Ask What You Can Do…

The Project Change Foundation model believes in helping Canadian charities make positive change by giving them the nudge to make it happen – through mentorship and project funding – propelling them toward having an even greater impact as they become more confident and equipped with the skills and knowledge to realize their visions.

None of this work would be realized without our donors acts of financial support. To illustrate how these contributions begin the ripple of positive social and environmental change our world needs right now, I want to share with you an excerpt from my book, The Gandhiana Jones Project . I’m offering a free digital copy of the book to anyone who donates to Project Change Foundation before the end of the year.

The following is an excerpt from my book, The Gandhiana Jones Project:

Margaret Stacey has a long history in the arts and theatre community in Nelson, British Columbia—a small town in the Selkirk Mountains, an eight-hour drive east of Vancouver. She’s retired now, but for seventeen years, Margaret managed the historic Capitol Theatre, a beautifully restored 426-seat gem that, over the years, has hosted a catalogue of theatrical productions from Annie to West Side Story. Her work then, and later on as a two-term city councilor, has had an immeasurable impact on the town’s art scene. However, I wasn’t in Nelson to talk with Margaret about her professional life. I was there to ask about what she does in her downtime.

For the thirty-plus years that Margaret has lived in Nelson, she has been creating large art installations. “I like big canvases, Coroplast, plywood, set flats or bare walls, long rolls of paper, house exteriors, big cut outs, photo stand-ins,” she told me. “Small blank pages intimidate me.”

The scale of her work is impressive, but what’s remarkable is that she has given most of her artwork to the community. Her pieces—ranging from wall-sized murals to theatrical set pieces, to eight-foot-tall poster art—have all been donated to local churches, theatres, schools, and other organizations.

What has inspired Margaret to keep giving her time and creativity for all these years? She explained that, everywhere she has lived—and despite not knowing if she’d be there for one year or thirty—she fully committed to both the place and its people. “I have always thought that human engagement was the most important part of the process.”

Margaret took me on an impromptu trip around town to show me some of her artwork. We stopped in the alleyway behind the Capitol Theatre to view the murals that cover its back wall. Back in 1990, the place was in rough condition, she told me. But she had a vision. “We just started from a small corner and it expanded all over the back and side of the building, as far as we could reach. And this still continues today.” Standing there, I asked Margaret what she would identify as the biggest lesson gleaned from all her years of giving back to the community. “If a person has skills of any kind, there’s always a way to use them, wake them up, try them out, hone them in some way to animate the surrounding sphere of influence,” she explained.

Margaret’s philosophy made me think of the famous quote by John F Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” People who view their communities only in terms of the resources they provide will not get very far in building connections. We all know people who only show up in your life when they want something from you. Annoying, right? You feel that you’ve been taken advantage of, and trust erodes. While their actions might sting you, the harm those people cause themselves is much greater. They might benefit in the short term, but the tarnished relationships and damage to their reputation will hurt them in the long run.

Conduct an honest assessment of your own interactions with people in your communities. If you give more than you take, then pat yourself on the back and keep doing what you’re doing. But, if you take more than you give, it’s time to shift the balance. Be sure to congratulate yourself for your honesty. It takes a mature person to own their shortcomings. And it’s not too late—there’s still time to break old patterns and form better habits.

We have a chance to redeem ourselves every day. Every morning, we have a decision to make. Do we live the day just for ourselves, or for others as well, by serving our communities? This doesn’t mean you need to live like a monk. It’s still important to care for yourself and enjoy your life, but long-term happiness and fulfillment come from nurturing connections with others. That’s the whole point—what’s good for others is good for you, too.

In 1938, the Harvard Study of Adult Development began tracking 724 men, analyzing things like blood samples, brain scans (once they became available), and self-reported surveys. (Coincidentally, JFK was one of the original participants.) The study has continued over the past eighty years—one of the longest studies of its kind—and its findings revealed that the number one factor to living a fulfilling life is not money or fame. It’s not the type of work you do or the model of car you drive. The most significant contributing factor to your quality of life is the quality of your relationships.

The study found that participants who had good relationships with family, friends, and community were more likely to have lived flourishing lives than those with weaker bonds. According to Robert Waldinger, the director of the study, “It turns out that people who are more socially connected to family, to friends, to community, are happier. They’re physically healthier, and they live longer than people who are less well-connected.” In fact, the quality of our relationships is a better predictor of living a long and happy life than social class, intelligence, or even genes. That certainly proved to be true for Margaret. When I asked her about the biggest benefits she saw from her community art projects, she told me: “One makes surprising friends, stays engaged, possibly lives longer, continues to learn and grow, and leaves a legacy.”

Abide by JFK’s call to action: Ask yourself what you can do for your neighbors, your community, and your world, then do it. On the surface, this seems like a call for self-sacrifice. But upon deeper reflection, we can see that living this way isn’t solely about selflessness. Far from it. When you actively serve your communities, you build up your social connections. Bolstering these ties means you are doing the single most important thing you can do to make your life healthier, happier, and fuller. Are you surprised? This is the Gandhiana Jones Project, after all.

Joe Kelly is an educator, consultant, and the founder of Project Change Foundation. He is the author of the book, The Gandhiana Jones Project: An 8-Week Course in Becoming the Change You Want to See in the World, published by Wonderwell.