Awakening

In the past six months an awakening of sorts has occurred within me. Issues that merely occupied a small segment of my heart and life mission suddenly took on a renewed importance and catalyzed into a lasting commitment.

How To Get Involved

When I mentioned in an email to my last CEO that I wanted to find a way for the company to end world hunger he was all for it; It was me that failed to take it to the next step. Two years ago, while thinking of new entrepreneurial ventures with purpose I could start, I thought of matching donors with great causes on the net, other organizations have now taken this idea and happily run with it. And last year, while reading Jeffrey Sach’s The End of Povery commuting on the train to NYC, I kept ruminating on how to get involved, how to move my passion to the next level.

Emblem of a Generation

This transformation is not unique, I am joining a generation of Millennial’s and Y’s (although I precede them) who have made a commitment to helping others the emblem of their generation. It is so refreshing to see and witness their altruism and selflessness, as they put their brains and energy behind social entrepreneurial ventures.

The New Heroes

Say what you want about the efficacy and utility of Twitter, but in these past six months I have discovered some of the most remarkable people I have ever met. In their tweets and on their blogs, Flickr pages, Facebook, Linkedin etc…they are raising issues, taking on the established ways of thinking, and building true communities of believers. This says nothing of their work and the great strides they are making. They are raising money, changing attitudes and transforming people’s lives. These people are the new heroes, plain and simple.

Why Should I Care?

It is my hope, and if my words do not fail me, the contribution I hope to make at this point, to get the word out to others. I’m hoping to target those who are not in the movement, those of us who, like myself up until a few months back, thought about these issues but had many other things on their radar screens. The many millions who are hard workers and great providers for their families, those who may be involved in philanthropy or giving and consider the efforts of these groups important, but supplant it with other causes.
My hope is to reach out, as well, to those who do not know the first thing about social entrepreneurs and why they want to change the world. Those who have other goals, other motivations, and are content to proceed along without hearing about these matters.

Get to Know Some Remarkable People

Initially, I only ask that you click on the links to the three people and organizations below. It will only take you a few moments and hopefully you will discover why I am so captured, why I have bought in, why I am devoting this blog to helping them and other social entrepreneurs. Please let me know your thoughts.

Jacqueline Novogratz

Jacqueline Novogratz – The Acumen Fund: http://www.acumenfund.org
http://twitter.com/acumenfund
http://twitter.com/jnovogratz
http://www.thebluesweater.com

Melissa Richer

Melissa Richer – The Ayllu Initiative: http://www.aylluinitiative.org
http://twitter.com/ayllu
http://melissaricher.wordpress.com/
http://aylluinitiative.org/blog

Scott Harrison

Scott Harrison – Charity: Water: http://www.charitywater.org
http://twitter.com/charitywater
http://twitter.com/scottharrison
http://charitywater.tumblr.com/

Cynthia Rylant just published a wonderful book titled, All In A Day. The illustrations by Nikki McClure couldn’t be finer, cut-paper art.

Bookish

It gives me a great deal of pleasure to stroll the isles of the Barnes & Noble children’s section looking for wonderful gifts of language and life to bring home to my children. We are a bookish family, since the kids watch virtually no television, aside from a tennis Grand Slam every now and again, and we spend quite a bit of time reading to them.

From Cynthia Rylant to Me to You

Rylant’s new work did strike a powerful chord recently with me and I wanted to share a few lines and my take on them:

Hope & Kindness

“A day brings hope and kindness, too…a day is all its own.” – No matter what, there is hope and renewal and second chances and the opportunity to share kindness with others. Get involved in something other then your own world, reach out to others.

Start Again

“You can make a wish, and start again, you can find your way back home.” – Superb! You can pick up and begin again, renew yourself and your life. You can return to the source of your passions, dreams, and teachings.

Chances

“A day can change just everything, given half a chance.” – Every day gives us the opportunity to grow, to change our lives, to correct errors, to right wrongs, to breath fresh, again.

The Power of Now

“The past is sailing off to sea, the future’s fast asleep. A day is all you have to be, it’s all you get to keep.” – Live in the present. The power of the moment, Now. Focus on those things you love, those things you can change for the better, those people in your life who mean everything. Embrace life!

The Day’s All Yours,

“So live it well, make it count, fill it up with you. The day’s all yours, it’s waiting now…See what you can do.” – These words need no commentary.

What Will You Do With The Gift of Today?

We all have the power to make a day something remarkable. We can take this gift and help others, teach, create, grow, and prosper. If we begin this moment and not waste it.

What will you do with this day?

First Date

Throughout my life, I have always been the person who could be described as passionate, driven, entrepreneurial, idealistic and optimistic. In fact, when my wife and I first met one of the first date conversations we had was our views on realism versus optimism and whether we each were more aligned with the glass being half full or half empty.

