Using the 17 SDGs to Find Your Why

The Humane Marketing Show. A podcast for a generation of marketers who care.

Today's conversation fits under the P of Passion

If you're a regular here, you know that I'm organizing the conversations around the 7Ps of the Humane Marketing Mandala. (If you're new here and don't know what I'm talking about you can download your 1page marketing plan with the Humane Marketing version of the 7 Ps of Marketing at humane.marketing/1page. It comes with 7 email prompts to really help you reflect on these different Ps).

In today's solo episode, I'll dive into the P of passion, and figuring out your WHY:

• The 17 Sustainable Development Goals and what they are
• Why they can help us figure out our WHY
• How to take those big global goals and apply them to our own personal, human level
• Why we're sometimes stuck on our journey to finding our why - and what to do in that case
• And so much more

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Marketing Like We're Human - Sarah's book

The Humane Marketing Circle

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Ep 157

[00:00:00] Hello, humane marketers. Welcome back to the Humane Marketing Podcast, the place to be for the generation of marketers that cares. This is a show where we talk about running your business in a way that feels good to you, is aligned with your values, and also resonates with today's conscious customers because it's humane, ethical, and non-pushy.

[00:00:23] I'm Sarah z Croce, your hippie turn business coach for quietly rebellious entrepreneurs and marketing impact by. Mama Bear of the Humane Marketing Circle and renegade author of marketing like we're human and selling like we're human. If after listening to the show for a while, you are ready to move on to the next level and start implementing and would welcome a community of like-minded, quietly rebellious entrepreneurs who discuss with transparency.

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[00:01:15] Sustainable way we share with transparency and vulnerability, what works for us and what doesn't work, so that you can figure out what works for you instead of keep throwing spaghetti on the wall and seeing what sticks. Find out more at humane.marketing/circle, and if you prefer one-on-one support from me.

[00:01:37] My humane business Coaching could be just what you need, whether it's for your marketing, sales, general, business building, or help. Idea like writing a book. I'd love to share my brain and my heart with you together with my almost 15 years business experience and help you grow a sustainable business that is joyful and sustainable.

[00:01:58] If you love this [00:02:00] podcast, wait until I show you my mama bear qualities as my one-on-one client can find out [e-mail] slash. And finally, if you are a Marketing Impact pioneer and would like to bring Humane Marketing to your organization, have a look at my offers and workshops on my [e-mail].

[00:02:27] Hello, my friends. Welcome back. Today I'm recording a solo episode, and today's conversation fits under the P of Passion. So the first P, if you're a regular here, you know that I'm organizing the conversations around the seven Ps of the Humane Marketing Mandala. And if you're new here and don't know what I'm talking about, you can download your one page marketing plan with the humane marketing version of the seven Ps of marketing.

[00:02:55] humane.marketing/one [00:03:00] page, the number one and the wordage. It comes with seven email prompts to really help you reflect on these different Ps for your business. So in today's solo episode, I'll dive into the P of passion, the first P and um, help you or. Hopefully plant some seeds to help you figure out your why.

[00:03:26] I'll be talking about the 17 sustainable development goals and what they are, why they can help us figure out our why. , how to take those big global goals and apply them to our own personal human level. Why we're sometimes stuck on our journey to finding out our why and what to do in that case. Okay.

[00:03:52] This is usually the part where I introduce my guest, but since it's just me today, I'll just introduce myself [00:04:00] again. I'm Sarah Z, as you know, the host of this podcast and founder of the Humane Marketing Revolution. I've grown up in this online marketing space, having founded my first LinkedIn consulting business in 2008.

[00:04:16] Running and marketing this business for over a decade. Experiencing the rough world out there inspired me to create a global movement that encourages people to bring more empathy and kindness to business and marketing. That is my why. I call myself a hippie turn business coach because I've grown up in a small commun.

[00:04:40] Here in Switzerland, which I talk about in my marketing, like we're human book. I also call myself the Mama Bear of our Humane Marketing Circle, our community of change makers and marketers who want to do marketing differently. and are part of this generation of marketers who [00:05:00] cares personality-wise, I'm a non-conformist and do business my way.

