Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jill Boone. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jill , appreciate you joining us today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

When you watch the news, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and disheartened by the world. There seems to be so much bad out there. Everywhere you look: another tragedy, injustice, scandal, failure, war, or heartbreak. And it all seems so big and so out of my control.

It’s easy (and tempting) to focus on all of the things you can’t do or can’t fix, but that just leads you further down the road to nowhere. Instead, I started trying to focus on what I *could* do. I asked myself, what can I control? What can I do to make my little corner of the world better? How can I be part of the solution, no matter how small?

These questions prompted me to start writing children’s books, which led to launching my Read for a Cause initiative in 2019. Over the past few years, my Read for a Cause journey connected me with so many incredible people and organizations–full of hope, determination, and a desire to leave the world better than how they found it–and I felt my perspective changing. When I started to seek good, to turn towards the light, to find the helpers… I found them. By intentionally integrating good noise into my newsfeed, network, and calendar, my worldview shifted.

As it turns out, light attracts light.

And so, Good Noise was born. The mission is simple: to cut through the bad noise and amplify the good, whenever, wherever, however we can. It is about rallying all of us to find the courage to embrace and share our individual strengths, talents, words, and actions to make our respective circles a little brighter. Whether it be sharing uplifting content on social media, coaching a little league team, volunteering for a non-profit, supporting a friend’s fundraiser, creating art or poetry, raising your children with kindness, consoling a friend, donating items to your local shelter, or simply sharing a smile with a stranger: we all have the power to contribute a little good noise to our network’s airwaves… to spark hope, one kindness at a time.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Jill Boone. I live in Central Ohio, and I’m a law school professor by day and a mom, wife, friend, daughter, sister, auntie, author, do-gooder, and noisemaker by night. While that may sound like a lot, the truth is I’m just a regular person trying my best to make the world a little brighter wherever I can.

For as long as I can remember, I have always been drawn to people and the stories that connect us. And when I think about the common theme that underlies all of my seemingly unrelated academic, athletic, personal, and professional pursuits, I always come back to two constants: my love for words and my love for people.

Good Noise is, in a sense, a way of trying to protect the things I care deeply about: my belief in the inherent goodness of words and people. Lately, the world seems hellbent on weaponizing both to sow seeds of divisiveness, hatred, ignorance, fear, helplessness, and isolation. But I know I’m not alone. I know there are others out there struggling to hold on to what they know to be true–that amist the anger, mistrust, and destruction, there is a whole lot of good out there waiting to be created, discovered, and celebrated.

I seek to create Good Noise through three main pillars:
1. Philanthropic Initiatives (the power of giving back: of supporting organizations, events, and people who are dedicated to creating a better, brighter world): two of my core initiatives are Read for a Cause and the New Chapter Project
2. Community Engagement (the power of collective action: of empowering teams, organizations, and communities to spark widespread change): if you are looking for a speaker, presenter, or emcee for your next meeting or conference, I’m here for it!
3. Human Connection (the power of humanity: of sharing our stories, finding common ground, and building bridges that connect us to, and with, each other): follow @goodnoisehub on social media for a quick and easy way to interrupt unhealthy doomscrolling

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

There is so much negativity, divisiveness, and darkness that floods our eyes, ears, hearts, and minds on a daily basis. Sometimes, this “bad noise” comes from outside sources; othertimes it is a product of our own making. Either way, it can get really, really loud and overwhelming if we allow it to consume our airwaves unchecked. Good Noise is a movement that seeks to temper that negativity by turning up and amplifying our individual and collective good however we can.

It’s not toxic positivity: it’s affirmative resistance.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

For most of my life, I led a very goal-oriented life. Success was measured by external metrics–grades, achievements, awards, titles, promotions. My self-worth was contingent on productivity and outcomes. I had two feet firmly planted in the land of the “shoulds” without ever considering what opportunities may exist in the sea of “coulds.”

A few years ago, I did a lot of reflection work, taking the time to think about my values and what truly mattered to me. In doing so, I realized that I needed to create my own rubric for success rather than let the world define it for me. It was a major unlearning process. Instead of prioritizing my roles in other peoples’ stories–who they wanted me to be–I needed to take control of my own narrative. I was the author, editor, and publicist of my own life. What a revelation.

This unlearning allowed me to explore the land of the coulds and do things because I thought they were worthwhile, regardless of results, metrics, or other traditional measures of success. I share uplifting posts because I want to–without worrying about the number of likes they receive. I write children’s books because I care about childhood literacy–no matter how much money I make in sales. I speak to groups and organizations because I love empowering other people–without regard to the size or prestige of the audience.

In short, I have started living a value-centered life, and it has made all the difference in the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.makegoodnoise.org
• Instagram: @goodnoisehub
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodNoiseHub/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillian-w-boone/
• Other: Medium: https://medium.com/@goodnoise/