On August 7 in San Francisco, I'll be co-facilitating a discussion about Conscious Capitalism®. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, is the champion of this project, and for the past few months, groups in San Francisco, Austin, and New York have been actively discussing the concepts behind it, sponsored by FLOW: Liberating the Entrepreneurial Spirit for Good.

Labels: social action, social entrepreneurs

Many years ago, at a challenging time in my life, I had a dream of accomplishing an important goal in San Francisco. At the time I envisioned that goal, I was stranded in Indianapolis with no job and no money. I eventually got to San Francisco, and accomplished my goal. But I had to get there by way of Toronto.

Now a quick glance at any map will tell you that Toronto is not on the way from Indianapolis to San Francisco. Since this chain of events took place in the middle of winter, going to Toronto was certainly not going to bring me any better weather. I didn't have a permit to work in Canada at the time I went there, so it wasn't going to be any easier to find a job, either.

But what did exist in Toronto was one person who I believed cared about me, and another person who I thought would give me some money. It turned out I was right on both counts. I got enough money to rent a room; with a place to stay, I found an under-the-table job; with someone nearby who cared about me, I stuck out the lousy job for six weeks and saved up enough money for a bus ticket to San Francisco.

Sometimes the only way to accomplish what you think is important is by going the long way around.

A friend of mine is stuck in his own personal Indianapolis right now. He has an important goal, one that could possibly impact the lives of many people for the better. And he's determined to reach his own version of San Francisco to get it done. But the problem is that he's afraid to leave his Indianapolis until he has the entire journey mapped out, paid for, and planned every step of the way. You see, he doesn't want to end up in Toronto by mistake.

I understand my friend's fear. None of us wants to make a mistake. It seems like it would be so much safer to plan and prepare for every little contingency before setting out. That way you can avoid making any mistakes, right? Ah, if only that were true!

In reality, leaving Indianapolis before he is completely ready might not be such a bad idea for my friend at all. At least he'll be on the road and moving. He'll learn some things; he'll meet some people; he'll find out what it's like to begin pursuing his goal instead of just dreaming about it. He'll work the bugs out of his plan with some road testing in the real world. He might even discover that some of his goal can be achieved before he ever gets to San Francisco.

When the only way you can figure out how to get from Indianapolis to San Francisco is by way of Toronto, then I say, go that way. If you go the long way around, you are still going. If you insist on staying put until you've planned every detail, you're not going anywhere.

The distance from Indianapolis to San Francisco is 2,272 miles. The distance traveled if you have to go by way of Toronto would be 3,193 miles instead. But the distance traveled if you don't go at all is zero. That doesn't sound like a journey worth planning to me.

Labels: life purpose, social action

March 24-30, 2008 has been designated as Conversation Week by Conversation Café and Global MindShift. This annual event is an opportunity for people around the world to gather in small groups and have meaningful conversations.

I love having deep, purposeful conversations and enjoy being in environments where they can be had. I used to think I was shy because I felt so uncomfortable in many social situations, but then I realized that it was simply because I had never learned to enjoy small talk. What interests me is large talk.

The most important questions for Conversation Week dialogues this year were voted on by 1500 people in 39 countries. Here they are:

1. How can we best prepare our children for the future?
2. What does sustainability look like to you? How do we get there?
3. How do humans need to adapt to survive the changes predicted for this century?
4. How do we shift from "Me" to "We" on both the local and global levels?
5. How can you, as Gandhi said, be the change that you want to see in the world?
6. What kind of economic structures can best support a shift to sustainable living?
7. How should we re-invent the political process so that people feel that they have a voice?
8. What kind of leadership does the world need now?
9. How can we balance our personal needs with the most pressing needs of our community and the larger world?
10. What can we do to reduce or eliminate violence in the world?

It's a compelling list of topics. I was most taken by #5, "How can you, as Gandhi said, be the change that you want to see in the world?" Conversation Week organizers provided some additional conversational doorways into each topic, and for this one they asked: "What gaps do you notice between your 'walk' and 'talk' and what steps can you take towards 'being the change'?"

"What steps can you take?" What a crucial element this question is for a dialogue about change. Perhaps it is my training and experience as a coach (or perhaps this is what drew me to coaching in the first place), but I often feel driven to end conversations by asking, "And what is your next step?" To me, this is how conversations can be not only meaningful, but impactful.

Being in dialogue with others is an essential tool for raising our awareness. Sometimes it is the only way we ever find out what we really think. We make a declaration aloud in response to a question or challenge, and find ourselves thinking, "Yes, of course! That's what I believe to be true."

But as significant as that awareness may be, what often happens is that the moment of enlightenment passes, and we go on with our lives as before. We have a momentous realization, but then don't connect any action to it. And then we forget about it until the next time something or someone prods us into awareness again.

Perhaps one move we can all make toward "being the change" is to add this one simple question to our conversations about how the world should be different: "And what is your next step?" Perhaps if we keep asking this of others, they will also start asking it of us.

Labels: life purpose, social action

During Barack Obama's victory speech after winning the South Carolina primary last night, among the signs waving in the audience was one that read: "Got hope?" Hope has been a strong theme in the Obama campaign: "choosing hope over fear" and "the power of hope to imagine, and then work for, what had seemed impossible before." Obama's focus on hope as a catalyst for action is what first drew me to him as a candidate.

I've been thinking a lot about hope lately as a result of reading Martin Seligman's Learned Optimism. One of the book's self-assessments allows you to determine your personal "hope score." Not too surprising to me, my own hope score was fairly high.

According to Dr. Seligman, no other single score is as important as your hope score in determining your level of achievement and happiness in life. Simply put, people with a high level of hopefulness believe that their actions can make a difference, and therefore, they act. But people who feel hopeless also feel helpless. Since they believe that nothing they do matters, they choose to do nothing.

Seligman has been studying hopefulness and helplessness in the laboratory since 1964, and what his experiments indicate is that both are learned behaviors. Whether the lab subjects are rats, dogs, or humans, if they experience too much powerlessness in a particular area, they become hopeless and stop trying. But the good news is that the reverse is also true. When people or animals believe that their actions do make a difference, they become more hopeful, and try even harder.

Seligman's experiments also suggest that hopelessness and helplessness coincide with severe depression. Hopeless, helpless people become depressed. Depressed people become hopeless and helpless. And again, the reverse is true. People who regain hope are no longer depressed. If Seligman is right (and he has many years of statistical studies backing up his theories), hope is not only an antidote for depression, it's a vaccination that can prevent it from occurring.

The key to developing hope, according to Seligman, is changing your "explanatory style." Finding temporary and specific causes for adversity and disappointment is the art of hope; believing in permanent and universal causes is the practice of despair. His experiments show that if you can learn to change the way you explain negative events and conditions, you can become more hopeful.

A hopeless person says, "my candidate never wins" (permanent), so he stays away from the polls. A hopeful person says, "my candidate lost the last election" (temporary), but campaigns for his candidate this time. A hopeless person tells herself, "the whole country is a mess" (universal), so she thinks there is nothing she can do to change it. A hopeful person tells herself, "our health care system is a mess" (specific), so she advocates for health care reform.

People become hopeful because they tell themselves they can make a difference. And hopeful people take action. Hope is the stuff that positive change is made of.

In Obama's words: "...hope is not blind optimism. It's not ignoring the enormity of the task ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. It's not sitting on the sidelines or shirking from a fight. Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it, and to work for it, and to fight for it."

How about you? Got hope?

Labels: social action

Last January, I issued a challenge to readers of this blog and myself to commit one heroic act in 2007. And I made a commitment to my own heroic act: to launch or join a project in support of educating girls in the developing world, and contribute enough of my time and energy to send 30 girls -- a classroom full -- to school. I'm proud to say that I achieved this goal.

