Awakening the Changemaker Within: From Educator to Empowered Founder
In this heart-centered and deeply inspiring conversation, Joy Meserve and David K. Richards dive into the journey of becoming a changemaker through microschool leadership. They explore personal transformation, intuitive decision-making, and redefining success outside the traditional 9–5 mold. With honesty, humor, and decades of collective leadership experience, they share how embracing autonomy and purpose can fuel a thriving education movement. This episode is both a roadmap and a call to action for anyone ready to reclaim their essence and reimagine learning—for themselves and the next generation.
Memorable Quotes:
- “Start before you feel ready—because you never will feel ready.” — Joy
- “Life begins on the other side of fear.” — David
- “Everything in your life has prepared you for this moment.”
- “Your job title is not your identity. Your essence is.”
- “We don’t need to enmesh—we can respond with sovereignty.”
Key Topics Covered:
- Joy’s journey from COO of a global education startup to co-founder of Changemaker Education
- How intuitive nudges and spiritual awakening guide big life shifts
- The powerful transformation from educator to entrepreneur
- Creating “mind, body, soul” curriculum that balances emotional intelligence with accountability
- Why micro schools are not just schools—they're acts of sovereignty and service
- Building autonomy, mastery, and purpose into learning environments
- Releasing identity attachments to titles, income, and social comparison
- The impact of conscious leadership in decentralized education models
- Supporting founders to follow their “full body yes” and claim visionary leadership
- How the micro school movement is the disruptive innovation traditional education needs
00:00 – 08:00 – Introduction and divine alignment of Joy & David’s partnership
08:00 – 18:00 – Joy’s path from iD Tech to mindfulness to Changemaker Education
18:00 – 28:00 – The inner Sangha, grieving, and awakening during the pandemic
28:00 – 38:00 – What it means to be a microschool founder and to trust the path
38:00 – 50:00 – Unlearning top-down education, embracing founder autonomy
50:00 – 01:04:00 – Inner discipline, mind-body-soul curriculum, and real SEL
01:04:00 – 01:15:00 – Helping founders claim their vision, titles, and identities
01:15:00 – End – Future vision of education and the micro school movement as a model of disruption
08:00 – 18:00 – Joy’s path from iD Tech to mindfulness to Changemaker Education
18:00 – 28:00 – The inner Sangha, grieving, and awakening during the pandemic
28:00 – 38:00 – What it means to be a microschool founder and to trust the path
38:00 – 50:00 – Unlearning top-down education, embracing founder autonomy
50:00 – 01:04:00 – Inner discipline, mind-body-soul curriculum, and real SEL
01:04:00 – 01:15:00 – Helping founders claim their vision, titles, and identities
01:15:00 – End – Future vision of education and the micro school movement as a model of disruption
