IGNITE: Design Your Creative Purpose
An 8-week online group program that supports women in defining, testing, and ultimately sharing their creative ideas and gifts with the world while working full-time.
IGNITE is a unique leadership program for women that blends the deep inner work of looking at our resistance (fears, creativity scars, good girl conditioning, etc.) and the outer work of design and taking action in order to express our creative purpose. The outer work involves strategic, smart, and action-oriented prototyping that borrows the best from behavior design and design thinking. The inner work involves looking at our resistance as well as mind-body practices such as meditation, embodiment, and rituals that connect us with nature and our deeper capacity to manifest.
Read carefully: It is this blend of practical strategy and inner work that gets women results.
“I reached out before I was ready and got a literary agent.” ~ Cindy Chang
Curriculum
Stage 1: Shape
In this stage, we begin to define and shape your idea. We bring the ideas out of your head and onto paper. Even if you have a million ideas, we begin to prioritize the most aligned idea given your greater intention. We work with and manage our resistance by beginning outreach to others in order to more deeply understand the problem you hope to solve and the needs you hope to a fill with your unique creativity.
Outcomes:
Your Creative Purpose Project (CPP) 1-Pager and Moodboard
Your Protagonist Archetype, Problem Statement, and Journey Map
Stage 2: Refine
In this stage, you create three prototypes of your creative dream and test them with your protagonists (e.g., readers, listeners, members, clients, etc). We continue to work with your fears and resistance as you really begin to see what works and doesn’t. You’ll learn how to ask for help and feedback, as well as how to filter feedback appropriately to build a healthy layer of skin and refine your idea with integrity. Read carefully: by the end of this stage, you have run three prototypes of your creative dream–! You will have done way more than you have achieved in years.
Outcomes:
Your CPP Prototyping Plan, which includes a timeline, launch date, and three increasingly challenging prototypes that encapsulate your creative purpose.
Plans & Analyses for Prototypes 1 - 3
Stage 3: Express
In this final stage, you come out with your creative purpose in a way that really pushes up against your vulnerability edge. You take a leap from your prototypes and do a celebratory “demo” in front of your protagonists, experts, friends, colleagues, and/or family. This is when we really get to work through our resistance and fear, and realize we are capable of so much. These insights culminate into a 12-month Plan you can carry forward beyond IGNITE.
OutcomeS:
Prototype Synthesis
Final Demo Experience Plan & Script
Blog Post Summary
12-month Creative Purpose Plan
“I am now creating the event I had dreamt up for years.” ~ Randi Eichenbaum, VP of Product at Tradesy
The 8-week journey
Prep Week: Setting Up for Success
Week 1: Define Your Creative Dream
Week 2: Define The Need
Week 3: Design Prototyping Plan
Week 4: Run Prototype 1
Week 5: Run Prototype 2
Week 6: Run Prototype 3
Week 7: Prototype Synthesis
Week 8: Celebratory Demo
“IGNITE is the best program I've ever taken. And I’ve taken a lot of online programs.” ~ Meg Niman, Design Strategist and Leadership Consultant
Features
A weekly group coaching call
8 weeks
A curriculum & training with weekly assignments
Communication and mentorship between sessions (e.g., Slack)
Interested? Apply Now
The next IGNITE program will be opening up in January of 2021.
If you’re interested, please fill out this brief application and if we’re a good fit, I will reach out to you once enrollment opens.
FAQ
Who is IGNITE for? Is IGNITE for me?
IGNITE is designed for: A female, creative professional; a leader such as a manager, lead, director, or executive; a woman between the ages of 25 - 60; a woman who wants to make a difference; a woman who longs to creatively express; and/or a woman dreams of becoming her own boss one day.
IGNITE is not designed for: a college or graduate student; a job-seeker who is currently unemployed (stay-at-home moms are welcome though!); someone who thinks spirituality is too “woo woo;” and/or someone who isn’t willing to put in the work.
What if I want to start a business?