In June, I founded the Send Girls to School Project to spread the word about the amazing impact girls' education has on global poverty, supporting five different nonprofits that help girls attend school around the world. As a result of this project, enough donations were made to Educate Girls Globally, Room to Grow Girls' Scholarships, and Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) to send approximately 40 girls to school for one year in India, Southeast Asia, and Africa. (If you made a contribution after hearing about this project, please stop by the Report Card page to let me know.)

A totally unexpected result of this project is that it inspired a song! Singer-songwriter Lisa Safran wrote They Just Need School after learning about the project, and you can listen to it on the Send Girls to School website.

If you made your own resolution to be more heroic last year, how did you do? In my steps to becoming a hero, "take action" is #3, so it's okay if you didn't get quite that far. Perhaps you made progress on step #1, "develop your heroic qualities." That, too, is a heroic act.

Labels: heroism, social action

This holiday season, consider using your gift-shopping dollars to help make the world a better place. By purchasing gifts from fair trade organizations, social enterprises, nonprofit cooperatives, and other worthy causes, you can give a gift to the people on your list and to the global community at the same time. In what has become an annual feature in this blog, here are some suggested ways you can make a difference with your holiday shopping.

Ten Thousand Villages - Purchase fair trade housewares, jewelry, accessories, and other gifts from artisans in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. For the women on your list, check out the Vintage Appeal collection. For men, see the ideas on their Gifts for Him page.

Handmade Expressions - Choose from socially and environmentally responsible products from artisan cooperatives, including eco-friendly journals, shopping bags, tote bags, and purses from recycled materials, cloth dolls made from scraps, and jewelry created from locally sourced materials.

BuyChange - Select gifts from four different social enterprises that sustain worthy causes: Arghand Hand-milled Soap from Afghanistan, Food from the Hood Salad Dressing from South Central Los Angeles, Mr. Elliepooh Elephant Pooh Paper Products from Sri Lanka, and Hagar Handbags and Accessories from Cambodia.

A Greater Gift - This program of SERRV International provides development assistance to low-income micropreneurs and helps them market their products. In their online store, you can purchase jams and jellies from Swaziland, olive oil from Palestine, wild rice from the Native American Ojibwe tribe, tea from Nepal packaged in a satin brocade bag, and much more.

Palestine Children's Welfare Fund - You can purchase beautiful handmade embroidery crafted by Palestinian women in refugee camps. Your purchases help to support these women and their families, who have very few options for earning a living. Stop by the ConnectHer project to find out how your shopping dollars will help more women micro-entrepreneurs get started.

Heavenly Treasures - Help people break the cycle of poverty by purchasing handicrafts from livelihood projects in 11 countries around the world. Check out the banana bark holiday ornaments from Kenya, wool slippers from Kyrgyzstan, and silk scarves from Laos. If you're in the Los Angeles area, visit their retail store in Glendora.

Aid to Artisans - Buy jewelry, accessories, home decor, and crafts from this project to help artisans in the developing world learn business skills and find markets for their products. You can also find some ATA products at stores like Crate & Barrel and Pier 1 Imports.

iGive - If the wish lists of your loved ones include items from name brand merchants like Apple, Best Buy, Gap, or Harry & David, you can make these purchases and still make a contribution by shopping through iGive. Participating merchants will donate an average of 1-5% of your purchase to the cause of your choice. Since 1997, iGive has raised almost $3 million for charity.

JustGive - For the person who has everything, you can make a gift in their honor with a charity gift basket that donates the amount of your choice to a selection of charities in support of a single cause. Choose from causes like Support Women of the World, Create Peace for All, Plant Trees, or Provide Shelter for Animals.

For even more suggestions, check out my 2006 guide or 2005 guide to find sources for gift baskets, baby clothes, organic cotton clothing, bath salts, pet gifts, soup mixes, chocolate, and much more. Build a better world with your purchases this holiday.

Labels: social action, social entrepreneurs

The hero's journey can be a lonely one. But does it have to be? Or in fact, do the heroes who ultimately succeed in their quests do so because they were willing to seek out -- and accept -- a considerable amount of help?

In Joseph Campbell's writings about the hero's journey, he describes numerous helpers the hero may require along the way, including mentors, spirit guides, allies, and rescuers. In stories about heroes from mythology, fiction, and real life, the role of these helpers is significant.

King Arthur had his mentor Merlin and the aid of the Knights of the Round Table. Luke Skywalker had the guidance of Obi-Wan Kenobi and the companionship of Han Solo and Princess Leia. Lance Armstrong became a champion cyclist because he was mentored by Chris Carmichael, survived cancer with the assistance of Dr. Steven Wolff and cancer nurse Latrice Haney, and built his cancer research foundation with the help of Kristen Richard, who became his wife. Successful heroes have help.

If you are setting out on a quest of your own, you may already know that you need guidance and support, but where can you find it? One approach I always suggest to fledgling heroes pondering this question is immersion. If you stand outside the new world you want to enter, it always appears mysterious, and usually frightening. You don't know where to go or who to talk to, and because you aren't talking to anyone, you think you are alone with your goals and dreams. But once you take one small step into that world, you immediately make contact with like-minded people. The trick is to be willing to step in before you have it all figured out.

When I first decided to help entrepreneurs become more successful in 1992, I had no idea how to go about it. I didn't know anyone else who did that kind of work, I had no mentors or guides, and no one to help me. If I had stayed in that isolated state, I wouldn't have lasted 15 weeks in my new venture. Instead, it's been 15 years. The reason I've ultimately been able to help so many people with my work is because I've had a lot of help myself. And I found that help by immersing myself in the world I wanted to enter -- before I felt ready to be there.

What this means on a practical level can be any number of activities, for example, attending meetings of like-minded people, reading books about related people and projects, surfing the web to find out who is doing what, taking classes related to your goal or dream, and asking others for ideas, resources, and connections.

One of the most helpful steps to me personally turned out to be getting on mailing lists. Receiving newsletters and announcements from the people and organizations already in the world I wanted to enter introduced me to new possibilities, suggested places I could go and people I could meet, and made me feel as if I was a part of something.

If you are looking for mentors and allies for a social action or advocacy project of your own, the organization FLOW has developed some effective models for connecting people with similar ideas. In San Francisco, New York, and Austin, they've been holding regular "Activation Circle" gatherings to bring together people with a shared vision of "liberating the entrepreneurial spirit for good." And on Nov. 30 in Austin, and Dec. 7 in San Rafael, they are hosting daylong events for that purpose.

I'll be attending the San Rafael event, where the morning will be focused on a particular theme: supporting women entrepreneurs in the developing world. In the afternoon session, attendees will have a chance to interact with each other about the topic of their choice related to any social enterprise, in an open space setting. After attending a session like this in October, I walked away with a tall stack of new contacts and possibilities for my own projects.

One of the fastest ways to end your quest to make a difference before it starts is to believe that you're the only one on that particular journey. If you want to have a successful mission, start looking around for who else should be on your team.

Labels: heroism, social action, social entrepreneurs

Recently, I've been exploring the issue of the necessary conditions for people to become entrepreneurs. For me, this is one aspect of a larger question -- what enables people to take action on the change they wish to see in the world?

At an Empowering Women Entrepreneurs event last weekend, I learned that in the developing world, one of the obstacles to successful entrepreneurship is the expense and difficulty of legally starting a business. In Honduras, for example, to open a legal sole proprietorship requires 169 steps, 270 days, and $3,765 U.S.

The interesting fact is that all this doesn't stop entrepreneurs from getting started in Honduras. Instead, they go underground. Up to 89% of all businesses in Honduras operate extralegally. Doing business in this underground economy has many problems. Entrepreneurs have no access to capital, so they can't expand. Businesses can be shut down arbitrarily by the law or local bosses. But despite these difficulties, new underground businesses get started every day.

This phenomenon isn't limited to the developing world. In the urban centers of North America, underground economies thrive. In Off the Books: The Underground Economy of the Urban Poor, Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh describes how conventional business owners -- not just drug dealers and prostitutes -- operate in the economic underground. Self-employed mechanics, food vendors, painters, hairdressers, and more are all operating outside the law and without participating in the tax system.

