with a friend to Australia. Join Us As We Fill-A-Plane  It takes 332 people to fill an Air New Zealand Boeing 777-300 aircraft. That's how many of you are needed to register your intention to visit Australia in 2014 to trigger a special Air New Zealand flight discount code.  Visit Go Mighty and click on Fill-A-Plane to learn more and enter your email before Oct 31st to receive a code for a discount on the cost of your flight to Australia in 2014.

Announcing: Weekly Challenges on Go Mighty

Painting by Mike Monteiro, "30″ x 40″ acrylic on paper. 2011. Neutral Milk Hotel lyric (available for purchase here)

Last week marked the launch of our weekly challenge series, where each week brings us closer to completing a goal. Most of us have a class we've been meaning to take or a skill we'd like to acquire on our Life Lists. To get things started, we challenged the Go Mighty community to schedule an hour to: 

Research a goal,

Sign up for a class,

Gather the materials you need,

Or enlist a friend for support,

And share your progress using the tag #hourone.

Bonnie got started on the Artist's Way. Megan did a little meditating. Sarah made something that looks pretty square to us. Lorien, yours is looking good too, girl. Liz got to stepping. Irish style. Rebecca learned a skill she missed in childhood. Amy tried a new writing technique. Karisa is going to be a fly girl in no time. Libby is giving Open Yale a go. Harmony made her union frame official. Daffodil is learning how to design her own book cover. We like Retta's approach to business. And Sharon, have you been working out? Yes.

This week's challenge is #gosummer. 

September 22 is the last official day of Summer. Did you miss anything? This week why not:

Plan something you hoped to fit in,

Consider what made this summer good, and make a reminder list for next year.

Think big for next summer by making a plan for how you can shift a cause you care about,

Check off some Summer Resolutions if you made a list.

When you do, let us know by writing a story on Go Mighty, tag it #gosummer, and we'll enter you for a chance to win a ticket to Camp Mighty. By searching for #gosummer on Go Mighty you can see all the people who have already joined the challenge.

You're Invited, Seattle

If you live in or around Seattle and want to talk goal-setting, vision, and the art of self-presentation, join us on September 26 for an event hosted by Go Mighty, Rivet & Sway, and Crave Seattle. 

Art Print by DesignsAlive

You can find out more and RSVP for the event here: http://bit.ly/142r2vH

There are only 100 spots so you'll want to do that quickly. Like now. 

Once you've reserved your spot, set a goal on Go Mighty and use the tag findyourjoy. A $500 goal grant will be awarded to one attendee and another attendee will also win a free pair of frames courtesy of the folks at Rivet & Sway.

And that's not all, Brittany Gibbons of Brittany Herself will be there presenting her second curvy girl makeover. (Read about her first here.) If you would like to be eligible to receive a makeover from Brittany, let her know in the comment section on her blog.  

See you soon.

Weekly Challenge: Get Schooled

Painting by Mike Monteiro, "30″ x 40″ acrylic on paper. 2011. Neutral Milk Hotel lyric (available for purchase here)

This week marks the launch of our weekly challenge series, where each week brings us one step closer to completing a goal. You may not be heading to class with a satchel of fresh notebooks, but why should grade schoolers get all the back-to-school fanfare? This week, give yourself an hour to learn something new with our #hourone challenge. Most of us have a class we've been meaning to take or skill we'd like to acquire on our Life Lists. This week, schedule an hour to:

Research for your goal,

Sign up for a class,

Gather the materials you need,

Or enlist a friend for support.

When you do, let us know by writing a story or sharing on social media using the tag #hourone. 

Announcing: Camp Mighty 2013 Keynote Speakers

Lately, the Go Mighty team has been discussing Orange is the New Black — how both the TV show and the book have shifted our thinking about choices, consequences, and justice. We wanted to talk to the people behind those stories. So please join us at Camp Mighty for a conversation with spouses Piper Kerman, author of Orange is the New Black, and Larry Smith, originator of the Six-Word Memoir project. They're one of the reasons why this year's program has us awake at night with anticipation.

You can read more about Piper, Larry, and other Camp Mighty speakers here.

Camp Mighty 2013 will be held October 17-19 at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs. We're launching our inaugural artist in residence program, and a new approach to making connections around your Life List goals. You can get your ticket right here, and we hope you do.

Are You A Fashion Addict? Let's Hang Out

Brittany Gibbons is on a mission to help women feel more confident about their bodies. It's a topic she writes about regularly on her must-read site, Brittany Herself, last year she gave an inspiring TED Talk about it, and she even added it as a goal on her Life List. 

Now she's partnered up with the team at Rivet & Sway to dress curvy women around the country. (You can read about her first makeover made possible by support from Rivet & Sway here.)

Next up, she's talking fashion, live, with Rivet & Sway stylist, Ritzy, and you should come. Brittany will be hosting a Google hangout Thursday, July 18 at 10PM EST. 

You can find out more and RSVP here. 

See you there.