I wish I had this when I was starting out! IGNITE will teach you a human-centered design method for testing your offerings and services with the support of my mentorship and an incredible community of other badass women. It’s a safe space for you to experiment and test early ideas of your product and service. IGNITE will help you better understand the first phase of business – desirability – do people want what you’re creating and how do they want it? IGNITE is the perfect precursor and preparation for more formal business training (in which you look at whether your product/service is financially feasible/viable). I have some wonderful business programs I partner with that I can refer you to after IGNITE.
What if I already have a business?
Entrepreneurs and coaches are welcome! IGNITE can help you in two very distinct ways depending on how you want to use the program: (1) you have a new offering, service, or product you’d like to prototype with support instead of doing it alone and (2) your business is stable and now you’re ready to start giving your pure artistry and creativity some air-time – that dream that can enhance your brand/voice, but doesn’t make you money. I’m talking about that book, that album, that exhibition of abstract paintings, that jewelry, etc. The juice of life! The expression of you!
What if I have no idea what my creative dream is or I have multiple ideas/directions I could go in?
That’s OK! Because we gain clarity from making and not waiting. In other words, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have a crystal clear direction in mind. What matters is your willingness to take action and learn, in order to illuminate, shape, and refine your creative dream in real-time. It starts with action. All creative dreams are fuzzy in the beginning. And most of them change in the process of making them a reality anyway, so there is no point in being precious about them. Plus I guarantee that even though you don't know the exact picture, you have been getting some whispers from your intuition about what this is about – some key areas and domains, and we'll use those as our pillars.
I’m terrified to commit to my dreams. Can they really happen sooner than I think?
They absolutely can! The mind loves to delay and convince you you’re “not ready yet,” but it’s a mental trap that is at the core of your resistance. It’s normal to feel afraid. So many women feel simultaneously excited and terrified when they say YES to IGNITE. This excited-terrified feeling is a good sign you’re on the right track. It means you are one step closer to expressing your creative potential. This feeling is more akin to “awe” and it’s a way that our intuition speaks to us from the depth of our psyches. But so many of us avoid this feeling which is why we continue to be in our golden handcuffs and stay in our comfort zones. The beauty of the proven, design-centered method you’ll learn in IGNITE is that you can make your dreams a reality in a fraction of the time than you think as you learn to let go of the impossibly high standards and perfection that is stalling you. As one IGNITEr Kat McKim shared, “I’ve made more progress in this one week than an entire year struggling with this on my own.”
I’m exhausted and burnt out from my 9-5, can I really take this on?
This is something only you can answer. If it’s important for you to take a rest and sabbatical, please do so. IGNITE is a sort of design sprint specifically designed for you to go from a passive/stagnant/avoidant state to an active/activated state/present state, and it requires energy in the form of serious focus and attention. It’s not for everyone. Having said that, I can work with you to put the work/personal boundaries in place so you can shift your energy towards your creative dreams and bring them into physical form.
I have so many competing priorities – between work, family, and other goals. When will I find time for this?
It’s important that designing your creative purpose becomes your #1 priority which means putting the appropriate work boundaries in place so that you can free up your evenings and weekends, and also setting expectations with friends and family that you are embarking on this journey to commit to yourself and your creative dream. This is part of you owning your sovereignty and voice and it’s an empowering, exciting step in the process towards transformation.
What is the time commitment?
4-5 hours a week.
Do you offer scholarships?
Yes! IGNITE offers scholarships to BIPOC. Please specify your identity in the application.
How large is a class of IGNITE?
IGNITE is meant to be high-touch and intimate. While you will have access to this incredible, larger network of badass women, and community– during the actual program itself, you will be in a pod of 8 women with your own IGNITE facilitator.
When does the next IGNITE start?
The next IGNITE begins the week of January 25th, 2021. You will be given prep work and access to community upon registration for the program. Registration is open now.
How do you keep the group accountable?
