FIRST THOUGHT: Start Small
We often praise people for having big dreams. After all, we all have ‘em. Maybe it’s getting published in The New Yorker; maybe it’s actually reading The New Yorker cover-to-cover. I’ve recently deep-dived into what it takes to make habits stick, to achieve those big dreams. What the experts say is that you’ve got to start small. I’m talking micro-level stuff. Start by reading one sentence of the magazine a day. Every habit includes that first initial, tiny step, so why not accomplish it first? If you can’t manage to get one sentence in a day, then your dream might be a little unrealistic. (Tough love, I know).
WOMEN IN NUMBERS: More than 2.5 Billion
Speaking of small stuff, let’s talk about the daily activities that we don’t even think about…like using the loo. Everyone does it, and you don’t realize how absolutely lovely it is to have adequate resources until you’re squatting over a festival port-a-potty in 100-degree heat. Having access to clean water and a toilet is basic stuff in 2019, right? Why then, do more than 2.5 billion people across the globe not have access to clean water and a toilet?
WOMEN TO WATCH: Megan Hayes & Kimberly Reilly, Co-founders of Everybody Water
Water is pretty essential to life, whether you’re a human woman or a feline named Joann. We need H2O to simply exist, and it’s something we expect everyone to have access to. But, most of us know that ain’t the case. Megan Hayes and Kimberly Reilly know that, and have done something about it.
Megan and Kimberly head Everybody Water, a startup that’s filling up stores and delivering cartons of water. Whether you stop in for one jug or subscribe to monthly deliveries, the water helps fund clean water projects. The fully recyclable cartons use renewable materials and are composed of paperboard, with the cap made from sugarcane.
Both Megan and Kimberly are based in Boston, and Kim built two companies before connecting with Megan to build Everybody Water. These co-founders are both mothers to daughters, and they say the project began with the desire to teach their girls to care about global needs. When Megan and Kim traveled around the world and saw that women and girls were failing to thrive because those girls had to travel just to get water for their family, they felt even more compelled to address the issue.
So, the co-founders collaborated with a nonprofit called Water 1st, which works to provide toilets, sinks and pumps to communities in need. Their first project is in Honduras. Megan shares that she grew up in Thailand and Egypt, so she has always had a different perspective on being a global citizen. As she developed her career, Megan became a guru of sorts, known for recruiting top talent for companies like Microsoft.
Part of Megan and Kimberly’s marketing includes video content that demonstrates how a simple idea—cartons of water—can make a big impact. One video shows two girls drinking a cup of water, smiles on their faces. Now that – that success with helping girls achieve what they need - that’s what drives Megan and Kimberly.
QUITE THE QUOTE
A girl who experienced more than we can imagine, Anne Frank, said:
"Everyone has inside of her a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be, how much you can love, what you can accomplish, and what your potential is."