Q&A with Angela Maiers, Founder of Choose2Matter

What is your mission and your goal?

My mission has always been to bring the world hope by helping every individual embrace their value and potential contribution. It’s been the foundation of all my work, finding and unleashing the inner genius of countless kids, teachers, parents, employees, and communities. And what launched my organization, Choose2Matter.

Why are those your goals and how do you go about achieving them?

Too many of us have been raised to work hard and hope for the chance at being picked for something (promoted, recognized, rewarded, praised, hired...) for then we would know we had arrived. That is completely backwards from our true value, which is we were all born to matter and it’s us, as individuals, that need to acknowledge ourselves and accept that we have purpose in this world.

We were born to make an impact, and when we get back to the root of who we are and embrace what we are truly capable of; there are no limits to what can be done.

Sometimes, all it takes is a simple reminder. Which is why I have been evangelizing two simple words throughout my career…#YouMatter. Those two words can change a mood, a mind and the world.

I launched Choose2Matter to continue the mission of helping people around the world recognize their genius and create their own communities to address things that matter to them. I do this through providing tools and training for schools, employers, institutions, anyone who wants to improve collaboration, teamwork, and individual self-worth.

How can we deliver “big wins?”

We have changed the very nature of our dreams. Big wins start with big hairy audacious goals; so ridiculous and terrifying that most will say they can never be achieved. Genius needs a reason to show up; and we need a reason everyday to move out of our comfort zone.

We deliver big wins when we seek to answer big questions like this?

• What change are you trying to make?
• Who do you want to become?
• Who do you want your community to become?
• What scares you most?
• Why this?
• Why me?
• Why us?
• How do we choose to matter?

To date, we’ve had over 1MM children sign the #YouMatter Manifesto (insert photo) along side of teachers, parents and employees. Those kids are showing us adults what exactly can be accomplished when you put your heart and minds to task. We are in 78,000 classrooms now in over 100 countries and changing the education system one step at a time.

With adults, we are focused on providing the tools and support to help them be better parents, educators, community members, and employees because we start with them as the individual. We tap into their inner genius and remind them that they can make a difference in the world.

How do “we” start?

We start with embracing, embodying, and relentlessly living this single sentence: You are a genius and the world NEEDS your contribution.

I do not say this to inspire, to motivate or to make you feel good about yourself. I say this to remind you that you cannot learn, lead, see or serve the world from a place of unworthiness. Every great leader out there knows that leadership development is self-development.

“Leadership Development is self-development. The instrument of leadership is the self, and mastery of the art of leadership comes from mastery of the self.” - Barry Posner and Jim Kouzes, "The Leadership Challenge"

You must enter the world believing that you matter, that who you are and what you have is needed by someone else in the world and that you have a moral obligation to share your full self with the world with no expectation of reciprocity.

You matter. Believe that. Live that. Embrace that. Spread that. Everything in the world changes because you changed how you see yourself and your place in that world.

Who do “we” serve?

We serve people. Period. We may do that in new and different ways. We may do that through jaw dropping technology with cutting edge products, but at the end of the day we are all in the people business.

What human beings need beyond food, water, shelter and air can be summed up in two words:  TO MATTER.  

We just launched a new tool to help spread that message.  I shared the video above, but the site is simply mattergram.com  Here we allow every person to send a MATTERGRAM to someone they love, respect, admire, cherish or simply appreciate.  We believe in this approach so strongly because of the years that we’ve been distributing or facilitating MATTERGRAMs on behalf of children, parents, teachers and employees.  

In fact, our community loves sharing the #YouMatter message so much, they are constantly reinventing delivery mechanisms, like the picture below - a #YouMatter cart for employees. Here is an article that goes deeper into this particular story: Every Workplace Needs a #YouMatter Cart

How do you choose to matter?

We exist to make an impact. The depth and level of that impact will be determined by what we choose; hence we encourage everyone to Choose2Matter

Mattering is not an event, a campaign, a program or product; mattering is a choice.

A choice…

• To Trust
• To See
• To Connect
• To Add Value
• To Pick Ourselves
• To Go First
• To Risk
• To Fail
• To Be Human

We move change forward through these immutable habits and tenants of our humanity.

It is easy to have a narrative in our head that we don’t matter; that we need to wait; that we need to be careful, cautious and safe. It is easy to stay within the range, to let others people define our agenda and live into that.

When we choose to matter, we make a bigger difference in the world. We make change happen by being human, being connected, and being fully ourselves.

We are here to make change happen.

We are here to matter.

Let’s do this!

Angela Maiers

THE #YouMatter Manifesto