The strategy behind what looked like a miracle
People hear the numbers, 500+ voices, 12 million+ media impressions, international stages, bestselling books, and they assume there was a moment where everything clicked. A lucky break. The right introduction. A post that went viral.
There was no moment. There was a method.
I started the Imperfectly Perfect Campaign in 2018 with nothing that would qualify as an advantage. No industry connections. No media experience. No funding. I was working construction night shifts to survive while spending every available hour learning what I needed to learn.
What I did have was complete clarity on why it mattered, a refusal to wait for permission, and a strategy that compounded over time.
THE FIRST PRINCIPLE: CLARITY BEFORE VISIBILITY
Before I approached a single person, publication, or platform, I knew exactly what the campaign stood for, what it was trying to shift in the world, and why that mattered now. Not in vague terms. Specifically.
Most people skip this step. They launch before they’ve done the foundational thinking, and then wonder why nothing sticks. Clarity isn’t a branding exercise. It’s a strategic asset. When you can articulate what you’re building and why with precision, other people can repeat it. And when other people can repeat it, it spreads.
THE SECOND PRINCIPLE: BUILD WITH PEOPLE, NOT FOR THEM
The movement grew because the people I featured became invested in it. They weren’t subjects. They were co-creators. Each person who shared their story had a reason to become an advocate, to share the platform, to bring others in.
This is one of the most underused principles in building anything. Stop thinking about your audience as people you’re broadcasting to. Think about them as people you’re building with. Their stake in your success becomes part of your growth engine.
THE THIRD PRINCIPLE: BORROW CREDIBILITY UNTIL YOU’VE BUILT YOUR OWN
Early on, I focused on securing the right associations, not to name-drop, but because proximity to credibility is itself credible. Each well-known voice who participated made the next conversation easier. Each media feature opened doors to the next.
This is how momentum works in practice. You don’t wait until you’re credible enough to approach credible people. You approach them strategically, deliver value, and let the association do part of the positioning work for you.
THE FOURTH PRINCIPLE: VOLUME IS NOT THE SAME AS REACH
I was never trying to reach everyone. I was trying to reach the right people, the ones who would carry the message forward, open doors I couldn’t access alone, and amplify what we were building.
Targeting matters more than scale. One feature in the right publication outperforms ten features in the wrong ones. One introduction to the right person is worth more than a thousand followers.
Build with precision. Then let it compound.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
You don’t need more resources than you have. You need to deploy what you have with more intentionality.
What are you building, and why does it matter right now? Who needs to be part of it to make it real? What’s the smallest credible version you can start with today?
That’s where every global movement begins. Not with permission. With a decision.
