Episode Shownotes:

Last week, Lisa told you why she renamed her community to Impact Rebels. This week, she’s going deeper. She’s calling out the six patterns she sees in women who care deeply about a cause but haven’t built anything yet: Some of them she’s been guilty of herself. This isn’t Lisa on a soapbox. It’s her handing you a mirror. 

Main Topics Discussed:

• The Mission Statement Mirage and why your About page isn’t impact
• Why showing up at the gala once a year doesn’t count
• Why polished leadership doesn’t move people
• The lie of “I just need more revenue first”
• The single move to take this week if any of these landed

Resources Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

• Book your Impact Reality Check, 30 minutes, $97

Ways to Keep Working with Lisa:

• JOIN MY FREE TELEGRAM COMMUNITY · Where I drop resources, answer questions, and connect with women building impact into their brands and nonprofits. 
• IMPACT BUILD INTENSIVE · 90 minutes, one-on-one. We map your next moves and how to incorporate impact into what you’re already building. You walk away with a plan you can start right away.
• MOMENTUM · Two days one-on-one with me in California wine country. We build your six month strategic roadmap for the brand or nonprofit. 

Connect with Lisa:

• Instagram: @lisathestrategist
• LinkedIn: Lisa M. Avila
• TikTok
• YouTube
• Email: hello@poppygrovellc.com
• Website: www.poppygrovellc.com

Episode Transcript:

Lisa Avila (00:03.18)
Last week I told you why I renamed my Telegram community to Impact Rebels. And honestly, that was just the start here. And I’ve got more to say on it because there is a difference between calling yourself an Impact Rebel and behaving like one. And it becomes this mindset. And then once you’re into it, it feels really good to break old patterns to…

Just show people, this is the new way that I am moving. And maybe you’ve already been moving this way. I mean, I already had, I’ve been doing the advocacy and speaking out, but once I named it, ooh, it felt so good. So today I’m going to talk about six patterns that I see in women and in past versions of myself where you say you care about a cause, but you haven’t done anything about it yet.

And like I said, I’ve been guilty of this and this isn’t me on a soapbox. This is me with a mirror. So if any of these land, yes. And once you name the pattern, you can’t unsee it, but you can stop doing it. All right, so number one, I call it the mission statement mirage. You write impact into your brand’s mission.

You put it on your about page. Maybe you use it when you have a pitch deck or you’re talking to clients and that’s great. It maybe it says something about empowering women or supporting community, creating positive change. That’s lovely, right? But then what? True impact lives in the decisions that you are making and the dollars that you are redirecting. Maybe even non-aligned clients that you’re turning down.

If your mission statement is just floating out there and it isn’t backed by decisions that you are making daily and the way you are moving out into your community, then what’s it really doing? Impact Rebels, back the words with moves, big moves. Okay, number two.

Lisa Avila (02:26.978)
Gala glamour girl. You know these women, they show up to the galas, they put on the fancy dresses, get a little buzz, love the silent auction tables. Ooh wee, right? And that’s fun. Look, I love going to things like that. I used to. Now, not so much. But it is fun.

to go get dressed up, be seen, show that you care, bid on, maybe even get a paddle and bid on a live auction, right? Maybe go for that Airbnb in Cabo, because hey, you can take your friends and you can ride it off. And you leave and you feel charitable and you smile and you know, everyone got to see everyone. Okay. And I’m not knocking that. These fundraisers and galas, they raise a lot of money.

But if your engagement with this cause that you care about is one night a year, that is not impact. The cause that you care about needs you year round. So impact rebels, they show up before, during, and after the spotlight. They show up when no one is looking because they don’t need the glamour. They’re there to do the work.

