• Lesson 11: Eric Dodds and Brains on Fire set my brain on fire

    Posted on October 5th, 2010 by and currently 4 commenting.

    This post comes from Julie Turner, a healthcare-focused copywriter at The Adams Group in Columbia, SC. If you have something to share, email me at robbin@brainsonfire.com, and we’ll make it happen!

    Lesson Eleven - Julie Turner

    Fortunately, the ignition was at just the right time: the day before I participated in a 24-hour creative marathon to benefit nonprofits.

    Eric Dodds was the speaker at our local Ad Club and shared some of that good Brains on Fire ju-ju. That the missing ingredient in a lot of today’s marketing is passion. The thing that incites people to care about something.

    So I left the meeting with my brain alight, determined my work would be more passionate. The next day at 8am, I walked into CreateAthon ready to do big things.

    At our team meeting, we learned what our organization wanted (or thought they needed). Girls on the Run, a non-profit prevention program, encourages preteen girls to develop self-respect and healthy lifestyles through running. They simply wanted to recruit more volunteers to support their growing program. It seemed easy enough. Runner moms were a no-brainer. Even moms who didn’t run would volunteer and support their daughters. There’s a slew of volunteers right there.

    But that didn’t seem like enough for something this special.

    We realized there was a massive, empowered and invested group that we could tap into. It wasn’t just moms supporting daughters; it was women supporting the next generation of women. Moms, aunts, daughters, friends, runners, non-runners. Every woman was once an impressionable, growing girl. Not clueless, simply unaware of the power inside. To accomplish things. To grow strong. To nourish ourselves as we nourish others.

    We delved into this insight, and worked through the night on it. When daylight came, we presented the recruitment poster they wanted. Then we pulled out extra boards and delivered something they were not expecting: an idea for a movement.

    WE ARE SHE.

    A simple insight that could inspire any and every kind of woman to hold up a girl, to see her fly. Three words we hope will fuel interest in and support for Girls on the Run groups across the country. They were speechless. Then everyone started excitedly talking at once about how much it spoke to them.

    I did some of the best work of my life that night because it was rooted in generating passion. And passion is that extra ingredient that can make something better. Passion is what sets a brain on fire and sets creativity free. Find some and you’ll do better work.

  • Melissa Ligon

    wow, Julie! I am so proud of you and your team. That is phenomenal work, congratulations!

  • t

    Thanks Julie – great post! It’s wonderful to get Fired.

  • http://www.twitter.com/mandiengram Mandi Engram

    What an awesome idea for an amazing organization. I heard their founder, Molly Barker, speak at TEDxCharlotte about a week ago and she has some powerful stories to tell. I also got to see the hot red cowboy boots. Talk about passion!

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