Opportunity Knocks

In the intervening months since the downsizing I was a part of, so many new avenues of opportunity and learning have opened up for me. Although I worked in the marketing industry for many years and began my foray into social marketing years previous to my downsizing, the most recent months have elevated my connections, expertise, and thinking well beyond the level I would have been able to had I not been given this time.

Teachers

My teachers in this new field of endeavor, Brian Solis, Chris Brogan, Jason Baer and the inspirational Eric Harr to name a few, are raising the bar every day on Twitter and in their blog posts. It is an evolving area of marketing and so much like the early days of my entrepreneurial adventures that it is exciting where it may lead.

The Deep Dive

If you are a research and deep dive hound like myself, you uncover layers upon layers of bloggers, organizations, and people doing great work out there, I often find myself making so many new contacts that are aligned with my interests, it is full-time work.

Join…but prepare for change

Since the world is truly flat, you can be sure to find others who share your beliefs. We can join each other on our missions to do good work through new social media endeavors. My advice; give it some time, be proactive and not annoying, and realize that as soon as you learn the ins and outs of this new form of communicating, it will change again.

Inspiration?

When was the last time you were inspired? I mean, truly inspired, so much so that you changed some aspect of your day, character, thought pattern, life and didn’t know where it would lead?

The Unknown

These days, between blog posts, tweeting, and interviewing, I find myself searching for that type of inspiration. Perhaps it is my desire to reach back to my purer and more idealistic self, but wherever it emanates from it is propelling, no hurling me, this blog, and my future into unexplored territory.

Authenticity and Authority

You see, I value the written word, the act of creating story from blank sheet of paper, up there with the highest manifestations of life. I’ve studied the great authors, dabbled in poetry and realistic fiction, and have always kept some sort of journal or chronicle of my days. It was great to see that social media has allowed all of us to capture our lives and share them with others. The debate now in most social media circles seems to be authenticity and authority.

Penelope

One of the people I follow is Penelope Trunk, not her real name, aka the Brazen Careerist. Her blog is here, and Twitter is here. Whether you agree with her or not, she does seem authentic. Her posts are sometimes raw and revealing, sad and silly, insightful and timely.

What’s to Come

I had a few issues I wanted to write about over the past few days, and will eventually ( Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s speech on world hunger, why we are not all great writers and social media content creators, and the recent report by Forrester regarding the increase in email spend by 2014, and the clutter it will create). However, this idea of inspiration has been hard to shake and therefore I took it on.

My Work in Progress

I’ve changed the thrust of my blog toward the intersection of social media marketing and generosity. Call it philanthropy, cause marketing, corporate social responsibility, social cause marketing – pick your term. I plan on using my marketing and life talents to inspire others to utilize marketing for the betterment of society. How I will accomplish this task is a work in progress.

Begin Now

Let us start first with inspiration. Today, this moment, find some inspiration in your life. Be it another person, something you read or observe, a cause you truly believe in and will fight for, an issue that disturbs you, a wrong you can begin to make right, a relationship in need of repair, something inside of you that needs to change. Then go about dealing with it, now, in this moment. Don’t worry about the past, don’t concern yourself with the future, begin in the now and make an effort.

Venture Forth, Safely

Let me know what you picked, how it is going, if you need a hand in some way, perhaps I can help, maybe not, but reach out. Then reach out to others and connect in an authentic way. My bet is that these relationships will lead to inspiration as well. Remember, be safe, take care out there in the varied and unpredictable world, but venture forth.

A Great Journey Begins…

I wish you a great journey.

Seth Godin has a great post today titled, Tough! What he has termed being Tough! can also be termed, resilience. Merriam-Webster defines resilience as, “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.”

Change is Good

When I taught 6th graders I would often put the phrase, “Change is Good,” on the front board. I would switch-up situations and variables in the lessons to teach them how to adapt to change. The book by Spencer Johnson, M.D., Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing way to Deal with Change in your Work & in Your Life is the seminal work on the topic. I still carry the card from my version of the book with me titled, “The Handwriting on the Wall.” I’ve kept it with me since 1998, when the book was published. If you have yet to read this work, go out and get it now!

Adversity

I also used to keep this John Wooden, (American basketball coach) quote above my desk, “Adversity is the state in which man most easily becomes acquainted with himself.” I believe that during this downturn many of us are facing adversity and trying to survive and even thrive. Check this link out for entrepreneurs starting in the down economy.

The Times They Are a Changin

As Godin mentions, “This is your moment, but I’m afraid it won’t be easy.” The most important thing is to get on with it. My advice, keep your network close and help each other. The times they are a changin!

Having always had a passion for writing, I was very pleased to find myself so motivated to add to my blog each day since its inception. My training as an English major at University, teacher of English, and eventually marketer dealing with RFP’s and marketing copy seems to have all coalesced in this blog.

Does Your Career Passion Scare You?

