Cool Chick Manifesto
Thank you for being here and thank you for reading this!
A few months ago I was looking in the dictionary for the definition of the word manifest. I use it a lot in speech, “manifest your heart’s desire” or “what will you manifest today?” I never really understood the word though. Used as a verb it means “to make evident or certain by showing or displaying.” And deriving from that is the word “manifesto” which is simply "a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer.”
So, that is what I am doing here with the Cool Chicks Manifesto - I am showing what already exists in my heart and in the hearts of other women and issue a written statement."
First and foremost, the Cool Chick Café is a place where women have a place devoted to being & connecting, as opposed to doing & achieving. Not that doing and achieving aren't essential; but too often women don’t have enough outlets to just BE – to have fun and experience and share and connect and explore our feelings and our heart-felt desires. To be “our little-girl-selves” in the words of one of our joyful members, Sev.
Note: There is a section in the Cool Chick Café for recommendations, but we focus on being and connecting (not connecting in the business networking way of “what can do for each other?” but connecting from the heart with compassion, honesty, and vulnerability .. more of a “however I help you helps me.”). I don't even know what most Cool Chick DO for a living.
What Does the Café Provide?
It is a website and an app, where we can post and share things. But ... it is so much more than that.
This is a group of friends, and friends of friends, and friends of their friends… this is how we grow. This is a community created and based on connections. There is so much to do.
Coffee Breaks – Scheduled each week, these 30-minutes breaks are where Cool Chicks share their passion or their gifts with the community live on ZOOM. This could be anything: dance parties, guided meditations, understanding our bodies, yoga, conversations with mentors, and interviews with men, your erotic blueprint ... All Live at the Café!
Happy Hours – Theses are times you can join in via Zoom and meet other gals from around the world and in your community. We take time to share the highs and the lows, what would support us and answer one new connecting question each Happy Hour. Cocktails are not essential but bring one along if you fancy – cheers!
Other Events - In addition to Coffee Breaks and Happy Hours, there are a variety of other events throughout the month, all curated and recommended by other Cool Chicks. So keep checking our expanding Events Calendar.
Tables - Just like in a physical cafe where there are tables, the same is true in the Cool Chick Café. There are tables you can join or be invited to sit at. Each table has a focus (such as book recommendations) or has a head of the table (such as Sev’s table, where she shares everything about being joyful or the Rockin’ Relationship Table where the focus is on staying in love). Tables are places where you can get closer to specific topics and other members that are interested in those topics. You can see the current listed tables and join or request to join them. Tables change. As engagement at a table stops, the table will be "cleared" for the next group. So if you have a favorite table, make sure to stay engaged.
Most importantly, this is a true community. It isn’t a private FaceBook group where thousands may join and only a handful interact. My analogy is the difference between going to a church vs. living in a town. One of the Cool Chicks said “oh this is like going to a pot-luck dinner, where everyone brings something they made.” So in the Cool Chick Café, you are asked to Show Up and Be Counted On.
So what does that mean? “Show Up”, is go onto the site (or the app) once a day or once a month, or somewhere in between. If you are absent for more than a month, we will take you off our membership list. This is totally fine. I know that some groups are more supportive at certain times in our lives. Just because you leave, doesn’t mean you can’t come back. However, the Café isn’t about numbers, it’s about connection. For the purpose of community, it is better to have fewer people more deeply connected – quality not quantity.
“Be Counted On” means we can count on you to give energy back to the group. A lot of energy gets expended creating and maintaining this café, and we need the energy back so that we can all sustain it. What does that look like in real terms? There are some actions that are valued:
Post personal articles that MEAN something to you and tell us why.
This isn’t a forum to just post memes or pictures, unless it’s in certain topics. If you do post a picture or repost a meme, share what it really means to you and why you want to share with others, to explain the gift you are giving. Share stories, share struggles, share lessons, share victories. Share you.
Encourage others with comments.
If someone writes something that touches you, take the time to say how. If you appreciate them and their authenticity, applaud it and say why. Your appreciation gives others energy to do more and the confidence to do it again. "Love' in the form of hearts is awesome, but what we really love are comments, say how something connects with you and what it provides.
Join Coffee Breaks
Your participation makes it more fun and brings energy to the Coffee Break.
Lead a Coffee Break
Is there something you love and can share with the group in a 30- minute period - cooking, dancing, singing, teaching tap dancing, whatever translates into an opportunity for connection, growth or, most importantly, fun!!
Join a Happy Hour
This is a longer time to connect more in-depth and share the highs and the lows since the last meet up, be listened to and supported by a group of caring gals, and get to know your group better. The more open and authentic you are, the more others will follow your lead. Being present and listening when others are sharing is a huge gift whoever is sharing.
Offer Help and Support
This is one that requires some warning. Often our instinct is to fix a problem or make someone else feel better based on our background or experience. When helping someone in the Café, make sure to offer the help that is wanted. Let them know what you have to give - then listen to what THEY want and are ready to receive. So many women say the greatest value of being part of the Cool Chick Café is simply having a place they can be authentically themselves and share without judgment and have other women simply listen. It can often be the highest gift to just let them cry, without trying to stop the tears or fix anything.
Allow Yourself to be Helped
Sometimes this is the hardest of all. We want to be the ones doing the helping. Being helped can feel weak, but it’s really not! It’s the essence of being, it is the opposite of doing. It is the very thing we are practicing here at the Café.
Invite other Cool Chicks in YOUR Life to Join Us
Who in your circle would benefit from all that the Café brings? The more Cool Chicks we have, the more fun and opportunity for connection we can have. There is a multiplier effect. It is already a worldwide community. On our first coffee break, we had Cool Chicks from 4 countries. The more genuinely connected, genuinely engaged gals, the more we can support each other. So we ask every Cool Chick to invite those of their friends who would be a beautiful addition to our group. The ideal way for this community to support more women is to grow organically through referrals.
Order Some Awesome Extras
We will have mini-courses, journeys, group sessions and so much more. All sorts of fun things are coming to the Awesome Extras section so check it out every week to see what’s been added. A portion of any charges for the Extras will go to supporting and maintaining this site.
And … the biggest way you can add value is to simply CONNECT. The overriding theme of our interaction is connection with compassion for ourselves, for each other and for the people in our lives. The more you connect with other Cool Chicks from around the world and in your city, the stronger this community will become!
Hope you see you at the Café and at our Coffee Breaks and Happy Hours!
Huggles,
Sondra
Hostess at the CCC