When people are unable to participate in the legal economy because the cost of entry is too high or their path is blocked due to racial, class, religious, or gender barriers, it doesn't stop them from entering the economy. They just create their own.

When I was a street kid in the 70's, I lived in this twilight economy. Money changed hands, products and services were obtained, people worked in exchange for compensation, but no one I knew had a paycheck or a business license or paid taxes. I used to look at the straight world -- the one where people had jobs and stores and checking accounts -- and think that was the real world. People like me, without an education or the right connections or respectable resumes, didn't have the price of admission to that world, so we stayed in our own.

But in an environment where more money changes hands under the counter than over it, isn't that where the "real world" truly lies? In an economy like that of Honduras, there are clearly more people participating in the shadow economy than in the legal one. In the U.S., no one knows how many people make a living in the underground economy, although the number of illegal immigrants alone has been estimated as high as 20 million. Estimates of the monetary size of the U.S. underground economy suggest that it is equivalent to 9% of the legitimate economy, which would make it about $1 trillion per year. That amount seems pretty real to me.

In the 1999 film The Matrix, the transformative moment for the central character, Neo, is when he discovers that the world he has been living in -- where residents have homes and jobs and businesses -- is all an illusion perpetrated by evil machines. The real world is one where a ragtag band of dropouts struggle for survival, fighting against the machines that dominate the planet. This real world exists, quite literally, underground.

In the surface world, Neo is a person of no importance, and feels lost and alone. But in the underground world, Neo becomes a hero and a leader to his people. For Neo to make the transition from the false surface world to the real world underground, he first must be able to see through "the matrix" projecting the false images. But once he does see the real world, the false one no longer deceives him. He can (literally) see right through it.

So what do underground economies and The Matrix have to do with taking action to change the world? Simply this. If you look around you at the world you believe you live in and think you don't fit in, or feel excluded from participating, or you don't have the price of admission, find another world. It's probably already operating right under your nose.

There is a back door into almost every line of endeavor you can name. If you believe that door exists, and are willing to knock on enough doors to find the right one, you can gain admittance. You can start a business with no capital, operate a nonprofit without registering one, or get a job as a researcher without credentials. I mention these three examples because they are all things I have personally done at one time, but many more examples exist.

To set up the necessary conditions for you to take action, perhaps you need to forget about whatever you have been led to believe the real world looks like. Instead, seek out people who are already doing what you want to do, connect with others who themselves have felt disenfranchised or excluded, locate the community where at last you feel welcome. Wherever that is, for you, that is the real world.

Labels: hero stories, heroism, social action

In the latest edition of Heifer International's World Ark magazine, I first learned about HeroRat, a project launched by the Belgian research organization APOPO. HeroRat trains rats how to detect buried landmines.

Even if this isn't an issue that would normally attract your attention, you should pay a visit to the HeroRat site. With photos, videos, cartoons, really cute graphics, and even a video game, it's one of the best fundraising websites I've ever seen.

Why landmine-detecting rats? Here's the story in a nutshell. Every 20 minutes, a civilian is hurt or killed by a buried landmine in war zones around the world. Metal detectors are slow and tedious, bulldozers don't work on uneven terrain, and mine-detecting dogs can set off the mines.

Rats, on the other hand, have a great sense of smell, are easily trained to do repetitive tasks, are inexpensive to breed, feed, and transport, and they are too light to trigger the mines. One trained rat can clear 100 square meters of land in 30 minutes. At the HeroRat training center in Tanzania, hundreds of rats are being trained to detect mines, then sent where they are needed around the world.

Of course, the real heroes here are the people that came up with this brilliant concept: Bart Weetjens, Christophe Cox, and Mic Billet, now APOPO's chairman. They first began exploring the problem of land mines in Africa in 1995, and persevered for many years to find funding and a solution. The first team of HeroRats completed their training in 2004. You can read the full story here.

If you adopt a HeroRat for as little as 5 euros per month (about $7 USD), you'll receive emails from your rat, pictures of your rat in action, and an official adoption certificate, all of which I'll bet are every bit as cute as the website.

Labels: hero stories, social action

Regular readers of this blog may have noticed a slight but significant shift in its theme over this past year. When I first began writing on the topic How to Become a Hero four years ago, I described the theme of these reflections as "stepping into your own greatness to be of service to others." Later on, this became "finding your right livelihood on the path of service." But recently I made the decision to declare a new theme for these entries: "you are the champion the world is waiting for."

I first began thinking about the need for more heroes in our modern world after the 9/11 attacks. There were many people who became heroes on that day, called forth by the urgent need of others. But so many aspects of this catastrophe could have been prevented if there were more people called to heroic acts before it began. "Why do the heroes appear only after the tragedy," I wondered. "We should be taking steps just as bold to prevent the causes of terrorism, not just responding after it occurs."

Then the U.S. invaded Iraq, and the news was again filled with stories about heroes. But this time many of those profiled weren't just saving lives – they were also responsible for taking them. "What about the warriors for peace and justice?" I asked. "Where are their stories? Aren't they also heroes?" I launched this blog three months after the war began.

And then came Hurricane Katrina. I watched helplessly from San Francisco as people in New Orleans suffered and died. Days passed, and it seemed that news cameras could reach every area of the flooded city while rescuers and supplies could not.

There were many heroes on the ground, doing what they could under desperate conditions with limited resources. But with very few exceptions, those in charge failed to show leadership, courage, or even a sense of responsibility. Instead, rescue efforts moved forward at a snail's pace as government agencies and elected officials protected their turf, pointed fingers at each other, and delayed critical decisions. Meanwhile, supplies, volunteers, and vehicles sent from outside the area were refused admittance to the city.

It was during that awful week that I realized three compelling truths about becoming a hero:

1. We cannot wait for a hero to come and rescue us. Like the people of New Orleans, we may be waiting for a rescuer to help our community or cause, but it just may be that no one is coming. The most likely place to look for leadership is not out in the world, but within ourselves.

2. We cannot wait to figure out the best possible course of action. Seeking our ultimate life purpose is a worthwhile endeavor, but meanwhile, we should take action to make a difference where and how we can. We will develop our heroic qualities more by exercising them than by contemplating possibilities.

3. We cannot wait for a disaster to hear the call to heroism. If the only time we are compelled to act is when a disaster is at our door, many options are already closed to us. We can make much more of a difference in the world around us by working steadily to address chronic problems and prevent major disasters from occurring.

There is no one better qualified, smarter, braver, or more talented than you and I to redress the ills we see in the world. There are no grownups to tell us what we should do. There are no leaders we can count on to do what must be done. In the words of Freddie Mercury, we are the champions of the world. It's you that the world is waiting for.

Labels: heroism, life purpose, social action

With the year half gone, I decided it was the perfect time to check in on my New Year's resolutions. Why wait until December to see what I didn't do this year?

This January, I wrote about the idea of including one heroic act in your New Year's resolutions and made a commitment to take on one of my own -- to launch or join a project in support of educating girls in the developing world. I'm pleased to report that last month I launched the Send Girls to School Project.

I've written previously about the important role of girls' education in eradicating global poverty. Lawrence Summers, former Chief Economist of the World Bank, puts it simply: "Educating girls yields a higher rate of return than any other investment in the developing world."

Send Girls to School is an education and advocacy project dedicated to improving education for girls in the developing world by compiling and sharing research, publicizing girls' education projects and supporting their fundraising efforts, publishing original writings about the impact of girls' education, and more. If this issue speaks to you, please consider getting involved.

What important resolutions of yours have gotten lost in the hustle of your daily existence since January? Take a look now and see what you still have time to accomplish in 2007.

Labels: heroism, social action

Listening to Barack Obama's podcast recently, I heard a talk and Q and A session he gave for Partnership for Public Service interns last July, where he referred to a "poverty of ambition."