I read an interesting take on this phenomena titled, Does Your Career Passion Scare You? Chris Makell, a career coach, makes some good points regarding the process to follow when uncovering your career passion. By identifying the elements of your career that bring you true passion, it will allow you to move into new opportunities when they present themselves.

Career Affinity

My own personal story is a study of this effect in the making. As mentioned, I have always had a passion and ease with writing and the written word. The discipline of composing this blog on a consistent basis, coupled with my belief in spreading the word regarding world poverty and social ills and issues, have formed the core of my blog entries. Social networking has allowed me through Twitter, and other sources, to find those with like minds and the affinity for these causes.

Contact Me

I invite all those who share in these issues of critical importance to reach out to me, thus we can form a lasting coalition and place our talents to work. At the same time we can release the energy of our career passions!

Jeffrey Pedone
Email: jpedone@consultsilverlining.com
Linkedin profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreypedone
Blog: www.jeffpedone.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JeffPed

There was an interesting article last month on Brandweek.com written by Brian Morrissey. The article, Cause Marketing Meets Social Media, discussed how companies were undertaking cause marketing via social media.

Give Me a Cause, Any Cause

In my career as a marketer, I have been involved with several companies who raised the profile of their brands by aligning themselves with causes or jumped on the cause marketing bandwagon because they felt this was a good way to show their “human” side.

With Sincere Thanks

For other companies, these efforts were truly born out of the employees or founders direct experience with a disease, issue, or cause. Great campaigns that have fostered awareness, research, and funding have brought about significant and lasting impact. I applaud these efforts and those involved.

Consumer Choice

Now, it seems that the traditional cause marketers have found a new way to reach their audiences, social media marketing. Since others are being helped by these efforts, which is evident throughout many of these campaigns, I say, Bravo! My hope is that the consumer, those that are marketed to, will examine those causes they would like to support, and seek them out through all avenues, social media included. If you happen upon a brand that you use and they support the cause you are behind, you are golden. If they support an equally worthy cause, that is great as well.

Your Role in Social Media

Place the seeking, research, and initiative back in your control. The power of social media is at your fingertips. The greatness and impact you can achieve is limitless. Social media is not only for the marketers, it is for us all to help each other. I wish you the best in your efforts.

Today, I was originally going to post regarding storytelling and content. However, I realize that there are more pressing issues going on in the world.

Social Media & Marketing Unite

If you are in any way involved in social media, marketing, or just have found this blog by chance, join me at countless others in trying to eliminate world hunger.

Join Us

See my link here to join the “Walk the Web” movement through the World Food Programme and make your contribution today. It coincides with the actual walk on June 7, 2009, but you can always donate and stay involved.

Let us all take care of each other.

While reading a recent post on CNN.com by Bob Greene, How words can last a lifetime, I took a moment to pause and let the message resonate. To me, his thoughts spoke to things that we currently lack in our culture – character, decency, empathy, and kindness.

The Sadness of Online Conversations

As we hurl ourselves toward the future with reckless abandon, breaking all the rules of decency and tact when it comes to social interactions, few of us in the digital and social media marketing space realize what we are missing. Online conversations are clipped and blunt, brevity and minimalism is applauded, and less face-to-face contact is preferred.

What is Your Mark on Life?

My hope and challenge is to express and convey my thoughts with careful thought and measured response. Convey to people only what they would be interested in hearing, see Mark Cuban’s post, Who Cares What People Write?. Finally, to treat others with respect and realize that the mark you make on life, is directly related to your character and how you own up to your mistakes.

Publish with Care

Words do still possess the power to move mountains. Let us not abuse them for the sake of publishing our views on the web.

See Neoformix for more images.

Immersed in projects, feeling secure in your place, you think to yourself, “I can’t be replaced!”
Then, fate, destiny or opportunity catches you unaware, and you are called forth to be given your share.

For some the reaction is shock, anger, anxiety, disbelief. For others it is hope, anticipation and the sense of release.
The range of reactions and emotions are varied and diverse, before you realize it there are new lines to rehearse.

The goodbyes ensue and often the company wants a quick and clean break. Calls are made, posts are generated, new plans to make. The package is discussed, budgets are planned, priorities are shifted, and the great wheel of fire turned by new hands.

Networking, applying, emailing, interviewing, posting, blogging, tweeting…boredom, waiting, anticipating, useless meetings.

Assistance is offered, recommendations new, promises are made, very few true. One minute you’re close, the next hopes are dashed, change after change, time spins slow than ever so fast.

Weeks move forward and you discover the true power of the Web . Pass on links to face the challenges ahead . New skills are acquired, new resilience is built, fear is a constant friend as well as guilt.

Introspection, more time with those you love…long forgotten passions and new ones fit like a glove. Thinking in abundance, remembering the one chief aim…reinventing yourself, you’re still in the game.