Here at Salesforce, we are incredibly lucky to have the power of the Trailblazer Ohana behind us. These pioneers and lifelong learners use Salesforce to innovate, drive change, and inspire others - and it is our privilege to hear their stories.

Erica Kuhl, VP Community at Salesforce, shared an inspiring message with 300+ Salesforce customers at Texas Dreamin' in May. Texas Dreamin' is one of 20+ regional events hosted by community leaders to bring hundreds of customers together to connect, learn, and have a ton of fun together.

The key message? As a connected Ohana of Trailblazers, the Salesforce community is an unstoppable force. And our potential to create change for good in our companies, careers, and communities is astounding. All it takes is a bold mindset, great ideas, and collaboration.

Not sure what Trailblazer Ohana means? Check out ”We are the Trailblazers” and learn more about what Ohana means here at Salesforce.

Erica shared three simple thoughts from Sarah Franklin, SVP Trailhead, to get everyone in the bold mindset.

• Ask, “How WILL I change the world?” We typically think “how can I change the world," or “can I change the world.” When you make the simple change to “how will I change the world,” doubt is entirely removed.
• Put fear aside when you decide. Don't let fear stop you. Fear of failure, others laughing, your fear of someone saying it can't be done often keeps the best ideas from coming to life.
• Be the change. Inspired by the famous quote, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” If you want something to happen, you have to make it happen.

To demonstrate the power of an simple idea and bold mindset in action within the Salesforce Community, Erica told several stories of community Trailblazers who acted on simple ideas and created programs that have helped thousands of Salesforce customers improve their own companies, careers, and communities.

9. COMMUNITY EVENTS

Eric Dreshfield loves Dreamforce but couldn't go in 2011, so he decided to create Midwest Dreamin' — a local community event packed with keynotes, breakouts, and networking. Midwest Dreamin' has become an annual affair in Chicago and has inspired a groundswell of 20+ community-led events, like Texas Dreamin' — which was a successful effort pulled off by a team of twelve community leaders.

8. TRAILHEAD4ALL

Annie Shek-Mason started Trailhead4All by challenging the Salesforce community to host at least one Trailhead learning event at a nonprofit, school, or any community gathering. Within weeks more than 40 people had accepted the challenge. Annie inspired Shonnah Hughes to pursue her dream of teaching young women of color all about tech, starting with Trailhead. Scott Luikart started a fundraising campaign to get computers and teach Trailhead at Montrose Grace Place, a safe haven for homeless LGBTQ teens in Houston.

7. SALESFORCE SATURDAYS

Stephanie Herrera saw her Salesforce career as a path to a better life with better pay and more options. In addition to her Women In Technology leadership, she started Salesforce Saturdays to connect with others who wanted to study and learn more about Salesforce outside of the work week. Her local group in Austin meets every Saturday, and the concept is taking off in multiple global locations.

6. MENTORSHIP CENTRAL

James Goerke and Sean Lee love all the learning, fun, and mentorship that happens in their local community groups. They want every customer in any location to have the benefit of the mentorship, so they built the Mentorship Central app, to help help customers volunteer to become and find mentors. More than 100 matches have been made in less than a year.

5. SFDC99 BLOG

When David Liu got inspired to learn to code, he decided to share his journey and lessons learned. His popular SFDC99 blog is updated regularly with new tips and tricks, and he has some awesome reader success stories. SFDC99 has also inspired other customers to start their own blogs (here's a great list of Admin, Developer, and Salesforce MVP blogs).

4. MVP OFFICE HOURS

Salesforce MVPs are passionate product experts who generously share their expertise across many channels. Joshua Hoskins and Jarrod Kingston started twice-monthly MVP Office Hours webinars back in 2013 to offer live help to answer any question, no matter how big or small. Since then, they've hosted 100+ Office Hours, and expanded globally with the help of co-hosts Jackie Travieso and Dale Ziegler.

3. WOMEN IN TECHNOLOGY

Geraldine Gray wanted to meet other women in tech at Dreamforce, so she posted on Chatter to invite others to a Girly Geeks meetup at Dreamforce '10. The idea took flight as hundreds of women saw the value. Geraldine passed the baton to Kyla Longe and Stephanie Herrera when they decided to go big with local chapters. Now, Kyla and Maria Belli run a global Women In Technology program that spans more than 50 cities.

2. SALESFORCE USER GROUPS

More than a decade ago, Pete Fife asked for help connecting with customers in Silicon Valley to share best practices. Erica said “yes,” and the User Group program was born. We now have 600+ community groups all over the globe. Check out User Groups and Developer Groups in your area or special interest.

1. THE SALESFORCE COMMUNITY

All this community magic began with Erica Kuhl's dream. When she started working at Salesforce 15 years ago, Erica led admin training. She saw incredible learning and fun happen when her students collaborated after class, and she wanted to help them stay connected as they their learning into practice. She decided to pitch the idea of an online community to the Chief Marketing Officer. He wasn't convinced that she would succeed, but he gave her the chance to go for it...and here we are 12 years later with a thriving community that's 2.6 million members strong!

How will YOU change the world?

Are you inspired to be bold and make something great happen in your world? No matter where you are on your path to success, share your experience with the hashtag#MyTrailblazerStory on social. The Trailblazer community is waiting for you!