I’m a strict mama bird when it comes to IGNITE because I want you to get results. If you don’t do the work or show up, you get a warning. If you don’t a second time, you’re asked to leave the program. This strictness may be off-putting, but I’ve actually found it’s what women are craving – a kind of external accountability that will hold them when their motivation and willpower wavers. IT WORKS. This simple guideline, coupled with the time and financial investment, WILL HAVE YOU SHOWING UP TO YOUR CREATIVE DREAMS.
Case Studies
I gave myself permission to invest in making something and realizing a vision I wanted to see in the world.
I had many doubts before enrolling in IGNITE. Mainly, “Should I be spending this much?” I never spent that much on personal development before. My company had always paid for coaching! I also wondered, “Is this where I should focus my time and energy for the next couple months?” It’s not related to climbing my career ladder and I had always done things to gain that credential. But I felt a calling to help people find connection and romance. The idea wouldn’t leave me alone, and I knew deep down, it was something that needed expression, so I said yes even though I was in the middle of job-interviewing. All I can say is that IGNITE was worth the investment. I was worth the investment. I gave myself permission to invest in making something, not for the sake of putting it on my LinkedIn, or having it be a tech career accolade, but for the sake of realizing a vision I wanted to see in the world. Through IGNITE, I ran three successful prototypes, culminating in a final experience that reflected my authentic vision (one person even said it was the best experience they had ever attended in NYC!). I ignited a service I am continuing, and am even partnering with a dating app to bring it to the next level. I gained courage around my voice, and built a habit of talking about my idea in public. And bonus I didn’t expect: IGNITE helped me become a more creatively confident leader at my full-time job too. I am better at processing feedback, and am taking more risks because I just know I’ll figure it out. I know it can feel scary to take the plunge (trust me, I’ve been there–!), but I have absolutely no regrets.
Mindy Zhang, Director of Product Management at Oscar, theslowdate.com
It’s the best investment I’ve made in myself in years.
I'm so thankful that I was able to quiet my inner critic long enough to make the decision to join IGNITE. It's the best investment I've made in myself in years. Before IGNITE, I literally hadn't written a single thing in over five years. Every time I sat down to write, my inner critic would go off, and I would immediately distract myself with something else. By doing work in IGNITE around my resistance, I was able to quiet that inner critic significantly, and I achieved something in a handful of weeks that I hadn't been able to do in five years: I published the first issue of a monthly newsletter that included two short stories and two short essays, and I sent it to 40 subscribers. I held a Zoom discussion group about that newsletter that 12 people attended. In the last month, I've gained five new subscribers. IGNITE also showed me how to let go of perfectionism and take action.
The program created the perfect environment for me to break through years of conditioning and resistance. It was a pressure cooker experience which forced me to push at my vulnerability edge, take action and come out of creative hiding. But the thing that most made it work for me was the supportive community of women who cheered each other on every step of the way. It was OK that I sometimes felt nervous or stressed, because I knew there was a community of women who had my back and whose kindness and talent and intelligence would spur me on my creative journey.
Kat McKim
I reached out before I was ready and got a literary agent.
I joined IGNITE because I had a flicker of an idea to write and illustrate a graphic novel memoir for kids. But I found that working a full-time job while trying to fulfill your creative purpose is ridiculously challenging. I tried to make time for the novel on my own, but work always won out at the end of the day. Then I heard about IGNITE, but to be honest, I had never done an online group coaching program so the investment felt like a real stretch. Putting that deposit down and saying yes to myself was the first step in truly committing to this little dream (no more excuses!). Thanks to IGNITE, I reached out to literary agents for feedback before I felt anywhere close to "ready," and actually landed an agent I’m so excited about! And trust me, I felt BIG time resistance before sending out those outreach emails. Who am I to bother these awesome people, what should even I ask them, will this seem offbase and tactless? The program provided the coaching and accountability to take that crucial step I wouldn’t have done on my own. It also provided me with a deeper understanding of my own resistance, fears, and how some of my good girl conditioning was holding me back from sharing my truth and story. As part of my final prototype, I ended up sharing drafts of my work with friends and family and coming out to them about family secrets I had never shared. It took a lot of bravery and I wouldn’t have done it without the support and encouragement of other women in IGNITE. I feel proud and happy to have pushed myself to play at that edge because I've now seen that work pay off. If you want to learn ways to overcome resistance and have real accountability around your creative purpose, take IGNITE.