[00:05:06] Even if sometimes that's, it's hard because everybody else does it differently. And so I have to keep reminding myself, but no, that way doesn't feel good. I'll do it my way. I'm a card caring, introvert and proud. So that's something I knew about myself. Uh, For, yeah, years and years. Um, what I did discover, um, fairly recently, a few years ago, is that I'm also an H S P, so highly sensitive person.

[00:05:38] I'm a Capricorn, I'm a generator in the human design. I'm a type four in the Enneagram, and I'm an I N F J in the Meyers Bricks, uh, personality assessments. As I said, I'm like a mama bear. I am gentle but fierce. I do no harm, [00:06:00] but I take no shit either , so I really feel like this mama bear in front of the cave who's, you know, really protect, protecting her cubs.

[00:06:10] That's how I feel like with my clients and, and the humane marketing circle. I'm extremely loyal and all my one-on-one clients have become good friends. So well, that's my self introduction for today. So with that, let's jump right in and talk about this idea of using the 17 sustainable development goals for or to help us find our Y.

[00:06:37] So recently on a discovery call for the marketing like we're human program. A future participant asked me about the why. So the discovery of our why is part of the first module of that program and the P of passion. So she told me that she'd been on other programs where they just told her to, you know, figure [00:07:00] out your why.

[00:07:01] and she's like, well, yeah, obviously we all kind of know now that this is part of, you know, our business and, and our marketing. But she's like, well, I felt so lost. How, how do you go about this, Sarah? Like, are you gonna help us , you know, beyond just telling us, well, now go figure it out, because it's obviously easier said than done.

[00:07:25] And so that's when I mentioned that, uh, I use. Uh, among other things I used the 17 sustainable development goals to look at our why and, um, that's what I want to explain in this episode. . So let's start with the definition of the 17 sustainable development goals. So the 17 SDGs were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, [00:08:00] protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

[00:08:05] So these are big goals on, you know, government. Type of goals, uh, country level type of goals. But again, I'll show you in a bit how we can use them and apply them to our human level. So let me read you the 17 sustainable Development goals. First one is no poverty. The second one is zero hunger. Third is good health and wellbeing.

[00:08:30] Four is quality education, five is gender equality. Six is clean water and sanitation. seven is affordable and clean energy. Eight is decent work in economic growth. Nine is industry innovation and infrastructure. 10 is reduced inequalities. 11 is sustainable cities and communities. 12, responsible consumption and production.[00:09:00]

[00:09:00] 13, climate action. 14. Life below water, 15, life on land. 16, peace, justice, and strong institutions. And 17 partnerships for the goals. So these. The 17 sustainable, uh, development goals. You can also go actually over to, uh, the global goals.org/goals website and, uh, have a look at the more information about these 17 goals.

[00:09:33] And it comes with, um, kind of nice pictograms for each of the goals. So, As solo printers, coaches, healers, service professionals, these goals can obviously sound huge and overwhelming. And we might be thinking, well, how does this apply to me? What kind of difference can I make on my little one-on-one working with clients type [00:10:00] of business?

[00:10:01] But the idea is not to make one of these goals. Our goal. Instead, what I ask participants of the marketing like we're human program, is to look at these goals and think about which one or two most resonate with them or with their ideal clients. What's the one thing that's most important to them, or in this case to you, dear listener, is that gender equality?

[00:10:31] Is it good health and wellbeing? Is it to end poverty? , which one, of course, they're all important, but as change makers, we usually resonate more with one than others. For me, for example, it's decent work and economic growth. , so that's number eight. And the second one would be partnerships for the goals. So yeah, I noticed [00:11:00] that for myself, I want to make a difference and change the way we market so that we can use business as a lever for good.

[00:11:09] Of course, I also care about zero hunger. , but it's just not in my zone of genius. I have no experience in that field. Um, I care strongly, but it's not where I can personally make an impact given the, yeah, the background and experience that I have. and my ideal clients struggle with sharing their gifts and therefore can use my help so that we all generate more economic growth together.

