My Lifestyle Career

GiveBack.Org: A Lesson in Social Entrepreneurship

Many of my clients are interested in doing good while making a living, so when I was recently given an opportunity to be part of a brainstorming group with GiveBack.Org I jumped at the chance.  Some of you might be familiar with GiveBack's Founder and CEO Stephen Paletta, who was the winner of Oprah’s Big Give in 2008, a TV reality show which challenged competitors to be “the biggest giver”.  The prize for winning the competition included $500,000 to give away and the experience inspired (and funded) the launch of GiveBack. 

What is GiveBack?

To better understand how GiveBack works, I urge you to watch the short video posted at the top of this page, but in brief, GiveBack is a new charitable giving platform that empowers you to earn, gather, and give money to the causes you care most about.

Once you join GiveBack (free of charge )and set up your personal foundation account, you fund your account either by making a direct deposit or by shopping online with any of their 400+ online mall partners.  In turn for shopping through GiveBack, their mall partners will donate up to 15% of each purchase into your foundation; you get to do good as you purchase the things you need. You then direct the funds from your account to any charity in good standing with the IRS;  your church, synagogue, children's school, or a favorite charity -- you decide.  The GiveBack Foundation doesn't charge you or the charity anything for the transaction.   

Who knew shopping could be such a philanthropic endeavor?

Beside being an incredible organization, GiveBack is a wonderful example of how technology empowers people to create new business models and opportunities. Thanks to a carefully crafted vision,and lots of hard work, Stephen was able to create a vehicle that allows everyone, whether they have one dollar or one million dollars, to start their own foundation.  

I hope you'll take the time to visit them, set up your account, and begin earning money to donate to your favorite causes.  And if you are involved with fundraising for an organization, please consider working through them to help your fundraising efforts.  It's a win-win for all involved, and if you sign-up before July 16, 2011, you could be the lucky winner (chosen daily at random) of a $1,000 donation to your foundation account.

Please pass this information on to your friends, family and co-workers.  It's a great concept, and together, maybe we can all help make the world a better place. 

 

From Challenge to Triumph: An Inspirational Autistic Entrepreneur

April is Autism Awareness month, and so this seems a fitting time to introduce you to a remarkable young man and the entrepreneurial business that he has inspired.  Eytan Nisinzweig is a 25 year-old man with autism.  Although he has limited social skills, he plays the piano better than many people, a skill that he was able to parlay into a part-time job hosting sing-alongs for local area schools.

In addition to his musical talents (and a passion for participating in the Special Olympics) Eytan is a gifted artist who draws with a simple but captivating style, that reflects a childlike wonder of the world.  For a long time, his mother Susan, had thought about putting Eytan’s art work on t-shirts and on note cards but the idea never quite seemed to get off the ground.

One day, while admiring Eytan's work yet again, she began to consider the possibility of pairing Eytan’s drawings with inspirational sayings that celebrate differences, encourage civility and promote respect for others.  The more Susan mulled over the idea, the more excited she became.

Combining Eytan's art with a meaningful message was the "aha" moment Susan had been waiting for, and once her vision came into focus, she sprung into action.  As she so eloquently explains on Eytanart.com's website:

"The thrill, or shiver was unmistakable and the ideas were so powerful that they didn’t dis­appear down the drain of the shower. I knew that this was one of those ideas that I had to make a reality. I knew that this one really mattered and was what I was meant to do."

With focus, drive and determination, the pieces of the entrepreneurial puzzle quickly began to fall into place.  Although Susan had no prior experience with the retail clothing business, she researched the worlds of shirt manufacturing, online sales and internet marketing.  Talking to anyone who would listen, and adjusting plans as she learned, Susan quickly found a printer to produce the shirts, built a website and officially opened for business just a few short months ago.

The reaction to Eytan's work has been overwhelmingly positive and orders have come in from around the globe.  Adding to the joy over their entrepreneurial success, Eytan's family is delighting in the satisfaction of being able to leverage the business as a vehicle to support meaningful causes and organizations;  sales of Eytan's work have already helped to provide over 12,000 nutritious meals to malnourished children overseas and his artwork has been displayed by organizations that support research for autism.

The future looks bright for this small home-based company that Eytan's art helped to create.  I hope you'll help spread the word about Eytan's remarkable story, by visiting the website at Eytanart.com.  

And in the meantime, please take a moment to meet Eytan and enjoy his music, by watching the video below:

 

Want to Reinvent Your Career? Let me Share a Story...

I'd like to share a story about a storyteller.  

Murray Nossel, PhD is the founder of Narativ, a company that teaches individuals and groups how to leverage stories for "effective communication, confident self-presentation, powerful team building, and bold leadership".  I met Murray when I attended a workshop he customized for career professionals interested in sharing the storytelling technique with their clients.  

The day turned out to be a delightful learning experience.  But as fascinated as I was by his expertise, I was even more intrigued by how Murray was able to turn his passion for storytelling (a skill I used to associate more with childhood than with entrepreneurship) into a thriving, multi-faceted, business.

I think the evolution of his business is a great lesson in how you can turn your passion into serious profits.  And sInce Murray is the master storyteller, I'll let him tell you in his own words (taken from his website) about his career trajectory from student -  to social worker - to playwright - to thriving entrepreneur:

1st turning point. I began a doctorate in social work at Columbia University, minoring in anthropology. For my field research I worked in an AIDS program, where most of the patients were dying. I devised a storytelling methodology, teaching patients how to listen and how to construct stories. I subsequently used the storytelling methodology with other groups, including social workers, university students and volunteers.

2nd turning point. In New York, I met up with Dr. Paul Browde, an old school acquaintance I hadn’t seen in twenty years: The coincidence of our meeting became the backbone of a stage performance – Two Men Talking – in which we have improvised the true story of our friendship for audiences in the UK (West End), US (Off Broadway), Australia and South Africa. Through this performance, the storytelling methodology was expanded.

3rd turning point. I started applying the storytelling methodology to my documentary films. I often say that my films are stories of extraordinarily ordinary people. My film Paternal Instinct played on HBO and the BBC. I walked the red carpet at the Academy Awards with my film Why Can’t We Be a Family Again.

4th turning point. I created Narativ with Paul Browde as a think-tank and as a company through which we could teach our storytelling methodology in universities, to coporations, organizations, and to the public at large.

End. I am Narativ’s lead designer and trainer. I travel all over the world, conducting storytelling workshops for corporations and organizations. I teach in the department of Narrative Medicine at Columbia University. I perform in Two Men Talking, a stage performance, and I make documentary films.

Murray's story continues on.  Just last week, I received an e-mail announcing Narrativ's latest venture, the launch of Story To Collegea new company that tailors the Narativ methodology to the unique needs of high school students in the increasingly competitive college application process.   Their initial offerings include a jumpstart course ($200), an essay and interview intensive ($1800) and an essay and video intensive ($2500). 

Pretty impressive stuff.  A great lesson in how to take a core skill --package it is a useful way -- and find a diversity of audiences that can benefit from your talents.  

I bet you can earn income from your talents as well.  Are you ready to start writing your story?

P.S. To learn more about Murray's offerings, click here.