For the past 15 years, I have been obsessed with making the world a better place. I negotiated deals which brought in over $70,000 per year to Habitat for Humanity. I raised over $90,000 for a charity that granted end-of-life wishes to adults facing terminal illness. I personally granted two of those wishes while I worked there. I raised another $10,000 for various small, local non-profit agencies. I helped start two international non-profit agencies: one that delivered clothing and toys to orphanages in the middle east, and another which helps women empower themselves around the world. I have donated over $25,000 of my own money to various non-profits, and volunteered over 5,000 hours of my time.
All of that is above and beyond the paid work that I have done for charity. It doesn’t count the grants that I got paid to write, the fundraisers that I got paid to produce, or the marketing work that I was hired to do. It doesn’t count the websites that I built, the procedural manuals that I wrote, or the public service announcements that I produced. It doesn’t count the volunteer management programs I created, the databases that I cleaned up, or the paperwork that I filed.
If it sounds like I’m bragging, well, that’s because I am. I am proud of the work I have done, and the results I have achieved. Aside from insanely rich and powerful people, I don’t know anyone who has had that kind of positive effect on the world.
But here’s the thing: I’m done.
For the past year, I have focused mainly on myself and my close friends and family. Oh, I’ve made a few donations here and there. I donated $150 to fight hunger and $20 for clean water, but my focus has been on my immediate circle. The people I love…how can I make their world a better place? How can I ease the burden of those closest to me? And (most importantly, some would say) how can I make my own world a better place? What can I do to take care of myself, so that I may serve others from my overflow of love and abundance? These questions direct my focus, and my actions. I’m not interested in solving world hunger anymore…but if I know someone who is in danger of going hungry, I will buy groceries for them.
Mostly, I’m just focusing on loving people, listening to them, and holding space in my heart for them. I am focusing on “seeing” people in an Avatar-esque kind of way. Seeing who they are on the inside, at the deepest levels, beneath their stories, regrets, and fears. Heart-to-Heart, Soul-to-Soul…me and you; you and me. I am not a trained counselor (maybe someday), and my advice is almost laughably bad…but I can listen with an open heart, and I can connect with an open soul. I am no longer interested in helping thousands of people at a time. Instead, I am focusing on individuals, and making the world a better place one heart at a time. However, that leaves a hole in the Universe…which is where YOU come in…
Throwing Down the Gauntlet
I want someone to take over the BIG charity stuff. I want someone to step up to the plate, and make a HUGE difference in the world. I want someone to make me look bad. I estimate my total charitable contributions to be around $250,000. I want someone to double that…or better yet…quadruple it. I want to read about someone who has raised a million dollars for charities around the world. Not someone like Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey…just an ordinary person busting their ass to make the world a better place. Make it your life-long (or maybe just a decade or two) mission. 10 years at 100,000 per year puts you in the millionaire club. That’s not an easy goal…but it should be possible. Enlist your friends to help.
If you’re stuck for ideas…here’s a few:
Join Americorps (I did three years)
Join the Peace Corps
Create your own non-profit
Pick a charity you love, and organize fundraisers for them. Think big: benefit concerts, charity dinners, celebrity meet-and greets.
Contact celebrities. Get them to donate big bucks.
Convince your boss to start a corporate charitable donations program. Offer to organize it on your own time.
Learn how to write grants (it’s not hard). Write grants for charities on a volunteer basis.
And if you don’t want to start big…start small and let it snowball. Just do one thing…and then do another. Get five of your friends to give you $5 each. Take the money to your local animal shelter (or whatever). Congratulations! You just raised $25 to make the world a better place. Next week, try for $100!
Just do something. Anything. For you, for your friends, for strangers, for the whole world. Do something good.
Love Always,
Jay


