Only a life lived for others is worth living
It's really great to hear that you guys are giving back to our planet.. especially given how incredibly privledged we all are.
I remember reading somewhere that if you earn more than $250 a week, you are in the top 15% of the richest people on the planet.
We live inside a lovely ignorant bubble in Australia - and most of us will never even comprehend what extreme poverty is. Can you believe half of the planet live on less than $2.50 a day? It's insane!
I think what I love most about people coming from extreme poverty and unfortunate circumstances, is their sense of compassion and dedication to giving back.
I met an inspriring young man from Sudan the other day - he was forced to leave South Sudan after growing up in the midst of violent 20 year civil war, and ended up as a refugee in Kenya (one of the Lost Boys) - he was lucky enough to recieve a scholarship for a school in Nairobi, and he is now completing his Masters of Public Health in Australia.
Rather than staying here and building up his own life, he is heading back to Sudan to rebuild his country now that peace has been declared.
He has a purpose - he's so clear that his circumstances were extremely fortunate - and now he is going to give back what he has recieved.
After spending years and years chasing the mighty $$$$$ I got to see that money is never going to be the source of my happiness. My whole life was lived in the future - WHEN I have 10 investment properties, THEN I'll be happy, WHEN I make $100,000 in passive income per year THEN I'll give back.. I got to see it's all rubbish.. The moments when I'm authentically joyful are the ones when I'm not focused on myself, but when I'm giving to others!
I've recently started a charity called Project Eight with a friend of mine - our mission is to empower youth in developing countries to create change within their communities. Forget aid, forget handouts - we will be training the future leaders of these countries to create change themselves rather than relying on handouts.
Just like KIVA - what a great concept! No handouts, microloans that create and support entrepreneurs.
Our first project is to assist a man called Githinji who is building a girls secondary boarding school in Kenya -we will be investing $20,000 into his school that will be paid back through providing underprivledged girls with scholarships. We will also be running our social entrepreneur program in the school.
I believe its very important to empower these communities, rather than having them dependant on donations.
I'm lucky enough to support two sponsor kids that I fell in love with last year when I was volunteering in Africa - two gorgeous orphans called Wandy and Elhadgi, and I am planning on heading back to Sierra Leone within the next few months to see them again!
I also volunteer one day a week at the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre in West Melbourne. I love not-for-profit work
Even with one investment property, a mediocre business and no savings in the bank - I know I can make a difference and I'm damned determine to do so
I'll never know hunger, I'll never know homelessness, I'll never have a child die from a completely preventable disease.. Even if I was bankrupt and living on centrelink, I'd still be richer than 85% of the planet.. so I'm done.. I have everything I need - now its time to give back!
Some of my fav quotes that say it all..
"I guess basically one wants to feel that one's life has amounted to more than just consuming products and generating garbage.
I think that one likes to look back and say that one's done the best one can to make this a better place for others. You can look at it from this point of view : what greater motivation can there be than doing whatever one possibly can to reduce pain and suffering?"
Henry Spira
"Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself.. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential."
Barack Obama
It's really great to hear that you guys are giving back to our planet.. especially given how incredibly privledged we all are.
I remember reading somewhere that if you earn more than $250 a week, you are in the top 15% of the richest people on the planet.
We live inside a lovely ignorant bubble in Australia - and most of us will never even comprehend what extreme poverty is. Can you believe half of the planet live on less than $2.50 a day? It's insane!
I think what I love most about people coming from extreme poverty and unfortunate circumstances, is their sense of compassion and dedication to giving back.
I met an inspriring young man from Sudan the other day - he was forced to leave South Sudan after growing up in the midst of violent 20 year civil war, and ended up as a refugee in Kenya (one of the Lost Boys) - he was lucky enough to recieve a scholarship for a school in Nairobi, and he is now completing his Masters of Public Health in Australia.
Rather than staying here and building up his own life, he is heading back to Sudan to rebuild his country now that peace has been declared.
He has a purpose - he's so clear that his circumstances were extremely fortunate - and now he is going to give back what he has recieved.
After spending years and years chasing the mighty $$$$$ I got to see that money is never going to be the source of my happiness. My whole life was lived in the future - WHEN I have 10 investment properties, THEN I'll be happy, WHEN I make $100,000 in passive income per year THEN I'll give back.. I got to see it's all rubbish.. The moments when I'm authentically joyful are the ones when I'm not focused on myself, but when I'm giving to others!
I've recently started a charity called Project Eight with a friend of mine - our mission is to empower youth in developing countries to create change within their communities. Forget aid, forget handouts - we will be training the future leaders of these countries to create change themselves rather than relying on handouts.
Just like KIVA - what a great concept! No handouts, microloans that create and support entrepreneurs.
Our first project is to assist a man called Githinji who is building a girls secondary boarding school in Kenya -we will be investing $20,000 into his school that will be paid back through providing underprivledged girls with scholarships. We will also be running our social entrepreneur program in the school.
I believe its very important to empower these communities, rather than having them dependant on donations.
I'm lucky enough to support two sponsor kids that I fell in love with last year when I was volunteering in Africa - two gorgeous orphans called Wandy and Elhadgi, and I am planning on heading back to Sierra Leone within the next few months to see them again!
I also volunteer one day a week at the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre in West Melbourne. I love not-for-profit work
Even with one investment property, a mediocre business and no savings in the bank - I know I can make a difference and I'm damned determine to do so
I'll never know hunger, I'll never know homelessness, I'll never have a child die from a completely preventable disease.. Even if I was bankrupt and living on centrelink, I'd still be richer than 85% of the planet.. so I'm done.. I have everything I need - now its time to give back!
Some of my fav quotes that say it all..
"I guess basically one wants to feel that one's life has amounted to more than just consuming products and generating garbage.
I think that one likes to look back and say that one's done the best one can to make this a better place for others. You can look at it from this point of view : what greater motivation can there be than doing whatever one possibly can to reduce pain and suffering?"
Henry Spira
"Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself.. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential."
Barack Obama
