Last month I asked you what nourishes your soul – what things that you do go beyond enjoyment to feed and nurture you?  Today, I’m asking you what is it that nourishes your soul that also changes the world?  What is it that you can do that makes a difference in the world and at the same time revitalizes and energizes you?

I’m on the national board of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS), and after the earthquake hit Haiti we had ongoing discussion about what we could do to help, and we launched an initiative asking our members to contribute a percentage of their next engagements to Haiti, and the response has been phenomenal.

But I still felt there was more I could be doing, and I came up with an idea for something we could do locally.  2 weeks ago yesterday I called up the president of the local chapter of Meeting Professionals International (MPI), and along with 2 other individuals, CAPS and MPI put together a fundraiser yesterday called Speak Out For Haiti that raised $12,000, and with additional contributions from the Montreal chapter of MPI and the Federal government, over $23,000 will be going to Haiti.

Just after we started this, I was talking about the initiative with my 7-year-old son, and he said he wanted to do something to help Haiti, so he designed and started selling pins for $2, and now has raised almost $1,000.

Now this isn’t to aggrandize us, and it’s not even specifically about Haiti.  There is huge need in Haiti right now, and there are also many other places in the world, both far and close to home, that need help.

What this is about is if, in 2 weeks, 4 people can design something that enables $23,000 go to Haiti and a 7-year-old kid can raise over $1,000, what could happen if everyone stepped up?  What kind of difference could that make?

And not just to work.  Putting together yesterday’s fundraiser was a lot of work. It was also incredibly joyful.  And everyone who was there yesterday was basking in good feelings about being part of it.

This is not about adding work. This is not about sacrificing yourself.  This is about getting clear about what your gifts are and using them in joyful ways that make a difference in the world.

What could be possible if everyone on this planet did that?  If even 1 in 10 did?

How could it impact the world?

How could it impact you?

Related articles by Zemanta

• Hearts For Haiti (timesunion.com)
• Montreal benefit concert for Haiti raises $85k (cbc.ca)
• Back to learning in Haiti (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Who are the biggest donors to Haiti? (marginalrevolution.com)

Tags: canadian Association of Professional Speakers, Earthquake, Haiti, Meeting Professionals International

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 10:24 am and is filed under Current Affairs, Laws/Principles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.