[00:11:40] So that's why I feel strongly about the goal, decent work and economic growth. I feel like I, we, if we all had decent work that we love, the world would be a better place. business really can help to make a change for good. So something [00:12:00] that I want to promote. I also believe in a new perspective on work, which is focused on being more human and creating lives instead of just working and working and hustling and all of that.

[00:12:16] and knowing more about myself. So that's has more to do with the personal power. P I'm a Capricorn, and so work in its largest sense is my topic. That's what I'm here to do in this lifetime. Um, . I just notice as much as I want to go into other topics and they do help me, you know, kind of with this work life balance, um, connecting with nature, being more artistic.

[00:12:47] But what it comes down to for me is always kind of like related to the, yeah, the. , the making a living, right? [00:13:00] The, the, the money as well. The Capricorns are about work and so maybe why I am here at this moment of time, um, is also to help change this relationship to work. So I think that's why this, uh, number eight goal, decent work in economic growth, uh, speaks to me more than others.

[00:13:23] So I hope you see how I had to really extrapolate from their descriptions of the un description of the goal and make it mine, because frankly, I don't really care about economic growth. Like that is so foreign language for me. But what I do care about is the way. Make a life for ourselves. The way, um, you know, justice like that, the, that, that there is enough, uh, work and that there is enough income for everybody and that work doesn't have to be such a, [00:14:00] A rough experience for us that we can care more about our work and our business and, and that business again also becomes part of the change, that as entrepreneurs, we can participate in making the world a better place.

[00:14:18] So, . That's why it makes sense that my why is to bring more empathy and kindness to the business and marketing world. I hope, uh, my example kind of helps you understand how I look at these goals. They basically show us all the problems we have in our world right now. All the things that are broken and need fixing.

[00:14:42] to me that's one way to find our why, find something that's bigger than ourselves that we have experienced that didn't work for us, that frustrates us, and that we want to fix. Again, I'm taking my example, is like I've been in this online [00:15:00] marketing world, business world for, you know, over a decade and it just did not work for me because I felt like.

[00:15:08] You know, it's just business. Business is just business. It's not personal. That's what I always heard. And, and that just didn't no longer work for me. I'm like, no, this needs to be different. There needs to be a place for empathy and kindness in business and marketing. So that's the bigger thing. That's what, you know, keeps me going to create that change.

[00:15:29] That is my why. And so it's bigger than me. Um, Because I'm not just doing it for myself, I'm really doing it kind of like, well, that's the small change I want to make. Um, and I'm not saying that's an easy process. It really isn't. It wasn't easy for myself. I, again, something I talk about in the, in the book.

[00:15:55] Um, and it's not easy for the participants of my program [00:16:00] either. It, I call it the grown zone. Uh, you know, you're. Rumbling. Um, again, , the, the, the three parts of the marketing like we're human book is rumble, uh, rise and resonate. And so discovering who you are, discovering your why really is that rumbling and

[00:16:22] That's why it's also the grown zone where you're just like, Oh, this is so hard. Um, and especially it's super hard for participants who come out of a corporate experience because frankly, in corporate life, nobody ever asks you what your why is. You are just basically, if the company has a why, you're like, well, this is your why now.

[00:16:47] But oftentimes, companies, corporates don't have a why either. So you. You know, this is totally new. And so, yeah, it, it's not an easy process, but once you have it, [00:17:00] everything just makes sense. Everything you do is aligned with why you do it, and you keep showing up no matter how hard things are, because you kind of have this north star at your following because it comes from within as well, right?

[00:17:16] It's not this, it's not this exterior thing like, I think oftentimes clients, I think that having your why is just kind of this one liner that you have to have on your website. And so they're kind of searching for something external where actually it has to come from within and it ha you have to do that in their work so that it's unshakable.

