Need your help!

Appealing to the collective wisdom of all permies that happen to pass by ...

What does it mean to you to:

Inspire (others)

Educate

Empower

Write about one, write about all three. Write one thought, or a whole page. I am looking for inspiration myself:)

The best ones will get some apples and pie. And if you're close in NW Oregon, you might get a real one.

To inspire is to plant a seed.

I grew up watching grandiose speeches in war movies, having people brought on stage at school to try and teach me something, and now sitting at home watching politicians on their soap boxes trying to paint a picture of a bright future to convince me to vote for them. Inspiration however does not require such performance. Inspiration can come from plain observation where no words are spoken. Inspiration can be unintentional. Inspiration is a nugget that weasels its way into someone's brain to make them think "Hey, why didn't I think of that!".

I like to think that just by being my authentic self, that perhaps I can passively inspire others to pick up some of my good habits (hopefully not my bad ones!). I really do think the key is being authentic. This can be in a leadership role or just talking with one another. Not everyone is going to subscribe to your way of thinking but those that are open to it will start noting parts and pieces of what you do and perhaps adopt those ideas themselves.

Sorry if I'm a little rambely, I wanted to give you a jumping off point and haven't had all my coffee yet!

To me, this is what the Permies Forum is.

A place to "Inspire (others)"

A place to "Educate" yourself, at least that is what I found on Permies.

Empower is a little difficult so I asked Mr. Google.

I like the word "Enable" as it is not so overpowering.

The Permies Forum has enabled me to become a better person.

Liv,

Inspire= To stoke interest that becomes self feeding to the point where the learner eventually surpasses the master.

Educate=To learn as much as possible (this definition is HIGHLY variable so I made it as simple as possible), preferably this becomes a self-motivating process.

Empower=To make one realize one's own potential and then stoke the interest to ACT on that potential.




Does any of this help?


Eric

As a former homeschool mom, these things were constantly on my mind. When my kids were inspired and enthusiastic, they were motivated and they learned. When they weren't, they didn't.  

I'm going to start with "educate." There's a homeschooling meme that says

"Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire"

Inspiring others is to light that fire. I think the teacher's or leader's own enthusiasm is key here. People want to do and be part of what others are excited about. Good teachers and leaders model what they want to see in others. Bossy people tend to be resisted.

Empowering to me means equipping. It results in the confidence to go out and try new things.

Education is the process between the two. It's not listing facts and figures, it's an introduction to the tools, skills, and resources available, and the practice of how to use them.

At least, that's what I've come up with.

Thank you guys!! I’ll rum ha ha, run with it ( also after I had my coffee😁).

To me,
Inspire: give someone an idea, ex: showing someone a permaculture project
Educate: give someone the knowledge to act on the inspiration, ex: showing them how the systems in the permaculture project work
Empower: show someone that their goal is attainable, ex: show them how the people behind the permaculture project got started and help them brainstorm some next steps