Tiny Bubbles Presents: A Blog Series about EXTRAORDINARY Women
Click here for the Rise Sister Rise soundtrack of awesomeness.
2020 **Update** Erin has a new book you can pre-order here that she spoke about in this blog four years ago, the goal at that time was to get it published and change the way people view climate change. Pop open the bubbly because Mission Accomplished and then some!
It is so f-ing cool to see how someone set incredibly lofty goals and is now crushing them! Have I mentioned they made her book into a documentary now on Netflix? Read on to get inspired, learn about how awesome soil is and to find out how to turn your bartender into Bradley Cooper!
MEET: Erin McMorrow
January 2016 About a year ago I met Erin at a cool, “speakeasy” spot in Culver City to chat about her personal brand. This place felt like it belonged in NYC which makes sense given the fine gents who were moonlighting as bartenders (but will convince you they are actors) are in fact from the east coast. It was here that over the course of 6 hours…yes 6 hours; that is what happens when your mixologist looks (vaguely) like Bradley Cooper and crafts 2 wonderful cocktails with tequila (after which he actually turns into Bradley Cooper) you spend 6 hours on a barstool and have an epic night of branding, storytelling and sharing your intimate thoughts with yes, Bradley Cooper. I also learned a shit ton about SOIL and life from my friend Erin.
In the second installment of Rise Sister Rise, Erin McMorrow will inspire you to achieve, take action and SPEAK UP; she’ll make you think, and perhaps even move you to do something about what’s going on with our planet.
A little background on Erin: she has her PhD from USC in Policy, Planning, and Development. Soon after she graduated, she started volunteering with a group that she helped co-create, which is now the non-profit Kiss the Ground, and she learned about the relationship between soil health and climate change.
Her mission now: to change the way people view climate change specifically through SOIL. Erin recently finished her first book (she’s a total underachiever;), “Grounded: Healing our Connection to the Soil,” one of her goals she set while we met and drank loads of cocktails — it’s easy to make goals while drinking tequila, it’s quite another to follow through and execute as Erin has done.
While we were sipping on our cocktails created by the aforementioned Bradley Cooper, one of the things we chatted about was how to break down her intellect into thoughts the “normal” person can easily understand — She does just that in her book, which she describes very succinctly, “how healing life in the soil is the key to combating climate change, and how planting a garden is the most important thing an individual can do.” Hold please while I go get some cucumber seeds and proceed to change the world! No, seriously — it really is that simple.
WE can actually do something about climate change through SOIL. When I asked Erin why more people don’t know about this (soil) she laughed and said, “academics” are not good at “marketing” or to put it another way, they aren’t very good about spreading the word to regular folks like us.
If you are not familiar with this blog series it is based on a series of five questions that my mentee gave me when we first began working together. She was all of 18 years old at the time and had thes most profound, thought-provoking questions! I had to enlist the badassery arsenal of women I know to share their thoughts and answers, hence this blog. Erin’s answers below will astound and inspire you.
1. What did you wish you knew at age 18?
If I were talking to my 18 year-old self, I’d say: Be your word; it’s everything. All roads lead to self love. Give zero fucks. There’s nothing in the world to be afraid of. Don’t let other people’s fear scare you. Be unwavering. Using your voice will elevate the conversation. Trust yourself, trust yourself, trust yourself. You belong here, and your voice matters. Be the person you want to partner with. Abundance is a mindset of gratitude that leads to prosperity. Life moves quickly; live every second to its fullest. The point of life is to live. You are stronger, smarter, better, and more beautiful than you think. Speak up, speak up, speak up. All contentment, peace, joy, and love, ultimately come from within. You are perfect as you are, and have absolutely everything you need, already.
*Author’s note: ladies, can we please repeat this sentence to ourselves daily “You belong here, and your voice matters.”
2. How did you know this is what you wanted to do (your current job)?
There’s a Rumi quote: “Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.” It’s true. My path has been a combination of intuition and trial and error. I’ve always made choices according to that inner pull, no matter how many people questioned them (and me). It has been a rough road sometimes, but the key is keeping my self-worth separate from the opinions of anyone, including family and love interests (not always easy). Clarity about the specific things that I’m working on now (writing and healing work), have only emerged in the last couple of years. But I’ve known that I’ve been training for what I’m doing now for my whole life. And every choice I’ve made has come from that inner knowing.
All that said, a very specific clarity emerged when I got off the hamster wheel and went to Bali for five weeks of yoga teacher training in 2014. The choice to invest all of my time, money, and energy into myself for a few whole weeks, opened up this incredible portal of clarity. And I knew unequivocally from that moment that I’d be writing my book and doing healing work. Very little in life brings as much peace as clarity of purpose.
3. How can I be a more effective female?
Own it. Always. Whatever you’re doing, commit fully and own it. Live your fire. And seriously, fuck it; go for it. Stop apologizing. Also, fiery risk-taking and creative work go hand in hand with responsibility, humility, self-care, and balance. So be mindful of whether or not you’re well, and create and protect time for body, mind, spirit, and home. Oh yeah, and breathe.
4. If you could do it all again, what would you do differently?
I would have known my value and held healthier boundaries in a number of instances. Every time I morphed myself around what I imagined someone wanted, or felt I needed to shrink or hide my light to make someone else more comfortable, I did us both an injustice. Also, I would not have taken responsibility for other people’s emotions, nor expected others to take responsibility for mine. I’m still learning about all of these things, of course, and I really wouldn’t undo any of the experiences that I’ve had.
I also would love to have learned earlier about the Zen of letting go of all forms of clutter. The physical, mental, psychic, and emotional space that opens up when we’re not bogged down by old junk is profound. And I had absolutely no idea until relatively recently.
Oh, and I would have always insisted on a contract before doing any work.
5. Biggest failures?
I definitely don’t believe in the word failure. However trite it sounds, there are only lessons. Every moment is a new moment. Every work or personal breakup that I’ve ever had has felt like a miserable failure at the time. But every single one has been by far the best thing that could have happened to me, propelling me into all kinds of new and awesome directions.
*****************************************************************
Bonus Questions:
Best thing about your age?
Ah, 35 is so good. I finally feel like an adult, I’m comfortable in my skin, and I give less fucks with each passing day.
Biggest challenge in your career and how did you recover?
Completing my PhD without a plan for what was next. I bounced around a lot a tried things that didn’t work. I recovered by chucking it all to go do yoga in Bali, and spending several months focusing totally on myself, my well being, and what I really want.
And lastly….
The best thing you do for your SOUL?
Dancing! Also, yoga, eating, traveling, and journaling. Erin’s song of choice will make you wanna DaNcE! Listen HERE.
Thanks for reading y’all! Peace, love & Prosecco,
Marcella :)
You should probably pre-order your copy now! Click here.
If you would like to read how this blog came to be, click here.
