How can you find your passion and purpose for social impact?

Understanding what social impact means for you; what drives you, is crucial. Here are some things to consider: Impact Strategy - Taking responsibility for a cohesive impact narrative, connecting to the overall strategy of the company. Sustainability - From gaining — and maintaining impact certification, to resource usage and stakeholder impact, ensuring clear reporting and disclosures. Ethics - With an increasing number of companies committing to reporting on impact, decision-making has a new layer of complexity. Wellbeing - Support the whole person; physical, mental, economic, emotional, social & spiritual. Diversity & Inclusion - Building diverse and inclusive teams that are supported, and equitable.

Discovering passion and purpose for social impact projects isn't automatic; it often stems from an inner calling. While we may be deeply moved by issues, finding our role can be challenging. It's not just about empathy; it's about actively engaging, learning, and contributing to drive meaningful change.

Let's Make A Difference When you go on a journey with someone who has no voice, and you use your voice to make a difference in their lives, you are not only giving them a chance to live a better life but you give yourself another chance to live better than yesterday. Helping others is what makes our lives meaningful. Give hope and be a light!

Values are everything. Take the time to think about what drives you, what motivates you, what you're passionate about, what wakes you up in the morning. When deciding where you fit into social impact, whether you're looking to work in this space or volunteer your time and talents, it's vital to ensure there's alignment. Alignment with the company or organization that you'll be a part of and alignment with the cause or area of impact that you'll be focusing on. Our values are our foundation--our north star. Values guide us and ground us. Never underestimate the power of values in directing our impact.

Discovering your passion for social impact requires self-reflection and a genuine desire to make a difference. Explore diverse volunteering opportunities, such as supporting community programs with Kenya Red Cross and participating in CSR initiatives with Kenya Revenue Authority. Engage in Diplomacy, Security, and humanitarian efforts. Continuously educate yourself about global challenges and their solutions. This process leads to a deeper understanding of issues and guides you towards a path with greater social impact purpose.

Strengths are power When you have a strong network, money, voice in the society, rare knowledge, precious wisdom, unbreakable faith,... You become a shining light in the darkness of injustice, poverty, ignorance, madness, discrimination,... Remember, your power is within you. Use it for good

Knowing your strengths is invaluable. In addition to your values, your strengths can help direct you. When our strengths aren't being nourished, we can feel we're languishing. But when our strengths are aligned with our values, we flourish. The challenge, though, is finding out what your strengths actually are. Often, our strengths are so woven into who we are we don't even notice them. In addition, we may tend to focus only on strengths that we think potential employers want, missing important parts of who we are and what we can actually bring. Working with a coach or taking strengths assessments can be important in surfacing strengths and broadening our awareness of the role they play in our lives.

Where to Start? Sometimes knowing what you don't like in the world is a means to better understanding what you want to see look different, and that could lead you to your passion.

I believe in community and the power of "herzensbildung" - a great German word for Heart Building. Building a community based upon unconditional love is for me both a strength and a strategy. Look around and ask yourself, "Where is the Love here?" If it is isn't here, then where is it? We have to build the framework of love into our work, so that it is an overt element of our impact strategy. I embrace the principle that Love is of the Essence (LOE) and that it should be woven into the legal and organizational frameworks we work in. Even Jack Ma, CEO of Alibaba, embraces this idea...it isn't just a fuzzy wuzzy social change concept. The Love Quotient is essential for humanity (and certainly for me) to evolve.

Be A Beacon of Hope There is always an opportunity to do good and give unconditionally. It all starts with a good intention, the rest will follow. Remember, the more you give, the more God will give you. The more you help, the more God will help you and put unexpected people in your life to give you a hand. Just be sincere in your attentions!

Share solutions! What’s working? What is scalable? What can people support? Spotlight hopeful opportunities. Bonus points: add visuals.

Start Somewhere! Start Anywhere! Everyone can make a huge difference, even with small steps. Many people don't jump in because they're not sure if their experience, skills, knowledge is enough. Trust me, all of what you bring is Enough!

When there aren't enough opportunities, you have to create them. This is why I have become a serial founder of both non-profits and for profits. If love is at the center of your work, I don't think it matters what economic model your organization follows. I also object to NGOs being marginalized and cut out of the mainstream economy and being forced to beg. The B-Corp model is one way the line between for-profits & non-profits is being blurred. True social change requires us to think out of the box and create new structures that don't yet exist. The "charity" model has held back social change, and so one of my strengths is developing new frameworks for social and environmental change that transcend old structures that have become stagnant.

“Plan C is the best plan” is a team saying we use. Often the best plan is a mashup of other plans you’ve tested etc. This mindset makes us test, learn and creatively take action.

No One Is Perfect Life is a learning journey, we all make mistakes but there is no shame to acknowledge them and start all over again, and this by being humble, listening to people's feedback and assessing our actions with the lens of objectivity. Learn, improve, do better

I embrace "first principles thinking." There are many assumptions in social change that must be questioned and thrown away. Like the "ten-year plan" to end homelessness. Ten-year plans never work. We need 100 year plans, cross-generational plans. Indigenous people gift us with the idea of the "Long Body" - the idea that we are a part of all our relations, that we continue the work and values of our ancestors, that we are responsible to the tribe, that we are one cog in the wheel. Embracing unconditional love is essential for transcending the wheel of suffering and thinking about future generations who need us to shed the ideas and wounds that separate us and keep humanity from evolving. Mental time travel is one way to envision such change.

I align my work with unconditional love. This is the thread that binds all my endeavors. I'm committed to this not being some abstract or philosophical exercise but actually scientific and technological. I call this "structural love." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. advocated this thinking and was building this into the movement. Structural love will allow us to be less dependent on inspirational leaders and build movements across generations, based upon frameworks that stand the test of time, and intellectual rigor.

Be the Change Don't wait for the world to heal, life to be fair, society to be just, weather to be sunny,... Be the change! Everything is a state of mind. Where there's a will, there's a way! Your values are not just a treasure that you keep safe in a secure place. Your values are a light to be a light in someone's life. Use it to light up the world!

Know your Strengths!! No one is good at everything, but all of us are good at something. Each of us work best from our strengths. Knowing what they are is Knowledge and that is Powerful!

The Footprints You Leave Behind You need to have your own personal touch to change people's lives. Aim for excellence, not perfection. Remember, everyone can change someone's life.

Consider your personal life experiences and those of people - and communities - you care about. Think about the obstacles that get in the way of people - and communities - trying to achieve their greater potential. Explore ideas and organizations that appear to have effective approaches to remove obstacles and pave the way forward for individuals - and communities - to fulfill their aspirations. Volunteer. There are a variety of ways to add value - through direct service volunteering (mentoring, for example); providing professional expertise (marketing, for example); and/or joining a nonprofit board. Consider this a journey, an adventure, to learn about yourself, your community, and ways in which you can make a meaningful contribution.