It's not the first time Obama has used this compelling phrase. Here's a quote from his commencement address to Knox College in 2005: "Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. You need to take up the challenges that we face as a nation and make them your own. Not because you have a debt to those who helped you get here, although you do have that debt. Not because you have an obligation to those who are less fortunate than you, although I do think you do have that obligation. It's primarily because you have an obligation to yourself. Because individual salvation has always depended on collective salvation. Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential."

It seems to me that a poverty of ambition in our modern world afflicts much more than young people making career decisions. We each must choose -- not just once, but many times throughout our lives -- whether to act purely on our own behalf, or to raise our ambition to something higher than our immediate wants and needs. Too often, we choose simply what serves us in the moment. I'm not talking about just you and me making decisions that affect our own lives and those of our families. Our political leaders, business leaders, and community leaders, more often than not, are limiting their ambition to choices that are poor in every sense of the word. And we're letting them get away with it.

When we raise our ambition to seek out solutions that benefit everyone instead of settling for those that help only a few, we call forth the amazing richness of our human potential. By expecting more -- of ourselves, our leaders, and our communities -- we raise the bar for what is acceptable. A raised bar causes us to stretch our capacity, to explore new ways of doing things, to sometimes simply leap, and by leaping, set a new record for what is possible. In this rich territory of stretching and exploring and leaping, we not only discover what we were already capable of, we make ourselves more capable than we ever could have been without the challenge.

Realizing our true potential as people, as leaders, as a nation, and as a global community requires a higher ambition. It is by growing ourselves that we can truly grow rich.

Labels: heroism, life purpose, social action

It's hard to set out on your hero's journey when you aren't sure where you are going. If I had to name the one thing that prevents more bright, talented people from making a difference in the world than any other, I'd say it was not knowing what the difference is they truly want to make.

It seems that most of us would-be heroes are listening very hard for The Call -- the inspired message that will tell us once and for all what we are supposed to do with our lives -- but we aren't quite sure how to recognize the real thing. One morning you feel unusually determined to do something about global warming and you wonder, "Is this it? Have I heard The Call now?"

But when you find yourself the next day strongly pulled toward a project to help teenage runaways, you think, "I guess that global warming idea wasn't the real thing. Maybe this is it." And your plans to take action about global warming go out the window. But you're still not sure about helping those teenage runaways. After all, you were wrong before about hearing The Call. Maybe you had better wait and see how you feel tomorrow.

As someone who has heard and acted on more than one inspired message in the course of a lifetime, here's my experience with the "how to be sure" question. You can only ever know what is right for you today... or maybe this hour, or this minute.

There is a moment on each journey when we take the step that sets things in motion which prevent our easy retreat. And I think that often it is the mood we are in at the very moment we take that step that determines the journey we go on.

There is probably no single mission in life that will hold your attention forever. There may not be just one mission that will satisfy you completely for even a short time. But one thing is sure -- if you wait until you know without a doubt what that mission is, you will also be waiting to do what good you can in the world in the meantime.

I say if there is a mess in front of you and your hand lights upon a broom, pick it up and start sweeping. Perhaps ultimately a mop might do a better job, or even a shovel. But the longer you wait to decide what tool to use, the longer the mess will be there.

I don't mean to suggest you should just throw a dart at a random list of ways to help the world. But you have probably already done a lot of studying and thinking and listening about what your mission in life should be. Most people I talk to are seriously considering no more than a handful of different ideas at any one time.

What I am suggesting, though, is that you should allow yourself to be moved in the direction of action regarding one of these ways to be of service the next time some useful action presents itself to you.

There will be a moment when that action will turn into a commitment and then there will be another point when you can decide if the direction you are going feels right. Even after you commit, most commitments are negotiable. Once you have set upon a course, you can usually still change it, although it becomes harder to do the further along you go.

But since it's likely that no decision you make will be permanent anyway, why not simply choose to make one based on what is calling to you most in that moment? Then you will act, and in acting, you will learn more. After deciding, you will feel differently than before you decided, and that too, you will learn from. When you decide and act, you will tell people about your choice, and from their reactions (and from your own when you tell them), you will learn still more.

And while you are learning these things, you will simultaneously be contributing your unique talents in the direction of cleaning up a mess that is much in need of cleaning.

In many ways, I think there is little effort in acting to clean up the world's messes that is truly wasted. If you decide to work helping runaways for a time and then decide it is not for you, the runaways and you will still benefit. In fact, if you were to work or volunteer on a different path of service every month for the rest of your life, you and the world would still benefit.

In the aftermath of the South Asian tsunami, I read a news report that created a subtle but profound shift in my thinking on this issue of waiting to be sure about the best way to be of service.

A village leader in the Aceh province of Indonesia was interviewed by a journalist two weeks after the tsunami. "How much foreign aid is reaching your village?" the journalist asked.

"We can't understand it," the elder replied. "All we see are journalists and aid agency workers making studies. People come with cameras and clipboards and ask many questions. Then they leave and never come back. We need food, we need water. People are dying. Please stop sending people with questions about what we need and send us some help."

Labels: life purpose, social action, volunteering

On Monday, Jan 15, the U.S. will celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. with a national holiday. But what many Americans don't realize is that in 1994, Congress designated the King Holiday as a national day of volunteer service. Instead of just taking a day off from work or school, Americans of all backgrounds and ages are encouraged to honor Dr. King's memory by turning their concerns into positive action.

Each year on the King Day of Service, hundreds of thousands of Americans volunteer in their communities, building homes, painting schools, delivering meals, and teaching children about Dr. King's life. Many projects started on King Day continue to involve volunteers long after the holiday and benefit their communities year-round.

It's not too late to find a volunteer opportunity for yourself this coming Monday. You can find local organizations sponsoring King Day projects on the King Day of Service website, or through the USA Freedom Corps or the Corporation for National and Community Service, which sponsors projects such as AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Get Involved! and Learn and Serve America.

In the words of this year's presidential proclamation of the holiday, this can be a day for us all to "...recommit ourselves to the dream to which Dr. King devoted his life -- an America where the dignity of every person is respected; where people are judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character; and where the hope of a better tomorrow is in every neighborhood."

Labels: social action, volunteering

Did you make any resolutions this New Year? According to an A.C. Nielsen survey, over half of all the people in the world did in 2007. The most popular resolutions worldwide were to get more exercise and have a better work/life balance. Other top choices were to go on a diet, quit smoking, avoid bad relationships, and change jobs.

There's nothing wrong with resolutions like these. If we all paid more attention to our physical and emotional health as well as our job satisfaction, the world would be a happier place. But I'd like to see another sort of resolution make the top ten. What if we were all to resolve to do just one thing this year to make the world a better place?

Imagine the positive impact on a global scale if each of us took on just one significant task to better the lives of others or the state of our planet. We all have the capacity to be heroes if we allow ourselves to claim our own greatness. Could this be the year that you take a giant step forward on that path?

Here's my invitation -- choose one heroic act that you are willing to perform in 2007. Look outside yourself and your circle of family and friends to the wider world that is so in need of your skills and talents. What's just one thing that you could do to be of greater service?

I've pondered this question for myself, and decided that my heroic act this year will be to launch or join a project in support of educating girls in the developing world. There are several organizations already doing great work in this area, so my commitment is to forge an alliance with one of them and contribute enough of my time and energy to send at least 30 girls -- a classroom full -- to school this year in a developing country.

That's my heroic act for 2007 – what will be yours?

Labels: heroism, life purpose, social action

In a recent issue of Inquiring Mind, I encountered the story of Pali Boucher, the founder of Rocket Dog Rescue in San Francisco. I'm always looking for what motivates people to step out of their ordinary lives and into a heroic role. In Boucher's case, it was a howling dog.

Boucher was the child of a homeless, drug-addicted mother who died when she was ten. After a short time in a foster home, she ended up on the street herself. For many years, she was in and out of jail, became addicted to drugs, and contracted HIV. But she always loved animals. As a child, she took care of pigeons, feral cats, and junkyard dogs. As a homeless adult, she visited animal shelters to spend time with the dogs there.

