“I get by with a little help from my friends.” That’s the motto Cynthia Kersey, Chief Humanitarian Officer of Unstoppable Foundation, takes to heart. In this installment of Interviews with Influential Women, we discuss how the company you keep can get you dreaming and ignite a fire from within you to never stop short of reaching the stars.
Tell my readers a little bit about your life that has brought you to this point in life.
I became inspired to give back in 1999 really in a round about way—my first book had been out a year and a half, and my husband of 20 years and I separated. It was a very challenging time. I talked to my mentor, Millard Fuller (founder of Habitat for Humanity), about the challenges I was having. He responded…
“When you have a great pain in your life, you need a greater purpose.”
Having just returned from Nepal, he suggested I help build a house for a family in need. I thought about what he said and wondered how many houses would I need to build to offset this pain in my life? I had never built or raised money ever in my life. I considered building 5, 10, 20 or 50 houses. When I got to the number of 100 houses, it felt bigger than my pain. I decided to raise $200,000 dollars but didn’t know where to start since I had never raised money before.
Hoping to retrieve advice, I called my friend, Bob Proctor, who told me it was easy. All I had to do was ask 10 people to contribute $20,000 dollars and I’d have it. The problem was that I didn’t know anybody that had $20,000 dollars at that point. So I looked at him and with all the courage I could muster said…
“Would you contribute the first $20,000?”
He kind of took a step back because he’d never donated that kind of money before. And, of course, he said yes. I ended up raising the $200,000 dollars, took a team of 18 people to Nepal the next year and worked on the first 3 of the 100 homes that were subsequently built as a result of that experience.
Being in Nepal and connecting with the families we were working with was a major turning point for me—it shifted me at a DNA level. I thought I was doing something great for them and what I realized was how much this project was doing for me. It gave me a purpose that was bigger than my pain and inspired me to keep going.
As a result of that trip, I began integrating giving into every area of my business. I began to always have a project that I was raising money for–it inspired me to make more money because of what the money would make possible for someone else.
Who are your top 3 female role models?
I am very inspired by Melinda Gates. I love her commitment in the world with the Gates Foundation. She has inspired one of the richest men in the world to really use their collective creativity and resources to solve the greatest problems facing humanity.
Next on list would be Mother Theresa. I’m absolutely inspired by who she was and her commitment to make a difference in the lives of people who many consider unlovable and who lack support in their lives.
Lastly, Oprah! She has always used her voice to make a difference.
What challenges have you faced and overcome to get where you are?
When I wanted to write a book. I had never written anything more than a college term paper in my entire life. I had no reason to think I could write a book (much less a bestselling book).
When you’re an unknown author nobody takes you seriously. Agents rejected me. Publishers rejected me. I was even rejected by people that I wanted to interview for my book. Every single thing that I have ever done, including my first book, required an unstoppable mindset. To get the book finished and published and everything in between required me overcoming my own belief system of what I was and was not capable of.
Later, starting a foundation and having the courage to step into this full-time role required enormous courage. I used to think…
Who is going to pay me money so I can ask people to give money?”
It seemed impossible, yet, to this day, it is happening.
As I am pulled by a vision and purpose, I’m constantly challenged to get above my own paradigms about what’s possible. It’s the purpose that pulls me forward and beyond my little self to step into bigger and better things.
The gala that I do every year is another big challenge. Every year, I tell my team I’m never going to do another one. It’s just so much, and it’s so beyond what I feel like I know I can do—and yet, it’s always a success.
What are the 3 most important things you have done to create your success?
The most important thing is that I haven’t stopped. If you stay in action, things will happen. I’m still constantly moving forward.
I have also invested in myself. I’m on a lifelong journey of learning and expanding my own consciousness. My commitment to my own growth and myself is a big part of my being able to be successful.
Lastly and maybe the most important aspect to attribute my success is the quality of friends that I have and people in my life.
What are the top issues you see women face today, or the biggest opportunities available to women today?
The challenges and opportunities are one and the same. It’s always about expanding your own belief and paradigm about what’s possible and getting connected to other likeminded people or those who can inspire you to be more than who you are.
Bob Proctor and Millard Fuller were two role models for me of possibility thinking. I met them in the very beginning of writing my first book. I met Bob after my first book was written and Millard because I interviewed him for my book. They believed in me long before I believed in myself and that was a very important. It’s important to find people who see you and see what’s possible.