Alright, number three. I call it the Notes app nonprofit. Every time you see someone on Instagram and they inspire you, you save the real. I do that for travel. Or you add it to a list in your Notes app. Copy, paste. Ooh, I really liked what that person had to say. I’m going to come back to it. I’m going to create something like that. I’m going to do that. I’m going to put that kind of impact into my brand.

my business, maybe even start a nonprofit, and then you don’t. And months go by and I don’t know about you, but the months and years are speeding up so quickly. So you got a phone full of inspiration in your notes app and a vision that hasn’t moved an inch. Now, if you’re like me, you can feel your soul’s purpose to create that impact. It’s

Lisa Avila (04:50.766)
pushing at you, poking you, yelling at you, but more notes and more scrolling on Instagram isn’t going to fix it or take care of it. You don’t need more inspiration. You need to move. So impact rebels. We say, okay, enough of the numb scrolling and we get to work. If you’re gonna pick up your phone.

Send a text to a colleague or a friend and say, all right, how are we doing this? Can we collab? What have you got for me? That’s the kind of impact that we create. Now, number four is the polished performer. This is when you’re in a room, you’re networking and you tone down your vision because you don’t want other people in the room to be uncomfortable. I see this a lot with women.

Like, oh, I don’t want them to feel that I am better than them or that I have a bigger vision than them. You do. And you’re here for something bigger. You know this. So let’s talk about it. Or sometimes maybe you don’t want to pick a side because what if you alienate someone or you’re on that Zoom and you decide, no, I better not say that or I better not type that into the chat. But really what you want to do is be like, what are you talking about?

You want to throw that flamethrower of like, no, not that you have to shame anyone, but if you have an opinion and you have this big vision, there is nothing wrong with talking about it. You know why? Because movements aren’t built behind a polish. They are built by women who are ready to burn things down when it’s required. And this shows that you are not a lukewarm leader.

You are a hot leader out here, ready to change things as needed. And people don’t follow polished. I mean, you might for a minute, but then you can see right through it. They follow conviction. So impact rebels, we’re not going to sand our edges and make them all polished and pretty. We are here to sharpen them. And if we have something to say, we’re going to say it. And we’re going to hold space lovingly.

Lisa Avila (07:08.258)
but we’re not gonna keep shrinking to make others feel comfortable. Number five, the more lie. You tell yourself you need more, more revenue, more time, more clarity, more followers on social media. no, I need to work on my confidence, I need more of that, I need more research, and then, then I can go create the impact, then I can start the nonprofit or the foundation.

So you’re convincing yourself over and over that readiness is on the other side, right? You’re gonna be ready to do this if just one more thing. You know what those mores are doing? They are blocking the hell out of you. Being ready, you’re never ready, right? We’re never ready for marriage, kids, motherhood.

All the things that happen in life, it’s not that we’re sitting here prepared and ready. Well, we may be prepared, but there’s always going to be a hiccup or something that we weren’t expecting. So ready is more of a decision. And like I am doing this and that indecision by saying I need more, more, more, that’s getting pretty old. And the most successful women that I have worked with and looked up to, they don’t wait until they’re ready.

They decided, I am going to do this and I’m going to figure it out as I go. I’m going to get mentorship from me and figure out my next right step and then move forward. The mores aren’t leading you anywhere. They’re keeping you in place. And impact rebels, they don’t do more. They start moving with what they have and then they build and expand from there.

Lisa Avila (09:02.868)
Number six, and this one, this is one for you, mom, specifically. You are running between all your volunteer positions and all the things you said yes to and the bake sale and who needs what, donation drives, snack runs, coordinating the school auction maybe, there’s your gala, look at me, glamour girl, and you’re exhausted and you’re scattered, but.

This is what you believe to be your legacy because you are helping your kids and other kids. And you know what? That is great. I volunteered in my kids’ elementary classrooms for years. Now, looking back in hindsight, I was so glad that I was there. I learned a lot. I was with my kids. They needed me at that time. Single mom. I was, you know, whatever. Maybe I was hovering a little bit. But also, I could have been building bigger impact earlier.

