Marjory Wildcraft is the founder of The Grow Network, an online community of 450,000 people who are stopping the destruction of the Earth via home grown food. National Geographic featured Marjory as an expert in off-grid living, she hosted Mother Earth News Online Homesteading Summit, and she is listed in Who’s Who in America for having inspired hundreds of thousands of backyard gardens. She is the focus of Reuters award winning article on Food Sustainability.
Where did the idea for The Grow Network come from?
I could see the potential for economic collapse and how the food supply could be in big trouble
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
Get up in the morning and meditate, then I exercise, then I write or do focus time (1-3 hrs), then I switch my phone out of airplane mode, then I handle emails and daily business….I try to get an hour to half hour of exercise every day. I grow my own food.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Create objectives with SMART measurability. I wrap that with rhythms and cycles for follow up and implementation.
What’s one trend that excites you?
The numbers of people that are starting to grow their own food
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
I meditate.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Relax and keep dreaming.
Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
You cannot have a resilient local food supply without an army of backyard food producers
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
I take responsibility for everything around me and try not to complain.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
Following my heart.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
Only one? I’ve had hundreds of thousands of failures. I treat all failures as guidance from the universe that I shouldn’t go that way.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Organize a local community co-op. Food is cheap right now and is about to become extremely valuable. You’ll be in a position of community influence and power.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
Extremely High quality local puerto rican chocolate. I write so much better when I load up on chocolate – it helps me to focus and be happy on this big writing project (my book: The Grow System)
What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?
Highrise – managing my database of relationships is the most important thing that I do everyday. Being able to track conversations that go back for ten years is extremely useful.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
The one book I recommend right now is called I Am The Source Experiment. by realityhacker.co all about how to manifest your reality. It’s a series of experiments that’s helps you drop the illusions of limitation and access states of being you never knew were possible.
What is your favorite quote?
Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Key Learnings:
- Always follow your heart
- Grow your own food for nutrition and stress relief is vital
- Meditation and downtime is super important
Carlyn runs the day-to-day publishing operation here at ideamensch and interacts with our awesome customers and entrepreneurs. She is likely editing this with a cat on her lap.