2017 was a busy year – in the pause before the end, I find myself reflecting on the past year.
It was a year of seeking. But a different type of seeking. I embarked on a project to learn how to make a social impact, with an ambitious goal of interviewing 25 people for the People Helping People Podcast. I’ll post my 26th tonight.
Before this year, I had never listened to a podcast. I knew nothing about podcasting. Or interviewing people. Or editing audio. But I was curious about social change. At some point in my life, I want to start a meaningful venture, something that is making an impact. I’ve thought about this for 10 years but realized I was no closer to figuring out what that meant.
Curiosity is a powerful driver. And without it, I don’t think I would have made it this far.
A podcast is a great way to meet people and a great mechanism for sharing ideas. It also takes a crazy amount of time and effort. When you learn anything new, there is an initial push just to grasp the basics. It took me most of 2017 to grasp the basics, but I feel like I’ve found a foothold. Next year, I will be exploring a different social issue each month, as well as reaching out to people helping social entrepreneurs to be successful. I still need to learn how to reach people interested in these ideas… but somehow I suspect that if this is a burning question for me, then there are others that also share this curiosity. (I just don’t know how to find them, yet!)
Next year, I hope to understand social issues in a much deeper level and to provide insight into starting and launching a social enterprise. There is a beautiful movement in this space, and new, creative ideas of how to structure businesses that make an impact. So, cheers to a transformative 2018!