47. Behind the Scenes of Building an Inclusive Community

Mar 30

This is the conversation Erica + India had just two days before heading to California to speak at Alt Summit. They were selected as speakers among 1500 applicants. This is big…a game changer. They walk briefly down Memory Lane, but most of the conversation is about the next big thing for them…the Pause on the Play Community.

In building their businesses, both Erica + India have been part of various groups and networks — often as the lone Black woman. They know what it’s like to be the token person of color at the table. Always hungry for real relationships and rich community experiences with diverse people, they’re ready to do community right. So they’re building their own.

What you can expect from the Pause on the Play Community:

A group to support you being you
One-hour monthly Zoom sessions with Q&A at the end.
Weekly check-ins to make sure integration and implementation are happening (accountability)
An inclusive community with an abundance mentality
Everything that Erica + India wish that had had in a community years ago

Are you ready to listen in? Here’s what you’ll learn…

[0:05:09] How starting the Pause of the Play podcast led to speaking gigs
[0:10:30] How Erica + India’s environments have changed over the last 6 to 12 months
[0:11:36] About building relationships and community versus making transactions
[0:13:15] How Erica + India pushed for diversity…and decided to build their own inclusive community
[0:14:15] About the decision to create the Pause on the Play Community
[0:15:28] How the Pause on the Play Community will be different; letting the “how” unfold
[0:20:08] Why you can’t wait for things to be perfect
[0:21:22] How to be receptive to the resources around you
[0:23:01] About harnessing the energy that comes from doing scary things
[0:23:32] That there’s enough to go around. There’s no need to live in scarcity.
[0:27:48] The Pause on the Play Community includes accountability and a whole lot more.

“There is a goal. There are steps along the way, and you don’t have to do it alone. That’s exactly what Pause on the Play is for.” — Erica

QUOTES

“I can give zero fucks, and I can be mindful that people are listening. So making sure that the message I’m putting out is what I’d want to spread and do good in the world, so to speak. You can have both.” — India

"I think and feel very differently than I used, and it can be severely undersold how much those things change when you change your environment… It’s important for people to remember that if you want to do something different, you have to do something different.” — Erica

“When you change who you’re around, your perspective changes.” — India

“Getting into communities that didn’t have diversity taught us a lot about what it means to bring diversity to the table but also being in rooms that did… There’s just so much that comes from being around different people, both great takeaways and, honestly, negative takeaways for me, as well.” — India

“It makes perfect sense that community be something that we step into in a fuller way for ourselves. The reality is that any of the spaces we step in — and I don’t say this to be braggy but from a place of being very certain of myself and what we do together as well — we create community wherever we go.” — Erica

“The ‘how’ starts to present itself to you because you’ve made the commitment. … Give yourself permission to just claim it as yours, and the how will show up.” — India