At the SPCA, Boucher fell in love with Leadbelly, a hound who no one wanted to adopt because he howled all the time. Learning that Leadbelly was in danger of being euthanized, she scrounged up some money, faked an address, and adopted him. After almost losing her beloved hound when she went back to jail, she checked herself into a detox program. "It was the first time in my life I realized that I wasn't just affecting myself by going out and getting loaded, that I was directly responsible for the pain of somebody else," Boucher recalls.

Ultimately, Boucher and Leadbelly rescued each other. Boucher says, "He helped me learn to take care of myself by taking care of him." After getting clean and sober, Boucher founded Rocket Dog Rescue, which saves dogs scheduled for euthanasia throughout California. Rocket Dog rescues about 150 dogs per year, and runs completely on donations with no paid staff. Boucher is a recipient of the Points of Light Award for outstanding volunteerism.

There's just no telling where a hero might encounter the call to inspired action. So keep listening -- yours is out there.

Labels: hero stories, social action

The holiday shopping season is upon us, so it's time once again for what has become an annual feature in this blog – suggestions for how your gift-buying dollars can help to make the world a better place. By making your purchases from fair trade organizations, nonprofit collectives, social enterprises, and other worthy causes, you can give a gift to the people on your list and the global community at the same time. Here are some ideas:

The Culture Shop - Buy jewelry, accessories, textiles, and home decor created by indigenous craftspeople around the world. Everything in their catalog has been purchased according to Fair Trade Federation standards

Global Girlfriend - Organic cotton clothing, recycled plastic accessories, and natural bath products are available online from this Fair Trade boutique. Their goods are made by women's non-profit programs, women's cooperatives worldwide and products that benefit women's human rights.

Greyston Bakery - Order brownies and blondies for shipping nationwide from this social enterprise in Yonkers, NY that gives jobs and job training to the chronically unemployed. Greyston is the sole supplier of brownies to Ben & Jerry's, and profits from the bakery support community development initiatives, including low-income housing, childcare, health services, and technology education.

Humane Society - For the pet or pet-lover on your list, shop at the Humane Domain, where you can buy dog sweaters in team colors, kitty hammocks, dog or cat pajamas, and lots more. Proceeds benefit the Humane Society's animal welfare programs.

Rosie's Place - Purchase jewelry and accessories made from unique and vintage buttons, made by the Women's Craft Cooperative. Rosie's place serves poor and homeless women in Boston, providing emergency and long-term assistance with housing, food, health care, and education.

Shop New Orleans - You can help with Gulf Coast recovery by purchasing gifts from the artists, craftspeople, and nonprofits struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina. The Carnival of Hurricane Relief has assembled this collection, which includes designs from the New Orleans Craft Mafia, Christmas note cards from Southern Creations, and prints of paintings salvaged from the destroyed Biloxi Maritime Museum.

Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates - Buy organic Fair Trade chocolate bars, caramels, truffles, cocoa mix, and more at wholesale prices. Orders from individuals are welcome on Sweet Earth's website.

Trails to Bridges - Beautiful handbags, baskets, pottery, scarves, jewelry, and more are available from this faith-based venture that supports disadvantaged artisans worldwide with Fair Trade practices.

Global Giving Gift Certificates - Allow the people on your gift list to donate to the cause of their choice by giving them a donation gift certificate. With Global Giving, you can buy a certificate in any amount of $10 or more, and the recipient can choose what project or organization your gift will be donated to by browsing a project catalog indexed by theme and global region.

For even more suggestions, check out last year's guide for where to buy gift baskets, baby clothes, bath salts, soup mixes, and much more. Make a difference with your dollars this holiday season.

Labels: social action, social entrepreneurs

In the Skoll Foundation’s Social Edge newsletter this week, I discovered the book Be Bold by Cheryl L. Dorsey and Lara Galinsky. “The urge to live a life of meaning,” the authors say, “is one of our most elemental desires as human beings. We want to make a difference in the world; we need to leave our footprint in the sands of time to mark our existence. By honoring the beliefs and values we hold dear, we allow ourselves to live lives that matter.”

In less than 100 pages, Dorsey and Galinsky share powerful concepts like having the “gall to think big” and choosing to be “bold as a career choice.” They remind us: “Never forget that doing nothing is as much a choice as doing something. Choosing to get engaged in a cause that you deeply care about or launching a career in the nonprofit sector are not only courageous acts of service, but also the most powerful weapon against the horrors and injustices of the world that require indifference, inaction, and silence to thrive.”

You can download at no charge the preface and introduction to the book, as well as a Be Bold personal journal, from the Be Bold website if you join their free virtual community of readers and social change advocates. Be Bold carries a valuable and timely message to would-be heroes everywhere.

Labels: life purpose, social action, volunteering

Alice Paul and Lucy Burns should fit anyone's definition of a hero. In 1913, they formed the Congressional Union for Women Suffrage and three years later, the National Woman's Party, to bring women the right to vote. They first received national attention for their efforts when they organized a parade of 8,000 women suffragists -- the largest parade ever seen at that time -- on the eve of President Woodrow Wilson's inauguration. In 1917, they staged the first-ever political protest to picket the White House. They pioneered the use of nonviolent civil disobedience in the U.S.

During their twelve-year struggle for women's suffrage, Paul and Burns were imprisoned, beaten, cruelly mistreated, and tortured by prison guards. Their arrests were for no worse crimes than picketing and "obstructing sidewalks." They were feared and despised by many men of their time, and were opposed by not only conservative women but also by other suffragettes who preferred less militant tactics. Prison officials attempted to have Paul declared insane, claiming she suffered from a "mania of persecution." But despite every attempt to stop them, Paul and Burns kept up the fight. In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was finally passed, and U.S. women voted for the first time in that November's presidential election.

Today on the 86th anniversary of that historic vote, whether you are a man or a woman, please join me in honoring the victory of these two heroes by casting your own precious vote for the candidates and issues of your choice.

Labels: hero stories, social action

I mentioned in my last post that I had come to a decision to focus on just one cause for all of my personal volunteer efforts and donations. By funneling my charitable energy into a single channel, I believe I can make more of a difference. I'd like to share with you what that cause is, and why I picked it.

One of my criteria for supporting a charitable project has always been that it has an aspect of teaching people how to fish. Over the past few years, I've been drawn to support organizations like Heifer International, who gives farm animals to villagers instead of food, and requires that each recipient of an animal give its first offspring to another family. Or Kiva, where you can make microloans to entrepreneur in the developing world to them build a business to support their family and create local jobs.

I love this sort of social trim-tabbing. Trim tabs are the small surfaces on the rudders and ailerons of boats and planes that can steer the whole vehicle with tiny movements. Buckminster Fuller used the term to describe people who seek to achieve major social change with minimum effort, by choosing carefully where to apply pressure.

A second yardstick I've used to choose my causes has been that I must feel a visceral connection to the people being helped and the specific way in which help is being delivered. Entrepreneurship projects gain my attention because I'm an entrepreneur who had to struggle to be successful myself. I worked on several Katrina relief projects because I empathized so deeply with the feelings of abandonment experienced by hurricane survivors when the help they were counting on didn't arrive.

My third rule has been that I must be able to connect what I give to an impact I can measure. In looking for a place to make contributions after the Asian tsunami, I chose to donate to a group delivering buckets of supplies to the Indonesian coast in small boats, instead of giving my money to the Red Cross. The Indonesian group was able to tell me exactly how many people my contribution would help, and how it would get to them.

So here's the cause I've found that meets all three of these personal standards of mine, and more -- send girls to school.

In many countries in the developing world, education isn't free. Families must pay school fees to local governments, buy uniforms, books, and supplies, and do without the income of a child who isn't working. Faced with tough decisions about how to spend scarce resources, many families choose to send boys to school, but keep girls at home and put them to work.

