I have an idea. I also have a vision. The world is a better place.
It is a very raw idea.
It came to me from the many, many influences I've had in my life. I'll list the main ones that contributed to it below. I do acknowledge I am doing a massive injustice to many other influences that contributed to this idea.
'The Silent takeover'
'The 7 Habits of Highly effective People' - Steven Covey
Gandhi
Dan Geaves
a boy in Vietnam in 2008
Ok - so what is it Vik? I promise you its coming.
I'm a fundraiser. Its what i do. Its what i live for. It makes me tick. It gets me high when i hear a charity has just received a massive donation. I know it brings smiles to people around the world.
But Fundraising is not the penultimate of charity. It helps raise money which helps charities greatly. Dont get me wrong. I still love it. I think its vital. But my few view of fundraising is it is just like money.
A means to help an end. Albeit a very important one at that.
I became a fundraiser because I felt the pain of the world. It hurt me. I wanted to make a difference.
I wasn't a doctor or nurse, didn't have a law degree so with my marketing background I figured fundraising was the career that could help me help ease the pain.
I love where i work and would talk up my company anywhere genuinely. We have a bunch of fantastic, inspired and highly intelligent individuals which clearly make up one of the most driven, ambitious and results oriented companies I have ever come into contact with.
Despite that I've decided to redefine what I do.
I no longer fundraise.
I smileraise now.
Charities that we work for do fantastic things.
They give medical treatment to those that have no access to it, they defend human rights which stem from the principle of equality, they put smiles on cancer patients and keep families from heartache. Ultimately they all do one thing. They try and give people the opportunity to smile. Which is a beautiful thing.
Charity exists to make the world a better place. One of my face2Face fundraisers once came over to me to quit. She said to me, "I can't do this anymore. The people i am asking for money are the most miserable people in the world. They need charity'. After my travels to London, New York, Paris, Istanbul, Sarejevo, Rabat, India, Vietnam and across the world I tend to agree.
So how do you smileraise?
Smile-raising starts with yourself. That's come from Covey. Thanks Steve.
I dont believe one can truly smile unless they have;
Health
Self esteem
A role in community
You have friends and family who love you and you love them
The ability to laugh at things and opportunities to smile
My mission includes making myself smile first. But i wont die a happy man unless i smile-raise competently in the future.
Well thats chapter 1
Sharon a collegue once asked me why i looked so worried one morning.
I said Capitilism and the global warming were worrying me. She said i'd be worrying a long time. Sorry Sharon you were wrong (you rarely are and i think you are brilliant but i will take this opportunity while i can).
I have an answer. Its called Smilism. To help it happen there needs to be smile club, smile-raising and a whole revolution take place. Smilism is the vision. But there needs to be a first part. Hope you can help me make that first step happen.
Tomorrow i will tell you about a boy i met in Vietnam. Understanding that experience was essential for me.
I'd love to hear if you found this interesting or have any ideas. Please post comments if you have any - even negative!
Cheers,
Vik
Your Challenge Today Should You Chose to Accept It
Make someone you love smile today. Say something genuine and nice. Say it honestly. Say it to yourself. Say it in the mirror. Say it in your head. Just say it. Thats step 1.