Cindy Chang, digital product designer and author-illustrator
IGNITE is truly one of the best decisions I've made in my life.
I felt little nervous joining because I was taking a big leap and investing in myself, more than I ever had before. In the beginning, it's always a bit scary and a leap of faith. But I have no doubt in my heart and mind that making the decision to do IGNITE is truly one of the best decisions I've made in my life. I honored myself by deciding to invest in my creative dreams. And I’m so proud of what I was able to achieve in just a few weeks with the structure and accountability it provided. Before the program, I had a vague little seed of an idea in my mind. By the time IGNITE ended, I had defined this idea into a clear vision, engaged other women around this idea, and created a proof of concept that solidified this idea and has given me the foundation to take this to the next level.
I one-hundred-percent recommend IGNITE!! It provides so many things... accountability, structure, discipline, action, sisterhood... these things are all so vitally important in the journey to achieving creative dreams. It isn’t just about taking creative action, it’s about taking heart action.
I'm walking away from IGNITE not only with a fresh fire within me to keep pushing toward my dream, but also with a beautiful new community of women who are hungry for the same things.
Heather Baker, creative entrepreneur, coach, and podcaster
This is the best program I've ever taken. And I’ve taken a lot of online programs.
Listen, I've taken multiple online courses, but none have come close to the level of engagement, support, learning, and personal growth I experienced in IGNITE. When I started, I wasn't even sure what my creative idea really was or whether I was ready to fully dive into a new project. It all felt somewhat overwhelming and big. Majo encouraged me to jump in anyway. The promise of a structured program, combined with the accountability of the group, seemed different from any previous coaching I had done. I believed I could get more results with that level of support and attention. And I was right! I led multiple workshops which were a huge success and garnered praise from my client, all while spending less time preparing and stressing less than I normally would. By taking action, and observing my emotions and resistance around that action, I was able to articulate clearly where I get hung up. I learned how to move through those hang ups so I actually put my ideas and creativity out into the world. My creative confidence seriously grew in leaps and bounds. Majo does a superb job of creating a container for women to play and grow. The growth we all achieved was astounding.
Meg Niman, Design Strategy and Leadership Consultant
I launched a 12-month women's leadership series and had my first event as part of the program with 19 women from around the world attending!
Look, I had major hesitations coming in – namely, the financial investment, the time commitment, and a lack of clarity of what I really wanted to focus on. Being a mother and working full-time had me concerned about my ability to be present for my family, meet the demands of my job and actually have time to create something from my creative purpose. But Majo’s coaching helped me look at the resistance that was coming up, and I knew the program’s mentorship and accountability would push me to turn my passion into something greater. And it did! I launched a 12-month women's leadership series and had my first event as part of the program with 19 women from around the world attending! I've since had women subscribe as members to my program for the next event and have had a ton of great feedback! If you’re willing to commit and are open to challenging your own assumptions, shifting paradigms and ultimately birthing your creative dreams into something tangible, then you should answer the call of that inner voice. Majo is ready to spark something amazing! And IGNITE is exactly what will light the spark. I am so grateful for the experience with Majo, for the amazingly creative women I now call friends and for the journey of creative design!
Daniella Rubeling, founder of ladygang: women in parks and conservation leadership
I am now creating the event I had dreamt up for years.
