The “Now What?” question is one we think about often. How do we use our experiences and stories to help stimulate the thinking (and actions) of others? So often we’re asked: how do I get started? Other than writing a check, what can I really do? Will this one effort really make a significant difference? We’ve always known the answers to those questions in our hearts, but never quite knew how to share them without people seeing, feeling, and experiencing it for themselves.
In October 2009, Bobby will launch a new book titled THE
POWER OF THE INVISIBLE SUN, which will be a compilation of photos he’s shot over the past decade of children throughout war-torn areas that he’s looked in the eye, connected with, and often helped. The book, interspersed with intimate and personal journal entries, will not only provide a colorful and rich platform to showcase the beauty of eyeball-to-eyeball connection – but also give Bobby the opportunity to lay out what he sees as the key ingredients to a life of effective giving, and incredible living. While he doesn’t claim to have all the answers, he at least hopes INVISIBLE
SUN will ignite a small spark in someone else to go out and live the most exciting life they can.
Excerpts from THE POWER OF THE INVISIBLE SUN, by Bobby Sager:
The idea that people give to charity because they are supposed to isn’t sustainable, and people who need help deserve real long-term commitment... read more
It used to be that we could outsource fixing the world to governments and large organizations. Today it’s clear that individuals must actively engage in... read more
My family and I are not about simply hugging and helping poor people around the world. We demand accountability and strategic ways of thinking and acting... read more
From Selflessness to Selfishness
The idea that people give to charity because they are supposed to isn’t sustainable, and people who need help deserve real long-term commitment. Finding ways to serve your self-interest fuels that commitment.
Far from the tradition of writing a check and going to the annual dinner, being hands-on, looking people in the eye, feeling their humanity, and letting them feel yours isn’t just helping, it’s a way to live life to the fullest. And that’s the best return on investment I’ve ever gotten by a long shot.
I'm selfish, and I’m not ashamed to say it, because the more selfish I am, the more impact I make on people who need my help.
It used to be that we could outsource fixing the world to governments and large organizations. Today it’s clear that individuals must actively engage in making a difference. It’s no longer just helpful and nice, it’s critical. If your response is, “yeah, but the world’s problems are just too big and there’s nothing I can do,” then I would encourage you to think about the power of “concrete baby steps.”
A concrete baby step is not a token effort; it’s a tangible, usually hands-on response to a problem. Concrete baby steps are relatively easy to see individually, but it’s hard to fathom their cumulative power. When we each take a concrete baby step, and we add up mine and yours and everyone else’s, they can become the building blocks of transformational change. In fact, collectively, concrete baby steps may be the best solution we have to address the world’s biggest problems.
My family and I are not about simply hugging and helping poor people around the world. We demand accountability and strategic ways of thinking and acting. Screw giving an “A” for effort. Helping others is too important to not be very demanding of the result. There’s a way to give that sustains and a way that creates dependency.
Forget the mindset that the rich do business and the poor get charity. Charity doesn’t make people feel good about themselves and can cripple generations. But the biggest problem is that it’s not sustainable.
The poor have a tremendous amount of creativity and are well equipped for business, but they need help getting started. Help can be something as specific as a microenterprise program to something as broad as a decent education. But it needs to be systemic. No one-shot, feel-good stuff.
It’s the difference between simply giving and really helping. It’s about investing in people.