But that’s all right. We all make these decisions. It’s fine. It’s just that if you are doing all of these things, all of these volunteer things and calling it like, well, this is where they need me. Yes, absolutely. But other people, other moms, other dads, they could also step in. You don’t have to be the martyr. And this doesn’t have to be your legacy. And if that’s what you want, that’s great.

But I can tell you from the moms I saw who found their worth in doing all of that and spinning and scattered and exhausted, it didn’t really work out for them later on. There were a lot of regrets and like, who am I and now what do I do with myself? So to me, that’s not legacy. Legacy is raising kids who pay it forward, who pay the impact forward because their mother showed them what impact looks like. And yes, that does mean volunteering.

helping where you can. But it also looks like when you put a big stake in the ground and a cause that you believe in and you back it. Your kids don’t need you running snack drives or making snack bags for soccer. Can we just stop that right now? Okay, we are all tired. People can just bring their own snacks. But what they do need is you modeling what a woman with a vision looks like.

Lisa Avila (11:27.094)
And Impact Rebels, they stop calling that exhaustion legacy. Now, if you recognize yourself in any of those, and most of us do at some point in our journey, here’s your move. Pick a version of you that you are seeing on Instagram and you’re hearting. Like, my gosh, she is so.

bold, look at what she’s out there doing, look at what she’s out there saying, and you give it a heart, and you maybe even give it an emoji in the comments, or maybe you save it. But secretly, gosh, you would love to be out there. You would love for that to be you. Maybe it is somebody who has a personal brand and they stand for a cause and they speak up. Just try. Instead of hurting, hearting, it

Go be her. You don’t have to have it all planned out or figured out. You don’t have to research what that could look like. Just make the next right step in what you are being called to.

Lisa Avila (12:46.69)
Oops, I lost my spot. Sorry here, Riga. Wow, I really lost my spot. Okay. Because one specific action that is part of the cause that you are feeling drawn to, you’re going to see that that one action is going to lead to the next action. And it’s going to feel so good to help people. And you’re going to want more of it. And that’s what I want for you.

Lisa Avila (13:18.816)
Send a DM, make a phone call or send a text if you’re not comfortable with phone calls. Reach out to someone, schedule a connection call, connection meeting, move some money toward where you are gonna go later, right? I have a colleague who is setting aside money in her business knowing that she is going to start a nonprofit by the end of the year. So even moving money.

is putting yourself out there because you are telling your future self that this is something that you are going to do.

And if you don’t know which version of impact you want currently, be it like a nonprofit, a foundation, advocacy, just moving more impact into your personal brand, which is not a just, that is a big thing. Because that is going to get you more followers and people who trust you and they want to move with you.

I do an impact reality check. It’s 30 minutes on zoom and we have a conversation where we decide if your idea that you have has legs. If these feelings you have toward impact, what you could do with them, what it would take to build it. And then you can take that and you can decide, you know what? I think I’m ready to do this.

It’s so nice to have someone who has been in this sector to bounce ideas off of. And yes, it’s lovely to talk to a friend or a partner and have them say, that’s a great idea. You’d be great at that. Or, you know, maybe you should wait. Maybe you should wait until your business is doing better. Maybe you should wait until the kids are older. Fine. Great. Lovely advice. But having someone who has been there, done that.

Lisa Avila (15:21.006)
and can look at it strategically and say, hey, this is what I see and here’s what I see your options being. And then you can take that and run with it. So if you’re interested in an impact reality check $97 just a yummy reality on Instagram or I will put the link in the show notes. And so while I love to inspire women with what I have done, the mistakes I have made,

how I am moving, it’s more than inspiration. I want to help move you. I want to help move you toward the impact and your soul’s purpose that I believe we are all here for. So please, just know, you don’t have to make big moves tomorrow. You just have to move. And I promise you, it feels so good when you’re helping others.and creating that big impact vision. I will see you next time on The Rich Nonprofit.