COSMOROCK

Explore Human-Curated Worlds

Videos, Podcasts, Articles, and Trusted Resources to Help Your Journey Towards Inspiration and Discovery

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Yin Yang of Growing Your Cause

Grow your cause by both incrementally improving the programs, funding, etc, while looking for the breakthrough.

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Reframing Problems

Solving the wrong problem can send you down a rabbit hole. Instead, consider reframing your challenge.

 

Symbols and Change

Symbols are everywhere, in street names, money and flags. How can they advance our cause?

 

what is joseph campbell's hero's journey?

The Hero's Journey

This  framework can help us understand our own challenges and opportunities of changing the world.
spread ideas new ideas how do they spread

Beautiful Trouble's Toolbox

“Harmonic Portal.” Curated tools, ideas, best practices for people creating a better world.

 

spread ideas new ideas how do they spread

How Do Ideas Spread?

What’s more powerful than expanding a practice that improves life?

 

Horst Rittel Melvin Webber wicked problems

Wicked Problems

Wicked problems aren’t easy to describe, have many causes, and are hard or impossible to “solve.” 

 

bold goal nonprofit bhag audacious goal

Bold Goals

The superpower of a bold goal is its ability to focus and align thoughts and actions over time. 

 

Appreciative Inquiry

A process of inquiry and dialogue, AI focuses on peoples’ and groups strengths, successes, and potential.

 

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Positive Deviance

In facing a social challenge, PD says look for any outliers who found a solution through a successful behavior.

 

spread ideas new ideas how do they spread

Design Thinking

Design thinking uses collaboration, experimenting, iteration, user-centricity, and empathy to solve challenges.
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Done is Better than Perfect

As you create projects and campaigns to improve the world, don’t shoot for perfect: go for the done.

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Americans Who Tell the Truth

“Harmonic Portal.” Robert Shetterly’s inspirational portraits of American truth-tellers, with stories.

Kaizen

Kaizen means good change—making small improvements to any kind of work that over time add up to create dramatic results.

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The Flywheel

This framework can help causes grow by creating a self-sustaining cycle of positive momentum.
native wildflowers

Why Native Plants?

Rewilding and planting natives is critical for survival of most species, including humans — for future generations.

 

The Mighty Message

Tell your stories, present your case, call us to action through all kinds of media. Your words can change the world!

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Mind Mapping

Creative tool for organizing thoughts, understanding, planning and writing. Works for individuals or groups.

facilitation tools, liberating structures

Liberating Structures

Liberating Structures are a set of facilitation techniques that help people work together more effectively and efficiently.

 

community asset mapping

Community Asset Mapping

A process to help communities discover their potentials by identifying resources, strengths, and capacities.

target audience for nonprofits, target marketing

How can Hospitals improve access?

“Harmonic Portal” at Stakeholder Health. 10 ways hospitals can inprove healthcare access.

nonprofit and cause change persistence

Tenacity

Fueled by determination and a refusal to give up, tenacity becomes the driving force behind meaningful change.

reframe social challenges, frame social problems

Framing for Change

Framing through language. Shape conversations, expose wrongs, inspire action. Words pave paths, establish legitimacy.

reframe social challenges, frame social problems

Social Marketing

Social marketing uses traditional marketing tools to promote beneficial ideas, good behaviors, and social causes.

bias toward action

Bias for Action

Prioritazing action over inaction. It’s being proactive and agile in responding to challenges or opportunities.

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Imagine a Better World

World changers need at least a rough sense of what the new world they want to create looks like. Can you picture it?

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Target Marketing

Target Marketing for Nonprofits: Identifying and reaching your niche audience for effective mission-driven impact.

repetition power, nonprofit repetition

Power of Repetition

Unlock the Power of Repetition: Master skills, conquer tasks, and build lasting habits  for individuals and groups.

asking for help for your cause or nonprofit

Community Tool Box

Harmonic Portal: Tools for building healthier societies.  Community assessment, planning, intervention, evaluation, and advocacy.

asking for help for your cause or nonprofit

Ask for Help

Learn effective ways to ask for help and drive change with practical strategies, videos, and valuable resources.

asking for help for your cause or nonprofit

Yaupon Tea

North America’s caffeinated tea. Thousands of years old is resurging again thanks to flavor, environment and local entrepeneurs.

nonprofit burnout

Nonprofit Burnout and Wellness

Explore ways world changers can deal with burnout & create wellness

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Yin & Yang of Growth

Grow your nonprofit or cause by doing two seemingly opposite things at once. First, incrementally improve the programs, funding, and so on, that already work well or at least have potential. At the same time, constantly look for those breakthrough ideas that can take your cause and impact to a new place.

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Balanced Wellness: Practical Solutions for Nonprofit Burnout

Balanced Wellness: Practical Solutions for Nonprofit Burnout

Go to the Nonprofit Burnout & Wellness Portal HERE! "Self-care is never a selfish act—it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others,” says Parker Palmer. Cosmorock.org offers a new portal on Nonprofit Burnout...

Yaupon Tea’s Latin-name Rabbit Hole

Yaupon Tea’s Latin-name Rabbit Hole

Go to Yaupon Tea Portal HERE! By Tom Peterson Not long ago I discovered several small yaupon hollies growing in my yard. The plant actually originated in the Ouachita Mountains (my Little Rock yard sits in their foothills) and made its way over the ages to the...

The marketing exchange: cookies for…

The marketing exchange: cookies for…

By Tom Peterson One day driving on a busy street in my neighborhood, I noticed a couple of kids in their yard holding up signs, flagging down cars. A few adults sat nearby in lawn chairs watching and laughing. I was about to keep going when I realized what was...

10 ways to be audacious

10 ways to be audacious

Most of us aren’t naturally bold. Fortunately, audacity is an attitude to be nurtured and a skill that can be learned. Audacity for its own sake is not the point. It’s not about being loud and wearing a large yellow hat to stand out in the crowd (although if you want...

More audacity needed to save democracy, the Earth!

More audacity needed to save democracy, the Earth!

ORDER the Book HERE Democracy at risk. Last chance to save the world. Enormous gap between the ultra-rich and billions of struggling people. Huge needs in every community. In Want to Change the World Tom Peterson celebrates the giant Movement that is taking...