
Have you ever been told that what you wanted to accomplish is impossible? Well today’s guest on the show was told her idea was impossible by countless numbers. At the age of 23, Molly Ola Pinney wanted to start a global non-profit that served the autistic children of the world. Yes, this is a big undertaking that had many challenges yet Molly would not accept that it was impossible. She kept focused on a vision that would empower a generation to understand and accept autism. I truly believe this is a story of the seemingly impossible to a journey that will inspire many to think big.
In this episode we’ll cover:
- How Molly used others’ doubts as jet fuel
- The importance of TRUSTING your vision
- Why you should take inventory of your successes
- Why it’s not the Vision that needs to change but the vehicle
- The significance of the 80/20 rule
- Why you should start from a place of success
Target Audience: Includes children in countries outside the U.S suffering from Autism.
Molly is the founder and CEO of the Global Autism Project. It is an organization that trains people to work with Autism children and their families internationally (outside the U.S). The Global Autism Project currently has partnerships in 7 countries and is rapidly expanding.
Molly shares this project started it because she “didn’t know any better.” She was only 23 but had faith and trust in the VISION and simply started telling everyone she knew about it. At the age of 23, Molly was intending to live in Ghana for a short period of time but ultimately stayed for 2 years. She took passionate interest in serving autistic children but when she went online to seek training services to educate herself, she found nothing. This motivated her to start a not- for- profit training program for those seeking to be trained in working with autism. Many people told her this was an impossible mission, but it didn’t stop her.
Molly felt this sense of urgency and fire within to create this. On her desktop, she had a quote: “Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those doing it” ~ Chinese Proverb. The undertaking had and still presents it’s challenges but nevertheless, the original Vision has remained the same. The vehicle however, has changed. Molly has learned it was crucial to celebrate wins by reflecting on the past year and takes inventory of 100 accomplishments. She also uses the 80/20 rule. She identifies what is the 20% that is bringing in the 80% and then maximizes that over and over. The 80/20 rule also helps to organize future action plans.
Molly’s underlying motivation was the pain she felt for these children and their families. She felt more driven to work in other countries in particular because she could see that people really don’t understand autism. One common belief is that the children are “possessed.” Thus, the organization is focused on sharing knowledge and empowering local people to provide the services. This means The Global Autism Project builds businesses in these countries and provides a major impact for the people.
Practical and Actionable:
Write down 100 successes of the past year. Start from that place- your WINS. While 100 may seem like a lot, Molly encourages to keep going.