[00:17:46] That's why. So, um, , they do always find their why, the participants of the, the program. It's, it's just sometimes it doesn't happen within the 10 weeks of the program. Um, and [00:18:00] you know, you sometimes you just have to plant the seeds, let it go, and then, uh, it will come when the time is ready. So, Um, I do also want to address that, uh, on occasion a person is completely stuck like I was on my journey, and, and that happens usually when the focus is too much on oneself, meaning that there's a lot of unalign that first needs to be fixed before we can go, you know, and, and fix things for others.

[00:18:33] It's kind of like this, uh, analogy that we always use with the mask, um, the oxygen mask in the plane. Um, so in other words, we can't pick a why or find our why if we are still broken ourselves. We need to fix ourselves first. So we need to let go of the Y for a bit and continue walking into the labyrinth and rumble [00:19:00] with our story.

[00:19:01] Um, again, that's the metaphor I use in the, in the marketing, like we're human book this metaphor of. rumbling while you walk into the labyrinth of your life. Coming to the center, standing in the middle of the labyrinth and rising in that middle, finding out how you are uniquely different, rising above, you know, the, the, the noise, and then walking back out as the new person that resonates with others.

[00:19:32] that means, you know, needing to let go of old stories, limiting beliefs, gain confidence in what you're offering, um, and, and believing that that has huge value. So you really need to become whole again. Once you're whole, that's when you can go out and look for that, why that's bigger than yourself. So, um, yeah, it's really this idea.[00:20:00]

[00:20:00] fixing ourselves first before trying to come up with a why that's bigger than ourselves. Um, that, that we, that feels co completely overwhelming because we are not whole yet. So, Maybe to, to wrap up again. Um, have a look at these 17 sustainable development goals, even if you are not yet on that journey to look at your why, but, um, it's just an interesting perspective to think about humanity and where we are now and all the big problems.

[00:20:38] I think obviously they're formulated in this, in the, you know, terms of, in terms of goals, but really what there are is, these are the big giant problems we have as humanity right now, and that's what we're all trying to fix. Uh, they are doing that on a government level, but everybody counts right now. And so we are doing an ad on the, on [00:21:00] the human level, on the, you know, this is what I care about and this is where I'm gonna make a difference.

[00:21:05] And if I'm not. An immediate or direct impact, then I'm helping my clients and they are also, uh, making an impact, right? So it's this ripple effect as well. So have a look at, uh, global goals.org/goals to find out more about each of the goals and hopefully, uh, it gives you an idea and you can pick one or two of those goals that really matter to.

[00:21:34] like I said, I'm taking participants of the marketing like we're human program through this process to find their why and then make their way through the rest of the seven piece of the humane marketing, uh, mandala. So the second one is personal power, and then people, product, pricing, promotion, and partnership.

[00:21:54] And it's a live program with a video course component. and the current cohort is [00:22:00] at the P of product right now. So that's where we're talking about their offering, their service pages on the website and, and all of that. And a new cohort will start in August. So you can have a. A look at the details already on humane.marketing/program, if this resonates and, uh, why not book a chat with me?

[00:22:23] I'm wanting to chat with all the participants first, just to see where you're at and if this is a good fit for you. So again, humane.marketing/program. And if you. Just somewhere else in your journey right now. Maybe you already have your why you, you know, all of this. If you're just looking for others who think like you and want to do marketing differently.

[00:22:49] then why not join us in the Humane Marketing Circle? Uh, again, it's our community where I'm the Mama Bear and, uh, everybody else is, is a leader in, [00:23:00] uh, in their chair. So you can find out more about [e-mail] For slash Circle, you find the show notes of this [e-mail] slash 1 58.

[00:23:14] And on this beautiful page, you'll also find a series of free offer. Such as my Saturday newsletter, the Humane Business Manifesto, and the free Gentle Confidence mini course, as well as my two books, marketing like we're Human and selling like we're human. Thank you so much for listening today and being a part of a generation of marketers who cares for yourself, your clients, and the planet.

[00:23:40] We are change makers before we are marketers. So now go be that change you want to see in the world. Speak.