At some point, I actually started believing them and seeing what I was capable of. Having great mentors is critical.
Is there anything else you would like to share with my readers?
The next big pivotal event in my life was after my second book came out, “Unstoppable Women.”
In 2006, I was invited to a rural African women’s conference. I only knew one other person who was going, and the only thing I knew about the conference was we were going there to hear about the women in Africa. We were going to be sharing their stories. That’s the ONLY thing I knew. Yet, I felt compelled to say, “yes.”
It was just that inner knowing that I should do this, so I rearranged my schedule. I booked my flight, flew there and was just blown away. There were 400 women from rural Africa. They spent days getting there to share important issues with us and look for solutions. They wanted solutions to things like getting access to clean water. Most spent 6-8 hours a day fetching filthy contaminated water that could make their family sick, but they had no other options. They wanted to know how to treat their children when they get sick. And the number one question was “How do we get our kids an education?”—because without an education, nothing will change.
I was so taken by the fact that just by the virtue of where you’re born determines your ability to really dream and create a life that’s impactful and the ability to live beyond survival. Because that’s really where they are—focused every day on surviving. I was so inspired by them and I fell in love with a couple of them, promising I would do something. When I came home I did research and very quickly concluded that education is the key. Education is the primary thing that can create the biggest global impact.
On my next birthday, I was turning 50 and decided to use my birthday as a fundraiser. Bob Proctor, Mary Morrissey, Mark Victor Hansen and many other people were there and we raised $80,000 dollars, which funded two schools in Uganda. That birthday seven years ago began the next major trajectory of my life. I thought, “Wow. If I can do that in one night, what if I actually put my mind to this?” I ended up starting a foundation called, “The Unstoppable Foundation.”
Five years ago, I came back from one of my trips visiting our projects in Kenya, and I could not do my business anymore. I couldn’t write another e-mail copy. I couldn’t sell another coaching program. It just wasn’t in me. That’s when I decided that I would leave my business and do this full-time. I followed Mary Morrissey’s advice to just start calling at least 3 people a day and asking for help—and miracles happened. They wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t had the courage to step fully into my calling.
There is a quote I will paraphrase that goes…
“When you finally commit, when you make that decision to commit, unforeseen circumstances, people and events happen that are really conspiring to support you.”
Since then, I’ve really been living my purpose. My life is committed to ensuring every child gets access to an education and eradicate poverty around the world through education.
The model that we support is called, “Sponsor a Village,” and it’s based on the concept that if communities in developing countries have the tools and the resources, they are able to lift themselves out of poverty.
That’s what we do. Just building a school in a developing country isn’t enough. If you just build a school, in five years that school can be closed because children are spending their days fetching water that’s contaminated, and they’re sick. If you’re not handling their health issues, they’re not able to be in school to begin with. If you’re not giving them nutritious meals, they’re hungry. They can’t focus. If you don’t teach the parents how to generate an income, the parents are using the children as a way of making money. It has to be a holistic model in which the communities are very vested. It’s not a handout, it’s a hand-up and it a true partnership.
We create relationships with communities who are committed to uplifting themselves and their families out of poverty and keeping their children in school. We are now in 12 communities in Africa, and we’re educating over 7,000 children a day and impacting well over 25,000 community members.
People often say, “How do you do it?” Basically, I have the courage to show up and ask for support. I think I’m a gracious receiver of people’s suggestions and support. I’m growing every day. By no means, do I have this all figured out, but I just keep showing up and willing to get better, just to play a bigger game and the bigger game for me is to get more kids educated.
And thank you, Amy. I want to acknowledge you for the work that you’re doing and your desire to bring this kind of information to women and let them realize anything is possible. It’s important more and more women know that if somebody’s done it, they can do it too.
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Cynthia Kersey is the Chief Humanitarian Officer of the Unstoppable Foundation whose mission is to ensure that every child on the planet receives access to the life-long gift of education.
Cynthia is a leader in the transformational industry. She’s the bestselling author of two books, “Unstoppable” and “Unstoppable Women”, a collection of powerful stories and strategies from people who through perseverance and consistent action turned obstacles into personal triumph. These books have motivated countless readers with over 500,000 copies sold worldwide in 17 languages.
Cynthia is also an inspiring speaker, entrepreneur, national columnist and contributing editor to Success Magazine, and was a featured guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show when Oprah launched the Angel Network.
