Stacey Clark designed a better life for herself and is on a mission to help other moms do it too.
“Everything about DYL resonates with me – and the workshop was the impetus I needed. Now I am on a mission to empower low-income mothers and to eradicate the holistic poverty plaguing them.”
Stacey Clark heard about Designing Your Life from a friend. Intrigued, she listened to Dave Evan’s NPR podcast to learn more. “It really grabbed my attention. I immediately researched everything I could about the DYL process. Even though I bought the book and did the Creative Live and Stanford Design School online courses, I was still having a hard time understanding the process and the idea of radical collaboration, so I made the investment to fly to California for the DYL for Women workshop. I just really needed to see DYL in action and vibe with other people.”
Stacey attended the workshop hoping to learn “design thinking” and she did. “The workshop unstuck me. It gave me the momentum and tools to get moving. The workshop leaders were incredible and a big part of my experience. Kathy is a high-touch, high-energy force, and Susan is such a reassuring powerhouse of confidence. Being around them was very inspiring.”
But she also got a whole lot more. “I got so much out of the wellness aspect of the workshop – all of the deep breathing, cleansing, and mindfulness. It opened me up to the idea that I should be pursuing a life and work that I find meaningful, and that I could pursue my plan to help low income mothers get out of holistic poverty in a bigger way .”
After the workshop, Stacey immediately put her “bigger” Odyssey Plan into action. She’s been developing an eLearning Lifestyle Design program aimed at empowering low-income single mothers. She has a website called Leap, Learn, Live! and is going after grants and fellowships, looking for volunteer facilitators, and exploring partnerships with companies that can help her create a supportive online community for low-income moms. She’s also looking into how a profit sharing, benefit corporation model, rather than a non-profit structure, might enable her business to empower more women.
“I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but building my Odyssey Plan really got me going. Each and every day I feel like I’m not only using design thinking, but experiencing designed living!”
