An outstanding interview by Guy Kawasaki with World Vision president Richard Stearns on How to Change the World. Sample Q&A—
Question: How can people who do not want to radically change their lives make a difference in the lives of the poor?
Answer: To really change the world, values must change. Consider the civil rights movement. Racial discrimination was once openly accepted in the United States. Today it is unacceptable to our mainstream culture. Very few of us are civil rights activists, but we let our values speak in our work places, our schools and to our elected officials.
Today, we live in a world that tolerates extreme poverty much like racism was tolerated fifty-plus years ago. We can all become people determined to do something to change the world. We can speak up, we can volunteer and we can give. Ending extreme poverty will take money, political and moral will, and a shift in our value system. When enough ordinary people embrace these issues, things will begin to change. Margaret Mead once said: “Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
He also touches on why Stearns left a successful business career to take on his role at World Vision with a substantial pay cut, and brings up social entrepreneurship (but not by name), something that’s been on my mind for the past little while now. Recommended reading.
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