However, when girls do get an education, the impact on the family, village, and entire nation can be dramatic. Consider these facts:
o For every year a girl remains in school, her wages increase by 20%, and she has 10% fewer children
o A child whose mother attends five years of school has a 40% lower mortality risk
o For every two years a girl stays in school, the children she raises stay in school another year
o You can send a girl to school for an entire year with a donation as small as $75

According to UNICEF, educating girls is the best vehicle available for eradicating global poverty. The World Bank says: "Educating girls yields a higher rate of return than any other investment in the developing world." If you're interested in learning more about this topic, I've set up a Squidoo lens about it at www.squidoo.com/sendgirlstoschool launched a project to support this cause at www.sendgirlstoschool.org.

I'm sure you can see how this cause passes my tests for trim-tabbing and measurability. And as for the personal connection test, well... I'm a high school dropout who eventually worked my way through college with no help from my family. Helping girls get an education feels pretty personal to me.

Labels: social action, social entrepreneurs, volunteering

Watching a video course on Buddhism from The Teaching Company the other day, I learned something fascinating about the word "karma." I had always thought this term represented a sort of cosmic bank account where our good deeds counted as credits and our bad ones as debits. But it turns out what the word actually means is "action" or "the result of action."

The Wikipedia says "Karma is not about retribution, vengeance, punishment or reward. Karma simply deals with what is. The effects of all deeds actively create past, present and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life, and the pain and joy brought to others." So, karma is simply what you do... or what you don't do.

I've been thinking and talking a lot about taking positive action over the past year. Ever since Hurricane Katrina struck last August, it has seemed more and more important to me that those who want to help others and make the world a better place need to go beyond conversation and good intentions, and do something about it. I've been taking action of my own in a few different ways -- working on several different Katrina relief projects, serving on the board of a nonprofit, starting work in earnest on the How to Become a Hero book, and hosting a discussion group for readers of this blog for the first eight months of this year. But I feel called to do more, and I want what I do to encourage others to do more, too.

To that end, I'm organizing a one-day retreat on Oct. 21st, called How to Become a Hero: Your Call to Action. I'm inviting a small group of like-minded people to gather in Marin County to explore their calling to serve others, deepen their commitment to this mission, and discover the course of action that will bring it to life. If you are in the Bay Area and this agenda speaks to you, please join us. I've kept the cost very low so it won't be a barrier to attending.

I've also decided that instead of spreading my volunteer efforts and donations among a variety of causes, I'm going to focus on just one cause. After much consideration, I believe I have found one that honors my values, satisfies my requirements, and that I feel a deep connection to. By choosing a solid anchor for my charitable work, I feel I can make more of an impact. I'll be sharing more about this cause in future posts.

So those are the actions I have chosen, or should I say, this is the karma I am choosing to create. What karma are you creating today?

Labels: life purpose, social action

The little choices we make on a daily basis can have a huge impact on our society and environment. Take shopping, for example. Every day, we vote with our wallets to support one company and not another. Often, we make our shopping choices based on price, convenience, and habit, paying little attention to the long-term consequences of our decisions. Without knowing it, we may be giving our money to companies whose practices we strongly oppose.

If you'd like to put more of your money where your values are, pay a visit to Responsible Shopper, Co-Op America's site for socially-conscious shopping. One of the many valuable features you'll find there is the ability to search for a company you currently do business with and find out about their track record with human rights, social justice, and environmental sustainability. Let's say you've been buying outdoor gear from Eddie Bauer. When you view their profile, you'll discover that numerous sources have accused the company of using sweatshop labor in Indonesia and the Phillippines, and denying to workers pay they have already earned. Their competitor Patagonia, on the other hand, shows no record of violations like these, and according to their listing in the National Green Pages, donates 1% of their sales to grassroots environmental organizations.

You may also discover that some of the well-meaning decisions you have already made to alter your shopping habits are perhaps not as wise as you thought. For example, I have for some time refused to shop at Wal-Mart, due (among other reasons) to their use of sweatshop labor in other countries and poor treatment of workers in the U.S. As a result, from time to time I have made purchases from Target. But according to the Co-Op America Quarterly, "Target has been tied to sweatshops in China and Guatemala" and "Target isn't any better than Wal-Mart in terms of worker rights." Starting wages for Target employees are no higher than Wal-Mart's, and Target's benefit packages are often harder to qualify for and less comprehensive than Wal-Mart's dismal benefits. Yikes!

So where should I purchase the housewares I have sometimes bought at Target? In Responsible Shopper's Green Shift section, they suggest several ideas, including "shop locally," and "buy second-hand." I could probably buy almost any household item I might shop for at Target from my local chain Cole Hardware, who not only commits to matching any other store's advertised low price, but also gives me a 5% rebate on my annual purchases to spend at their store. And I have many sources nearby for second-hand shopping, including a Goodwill store, numerous garage sales, and the many offers on Craigslist.

Check out Responsible Shopper for yourself and see if there's even one small change you could make to start having your shopping dollars make a positive difference in the world.

Labels: social action

The recent news that Warren Buffet plans to give 85% of his $44 billion fortune to charity got me thinking. Buffet is the world's second richest man, and his planned donation is the largest philanthropic gift in history. While his act of generosity is certainly inspirational, Buffet is not exactly an ordinary citizen. When his charitable gift is complete, he'll still have over $6 billion in assets left.

I often hear from people the sentiment that they would give more to charity if only they earned more. But does this actually occur? Statistics show that charitable giving by the richest Americans is falling while donations from the rest of us are on the rise. From 1995 to 2003, donations from those earning more than $1 million per year fell by 12%. Over the same time period, donations from those earning less than $1 million per year rose by 25%. The result? Americans who earn less than $1 million per year now give to charity almost the exact same share of their income (3.5%) as those earning more (3.6%).

It appears that earning more isn't a prerequisite for giving more after all. So if you've been delaying your giving while you focus on earning, perhaps it's time to make a change. As with many other steps a would-be hero could take to make the world a better place, there may be no reason to wait any longer before taking action.

Labels: social action

If you have discovered the benefits to your life and career of exploring your heroic side, here's a chance to share that experience with some kids. Donors Choose recently contacted me and asked if I'd be willing to post a challenge to my blog readers. This wonderful organization provides a convenient channel for donors to contribute directly to low-cost classroom projects at underfunded public schools.

Currently, there are two teachers in their network seeking funding to teach the Hero's Journey in their classrooms. A 9th grade English teacher in Charlotte, North Carolina wants to teach the Hero's Journey to students using Lord of the Rings. The cost of 30 copies of Fellowship of the Ring is $309, and this teacher needs another $86 to make the purchase. Another 9th grade English teacher in Sonoma, California has been teaching the Hero's Journey for nine years, using Homer's Odyssey. This teacher has discovered a much more accessible new translation of the Odyssey that students are excited about reading, and needs $682 to buy 46 copies of it.

Please consider making a contribution to one of these valuable projects, and help kids learn to make heroic choices early in life. Read more about the projects and view my challenge here.

And if you write your own blog, consider posting a challenge to your readers related to the topic of your blog by visiting Bloggers Choose.

Labels: heroism, social action

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, I was searching for stories about ordinary people who became heroes by taking action to help hurricane victims. Instead of echoing criticism about the official response, I wanted to provide some positive examples of people who did what they could with whatever they had. One of the people I wrote about then was Sidney Ray, a Southern California woman who in just six days organized a group of volunteers to fill twelve semi trailers with donations for Katrina survivors.

Recently, Sidney wrote me with an update: "Since September 8th, we have sent out 60 trucks (a combination of 53' semi trailers and 24' box trucks) loaded with 900 pallets of goods -- food, water, baby supplies, clothing, dog food, etc. to families all over Louisiana and Mississippi." Wow.