I was initially hesitant about committing to IGNITE because of the time commitment. As a product leader at a tech startup, there were already not enough hours in the day, but the longing to launch a women’s leadership event was building inside of me, and I thought if not now, when? I had worked with Majo one-on-one in her coaching practice, and trusted her as I was embarking on this process, but could not have ever imagined the level of excellence in which she executed this program. The flow, curriculum, and rhythm were perfect, and she managed to fulfill a role of both empowering leader to push us to our edge, while maintaining warmth, kindness, and well, fun. I’m forever grateful for this experience and know it’s just the beginning of a journey.I am now creating the event I had dreamt up for years with female leaders from around the country coming to attend. It’s a really cool and exciting feeling!
Randi Eichenbaum, VP of Product Management at Tradesy
I went from zero to coaching 4 women and launched my new event series.
I was initially worried if I had enough time and energy to put toward this program. It's intense, and designed that way for a reason! As someone who works around the clock, I couldn’t imagine dedicating a few hours a week to something outside of my full-time job. But then I realized I needed to prioritize it. What could be more important than your creative purpose? In fact, I ended up asking my company to sponsor me to take IGNITE as a way to jumpstart my creative juices and hit "reset" since I had been feeling overwhelmed and burned out.
And thanks to IGNITE, I stirred up those creative juices and went from zero to coaching 4 women and launching a new event series. If I hadn’t said yes to this opportunity, I would still just be talking about and daydreaming of my idea instead of making it happen.
IGNITE works because it strikes the perfect balance between holding space and pushing you to live on your creative edge. Majo provides a much-needed environment for women to share, grow, learn and be seen. Whether you're starting a new business, designing a product, making art, hosting an event or working on a new creative purpose project, IGNITE will give you a community of support and the accountability to turn your creative dream into reality.
Breean Elyse Miller, Founder & Identity Resonance Healer, http://museandmethod.com
IGNITE has the right balance of inner and outer work, I finally began writing again and shared my writing publicly!
Before enrolling, I was unsure about whether I would gel with the other women in the program. But oh my, the sense of positive community and accountability was so, so helpful. I majorly expanded my boundaries, felt constantly challenged, and moved through my inner resistance to doing the uncomfortable work. Because IGNITE has the right balance of inner and outer work, I finally began writing again and shared my writing publicly! This was a HUGE achievement for me, as I'd been very, very creatively blocked for a very long time. But most importantly, I feel like I learned lifelong inner tools that I can apply to any independent creative endeavor in my life moving forward. Don’t hesitate.
Brie Taylor, Writer and Environmental Artist
IGNITE’s structure, safe space, and skill-building, I ignited my consulting business and helped 4 clients navigate change within their businesses.
My biggest hesitation was definitely financial. My thinking was, “Am I allowed to spend that money on myself and my personal and professional growth?” I was also starting a new job so I wasn’t sure how that would go. Ultimately, I listened to my inner voice. Deep down, I knew I'd hugely regret not doing IGNITE. Through IGNITE’s structure, safe space, and skill-building, I ignited my consulting business and helped 4 clients navigate change within their businesses. I feel way more brave now. I'm ready to confidently pursue my passions and take on any new challenges. I also feel so much more emotionally equipped to deal with the ambiguity and uncertainty of the process. I've embraced action over the mental chatter of “I can’t,” “I don't know,” and “not yet.” I’d recommend IGNITE for any woman who wants to push the boundaries of what they thought was possible for them. This is about taking action to become who we want to be.
Dorota Biniecka, Design and Innovation Consultant, SkilLful Change
My creative confidence grew a hundred fold.
I highly recommend this program to anyone who wants that extra push and support as they press the "launch" button on their dreams. Majo will guide you to communicate and listen to your true self and provide tools to identify your creative dreams. You will find yourself surrounded by the strongest, kindest group of female leaders, and they will become your support system and accountability partners even after the program has ended. My creative confidence grew a hundred fold. Speaking my truth and pushing my edge consistently with Majo and my IGNITE colleagues opened the floodgates of creativity and burned a lot of my inner resistance to the ground. On top of taking the first, concrete steps to designing my eco-retreat, I am now painting, writing poems, and expressing myself freely.