We were lucky to catch up with Sam Willing recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Sam thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
My company Compassionate Collective is a retail company where we sell imperfect heart products made by local “Heart-ists”. Our mission is to spread a message of compassion, grace and the beauty in imperfection. It has been an incredible journey over the last 6 years. 6 years ago I started a podcast called Imperfection Wins that is all about embracing imperfection. Shortly after I launched, I met a man named Gary. Gary was living an incredibly difficult life as he navigated poverty and living on disability due to a career ending injury. He was making these small wooden hearts from scrapwood. Holding one of the hearts in my hand the very first time, I realized it was exactly what I was talking about on my podcast. The hearts were perfect because they were imperfect. I asked Gary if I could start buying them from him and the journey began. I sent the hearts to my podcast listeners and people loved them and what they stood for- tangible reminders to our human hearts of the beauty in imperfection. 3 years ago, Gary and I started Compassionate Collective. To date, we have sold over 10,000 hearts and expanded to other imperfect heart products. Gary is now a homeowner and has his first bed in 30 years. He wakes up everyday with purpose and makes hearts. His life has completely changed and honestly, so has mine. I have learned what true compassion really means and that it is action oriented. Compassionate Collective has been some of the most meaningful and organic work I have ever been part of and I am so grateful everyday for Gary, the “Heart-ist” and our journey together.
Sam, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Sam Willing is a transformational executive coach, consultant, speaker and podcaster with extensive expertise in Organizational Development and Human Resources. She is dedicated to equipping business leaders to unlock their full potential and achieve new levels of excellence by aligning their leadership approach with their core values and true identity. Through close partnership, her clients develop high-impact leadership skills, personal resilience, and reconnect with their “why.” Sam’s clients experience deep transformation, build strong confidence, and learn how to find success without sacrificing their values or most cherished priorities—including themselves. By balancing both self-care and soul-care, she empowers people to lead boldly, drive results, and discover renewed energy and restored balance across all areas of life.
Sam is also the founder and CEO of The Compassionate Collective, a social impact marketplace that creates meaningful opportunities for artists and businesses to engage in delivering messages of hope and compassion to all. Additionally, she is the founder and host of the “Imperfection Wins” podcast that focuses on embracing imperfection and compassion for oneself and others.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I always say Compassionate Collective found me. I have zero experience for running a retail company and I have had to learn through mistakes. I’ve tried many different things. There was a time that I started sending the imperfect hearts out to podcast listeners and had sent out about 25 only to hear back from most people that the point of the heart cut through the envelope and the recipient only received an empty envelope. I wasn’t selling the hearts at the time, I was paying for everything, the hearts and the shipping. I resent all the hearts out again with proper packaging and sadly doubled my costs! One of the things I committed to was purchasing a set amount of hearts each month from our main Heart-ist, Gary. In the early days (actually for the first few years), I wasn’t selling anywhere near what I was buying so our house was just filling with hearts. I just kept trusting that I was doing the right thing, I could tell how much people loved the hearts and the story so I just kept praying for more opportunities to tell it and sell hearts. I still have a house full of hearts but last year was the first year we made a teeny tiny profit! Compassionate Collective is truly a labor of love. I just try and stay in the flow with it and follow the nudges and share hearts every chance I get!
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I think one interesting thing I have learned is what true compassion is. I think sometimes we get confused and believe that compassion is the same as empathy or sympathy. The truth is that compassion is very different because it is action oriented. I learned that in order to make meaningful change, it takes action. Consistent action. Compassion is not passive. Gary had many people over the years help him briefly but no one ever really stayed and made the consistent commitment so he never really came out of a state or scarcity and fear. His nervous system never relaxed. Sometimes things would get hard because supporting someone living in scarcity and with a lack of safety for years is complicated, there were some pretty solid tracks laid down in his brain about life. But my experience is that compassion works. Love works. To meet Gary 6 years ago and Gary now, it is two totally different people. He has a deep joy and gratitude. He gives so much to others, volunteers, donates, has a community around him. It has been the greatest lesson in my life. We have incredible power to impact others and the cool part is that it is not just Gary that has changed, it’s me too.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thecompassionatecollective.com/ and https://www.samwilling.com/
- Instagram: @coachsamwilling @thecompassionatecollective
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hi-samwilling/