Sidney's spontaneous effort has grown into a national mutual aid network called Relief Spark. It's an amazing example of what one motivated person can create. Here's a bit of the story in Sidney's own words: 'After reading the newspapers and watching the news on TV, I had this overwhelming feeling that I had to do something! I couldn't just sit around and watch this go by. After making a donation to the Red Cross and going out that evening; my mind was made up: I would go online and find volunteers willing to help me. Within 30 minutes I located my first volunteer in San Diego. 12 hours later I had my first donation drive set up and ready to go... By Sunday we had filled up 3 - 24 foot trucks that were trucked to our Van Nuys donation site. By Monday... 80 volunteers came out to help that evening (that was on Labor Day!) to prepare our boxes for 11 semi's that were supposed to be arriving on Tuesday... we continued to accept donated goods and volunteers showed up to help us out from all over California! By that evening, we had over 350 pallets of goods... and we had taken over the entire street!"

Right now Sidney is on the ground in New Orleans, helping families gut and rebuild their homes. Her goal for the month of March is to have 1000 volunteers come to Louisiana to work on rebuilding projects... and she already has 650 lined up. If you've ever wondered if one person could really make a difference, Sidney is one to remember.

Labels: hero stories, social action

Every January, many of us spend a few moments thinking about what we want to do differently in the year to come. Typically, these resolutions focus on improving our lives. We resolve to exercise more, eat less, earn more, spend less, find a better job, or improve our health.

So here's a revolutionary idea -- what if this time around, you made a New Year's resolution to improve the lives of others? Look around you at whatever conditions in the world most often make you mad, sad, or frustrated. Are you fed up with our political leaders? Touched by the plight of earthquake victims in Pakistan? Angry that the world's poorest people are suffering while corporate greed seems at an all time high? These are all issues where one person can make a difference.

My first revolutionary resolution this year is to find ways of making my aid to others direct and personal. I notice that when I think about problems on a global scale, I often feel overwhelmed and hopeless. But if I see something I can do to help one small group of people directly, I feel energized and can take positive action.

Here's an example of that principle at work. I recently found out about Kiva, a microlending program that allows individuals to loan funds directly to entrepreneurs in the developing world. With the investment of tiny amounts of capital, these small businesses can provide a means of earning a living to their owners, the owner's family, and others in the community. When you visit Kiva's web site, you'll see a list of businesses that need microloans to get started or grow. Most businesses need amounts as small as $300-500, and you can loan as little as $25. These are loans, not grants or donated aid, and the funds go directly to the entrepreneur described on the site.

I decided to loan money to Agnes Ochieng, operator of a restaurant called Good Feeding in Tororo, Uganda. Agnes needed $300 to buy equipment for her restaurant, which employs five people in her village. And I feel a whole lot better about having loaned $300 to Agnes than if I had written a check to an aid agency so they could send food to Africa.

What will be your revolutionary idea in 2006? One person's resolution can make a significant difference in the lives of others. Is that one person you?

P.S. My "How to Become a Hero" teleconference discussion forum starts Jan. 10. We'll begin by discussing Step 1: Develop your heroic qualities. My story above is an example of how to put yourself in situations that evoke your higher self, an important aspect of this step. Please join us!

Labels: social action, social entrepreneurs

Shel Horowitz wants to change the world. Shel is the author of Principled Profit: Marketing that Puts People First, and he's started a campaign to get 25,000 people to sign his Ethical Business Pledge. Shel believes that businesses should "look at the triple bottom line: financial, environmental, and social" in all their business practices.

In the pledge, business owners and their employees are asked to support this bottom line, to not tolerate crooked practices on the part of anyone their business deals with, and to share this message with others. Also in the pledge is the request to treat all stakeholders "with compassion, and with a commitment to service."

Compassion and service are two of the hallmarks of the hero, who when faced with a choice, puts the needs of others -- and the best interests of the community -- first. Shel envisions a world where a corporate culture built on strong ethics not only refuses to tolerate unprincipled behavior, but directly addresses issues that arise out of seeking only to maximize profit: unfair labor practices, the degradation of natural resources, damage to the environment, and the propping up of repressive governments.

If you'd like to support Shel's campaign, you can sign the pledge online. Note that Shel asks you to share his message with 100 other people in business when you do. Even if you don't decide to sign, Shel's 12 ways to reach 100 people are worth studying as an excellent model for getting your message across for any issue you care about.

Labels: social action, social entrepreneurs

Here in the first week of December, the thoughts of many are turning to holiday gift-giving. Why not use your holiday gifts to make the world a better place? By making your purchases from nonprofit collectives, social enterprises, and fair trade organizations, you can give a gift to the people on your list and the global community at the same time. Here are some sources for holiday gifts that will help to make the world a better place:

Global Exchange - At their Fair Trade Online Store, you can purchase crafts, clothing, jewelry, gift baskets, and more from importers and producers around the world who adhere to fair trade guidelines, providing their workers with a living wage and safe working conditions, and following environmentally sustainable practices. (I ordered several items for my gift list from them, which arrived within days and were as beautiful as they looked in the catalog.)

Marketplace India - Support economic development for disadvantaged women in India by purchasing beautiful clothing and linens manufactured by local cooperatives. Gift certificates are also available.

Appalachian Baby Design - If there are babies on your gift list, shop for clothing and blankets from this nonprofit, which has devoted itself to making machine knitting a sustainable, home-based industry for women in rural Appalachia.

Southwest Indian Foundation - Shop from a huge catalog of jewelry, clothing, ceramics, housewares, food gifts, and much more to support community development, affordable housing, and alcohol counseling for Native American families in the Navajo, Zuni and Hopi tribes.

Make Piece - Purchase one-of-a-kind, handmade jewelry made by low-income women in the Washington DC area.

The Enterprising Kitchen - These soaps, bath salts and other spa products are made by low-income Chicago women recovering from substance abuse and homelessness.

Women's Bean Project - Help Denver women break the cycle of poverty and unemployment by purchasing these delicious soup, bread, sauce, and beverage mixes.

Fair Trade Certified - Coffee, tea and chocolate are marvelous presents for the hard-to-buy-for names on your list, and make excellent client gifts. Look at your local health food store or progressive market for products that carry the fair trade certified labels from TransFair USA or Fair Trade Federation.

Heifer International - For the person who has everything, give them a cow... or a goat, llama, or water buffalo. Make a donation to Heifer and they will purchase farm animals to help needy families around the world earn their own livelihood. You will receive a beautiful "honor card" to give the recipient explaining the donation you made in their honor. For the last-minute giftgiver, honor cards are also available by email.

Most online stores will guarantee holiday delivery if you order by Dec. 10, so pull out your credit card this week and start saving the world.

Labels: social action, social entrepreneurs

Peter Drucker died Nov. 11 at the age of 95. Known as the "father of modern management," Drucker was the author of more than 30 books, including the classic study Concept of the Corporation. As a former management consultant myself, I've known about Drucker for years. Although I've read the work of many people quoting Drucker, I had never read any of his books. But on the day he died, sitting on my coffee table was a copy of The World According to Peter Drucker by Jack Beatty, which arrived there purely by chance after someone discarded it at my neighborhood recycling center. It seems the universe wanted me to know a bit more about Drucker.

Concept of the Corporation began as an internal study commissioned by General Motors. When Drucker discovered that GM employees considered him a management spy and wouldn't talk to him, he asked GM to let him write a book instead because "everybody in this country will do anything for a writer." But when the book was published in 1945, GM denounced it as an attack on the company. Drucker was calling for major changes in how GM was managed.

It wasn't just GM that Drucker was talking about. According to Beatty, "Concept of the Corporation is a book about business as Moby-Dick is a book about whaling." Drucker used GM as an example of the sweeping changes he saw needed in corporations as social institutions. He argued that corporate life was our new social reality, and as such "has to carry the burden of our dreams... of equality of opportunity and personal achievement." The promise of an industrial society was that more people would be allowed to realize their personal dreams than ever before in history. But the corporation wasn't doing its job.

Scores of new opportunities for advancement and personal fulfillment were being created by the industrial system, but it appeared they were being given to the "already advanced." The focus on purely economic criteria for success was an affront to dignity and destroyed self-respect. And the assembly-line style of corporate work with its monotony and rigid specialization was in opposition to natural human strengths.

Drucker was the first to insist that corporations were "affected with the public interest" and should show "social responsibility." He continued to sound that theme until his death. In his 1999 book Leading Beyond the Walls, Drucker said, "Social responsibility is usually defined as doing no harm to others in the pursuit of one's own interest or of one's own task." But what we need today is "what might be called civic responsibility: giving to the community in the pursuit of one's own interest or of one's own task."

It's not quite what you would expect from the world's best known business guru. I wonder how many of those management experts citing Drucker's work have also never read it.

Labels: social action

The past ten months have seen more than their share of calls to heroes. Beginning with the tsunami in South Asia last December, we have seen a wave of natural disasters leaving behind widespread destruction and despair: Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in the U.S., Hurricane Stan in Guatemala and El Salvador, and the recent earthquake in Pakistan and India. There are so many people homeless, jobless, and suffering around the world that we may be tempted to throw up our hands in despair. How can we help so many people at once? With so much help needed in so many places, what can one person do?

I have had my moments of wanting to turn off the news and pretend none of this is happening. Hearing so many calls for help, a natural response is to defend ourselves by shutting down our compassion. By turning a deaf ear and hardening our hearts, perhaps we can avoid being overwhelmed, and therefore perhaps remain of some use. But I believe there is a more purposeful solution.

Loren Eiseley, in his book The Star Thrower, wrote a parable that has been widely repeated as the "starfish story." If you aren't familiar with it, here's a synopsis. This story serves as a guidepost to me whenever I begin to feel overcome by donor fatigue, volunteer burnout, or just too much bad news. If my personal contribution can make a significant difference in the life of just one person who is suffering, than it is a worthwhile thing to do.

For heroes to truly be "star throwers," we must choose where our efforts will go. When there are so many places we could be volunteering, donating money, or heading up a relief project, almost any choice will do. If you have read either of my books, you already know my stance that "it doesn't matter so much what you choose as that you choose." By making a choice, you make action possible. And in these challenging times, your heroic action is desperately needed, wherever you choose to take it.

Labels: heroism, social action

For the past month, I've been deeply involved in four different Katrina relief projects: the directory on the "Hero" site of corporate and celebrity donors who will match your aid donations, the Get Hired Now! project to provide free job club kits to relief agencies serving unemployed Katrina survivors, the Volunteers for Careers project to offer free career coaching and resume writing to Katrina survivors, and the beginnings of a fourth project to aid economic recovery in New Orleans.

What I'm finding remarkable about this turn of events is that before Hurricane Katrina struck, I would have told you I was much too busy to take on any additional projects. And yet, somehow, I found the time for four.

At first, I found myself feeling quite overwhelmed. How could I possibly take on all this and still find time to work, eat, sleep, and squeeze in a little down time? But gradually, I began to adjust. Some things slid down the priority list and didn't get done (laundry, for example). Others got done more quickly and less thoroughly than usual (like reading the mail). I also found myself delegating more. As media chair for Volunteers for Careers, I sent out over 700 press releases, and made about 300 phone calls to media outlets. Only I didn't do it. Instead, because I didn't have anywhere near enough time to do all that, I found myself recruiting a team of five people to send the releases and make the calls. So it got done in two days, instead of taking two weeks and all of my time.

As a result of all this high-speed activity focused on making a difference quickly, I notice that instead of feeling exhausted, I feel energized. This increased volume of work and added responsibility isn't making me suffer; it's making me feel good. I can see that my efforts are contributing something valuable to the lives of others, and that in turn is contributing to my own wellbeing. So what might my experience suggest to you about some of the good works you have been putting off doing?

My thanks to everyone who contributed to hurricane relief through one of the matching donors I have been promoting. It's because of you that most of these offers have been fully funded, doubling the level of contributions available for aid to Katrina survivors. If you have a few more dollars available to give, there are some offers still available where you can have your relief contribution matched by someone with deeper pockets. For example, Barry Manilow is still accepting contributions on his foundation's web site, and promising to do additional fundraising if necessary to continue matching every dollar you give.

Thanks also to everyone who has signed up to volunteer for the Volunteers for Careers project. We have well over 700 career coach volunteers now, and while more are always welcome, our more pressing need is for help with letting people know that this wonderful service exists. If you are a PR or web marketing professional with a couple of hours to spare, please email me if you would like to help.

Labels: social action, volunteering

Career coaches, counselors, resume writers, and PR professionals, your help is needed. More than houses and lives were swept away by Hurricane Katrina. Thousands of jobs -- impacting people’s livelihood and sense of purpose -- were also destroyed in Katrina’s wake. Last week alone, new unemployment claims jumped by 78,000. Thousands of men and women (white-collar and blue-collar alike) are now dealing with the reality of unexpected job loss.

Volunteers For Careers was originated by leaders of Professional Resume Writing & Research Association, National Resume Writers’ Association, and Career Masters Institute following the tragedy of 9/11. Now this volunteer coalition has been re-launched with the support of leaders of additional career organizations across the country, including the Association of Career Professionals International, the Association of Online Career and Resume Professionals, the National Career Development Association, and Parachute Associates.

Here’s what you can do to help:

1. Register with us to offer your expertise to those in need. Go to www.VolunteersForCareers.com and click "Become a Volunteer." You can register to help in one or more of these areas: resume writing, job search strategy, and/or career transition. We helped several thousand job seekers in response to 9/11. Let’s see if we can top those numbers this time, so that we can meet our goal of assisting more than 10,000!

2. Share your expertise and network with those coordinating this initiative. After you've registered as a volunteer, please visit www.VolunteersForCareers.com/forum/ where you can contribute to a committee (media, public agency outreach, volunteer liaison, etc.), as well as post ideas, contacts, resources, and other information that will help us to get the word out and build momentum.

3. PR professionals, we need your help in spreading the word about this no-cost offer to people in need. We have media tools prepared and spokespeople ready, but need some pinpoint assistance in identifying and contacting specific media outlets. Please email me if you can help, even if only for an hour or two.

4. Forward this email to your career or PR colleagues who might not have received it.

5. If you have contacts at any organizations that are helping Katrina victims and think they might be willing to add Volunteers For Careers to their resource list, please send them a quick email asking for their assistance and directing them to www.volunteersforcareers.com.

Volunteers can register to serve only one client or as many clients as you like. (After registering, you can also request additional job-seekers at a later date if you find that your schedule will accommodate more Katrina clients.) Once a client match has been made by the Volunteers for Careers system, you will receive an email providing contact information so that you can get in touch with your client. In most cases, services will be provided long-distance.

Because of the extensive scope of need, this is CAREER TRIAGE! You are not expected to provide long-term, in-depth services. Our goal is to help people get back to work as fast as possible!

Thank you for giving of your time and talents to make a difference in the lives of individuals who have experienced job loss as a result of Hurricane Katrina. We look forward to hearing the success stories of how our efforts made a difference and impacted the lives of our fellow citizens!

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead

Labels: social action, volunteering

On today's fourth anniversary of the Sept 11th tragedy, the first song I heard on the radio was John Lennon's Imagine. Singing along alone in my car, I heard the lyrics as if for the first time instead of the thousandth. It felt as if I were singing a hymn in remembrance of the lives taken by both the Sept 11th attack and by Hurricane Katrina. "Imagine all the people living life in peace...Imagine all the people sharing all the world."

As the World Trade Center attacks exposed to us the deep conflicts that still exist between nations, Hurricane Katrina has revealed some of the profound social divisions within our own nation.

Remembering my personal commitment during these difficult days to positive action and hope, as opposed to criticism and despair, I sang out Lennon's last verse -- no longer as a memorial hymn, but an anthem for would-be heroes everywhere. "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope some day you'll join us, and the world will live as one." Just imagine.

Technorati tags: Hurricane Katrina

Labels: social action