In my favourite book of all time, Autobiography of a Yogi, there is a story about a normal 33-year-old guy in India who is approached by an enlightened guru who helps him to remember his past lifetimes when he too was an enlightened master. The guru, wanting this normal guy to become enlightened again, materializes all the wealth that the normal guy could ever want, right before his eyes. The guru does this so all of the last earthly desire the normal guy had (being really wealthy) could be satisfied so he can move past it and onto enlightenment. The guru says that desire is what chains us to the reincarnation wheel.

While many “spiritual” people speak of wanting less, desiring nothing, and frown upon striving for money or material success, I believe satisfying earthly desires can be one the most spiritual things you can do. I don’t mean just trying to have the biggest boat for the sake of being able to say you have the biggest boat. I mean acknowledging your inner desires and looking them right in the eye. And when you feel like attaining them is part of your growth and purpose, GO FOR IT, regardless of if it is focused on material gain.

While many people cite their darkest hours (like being on their death bed, or losing everything) as the times they learned what is truly important in life, I had a number of different (you could say opposite) experiences. When I was 25, I busted my ass for 365 days straight selling real estate to reach a highly coveted award level, and to get the big plaque that came with it. After reaching that goal (becoming the highest grossing new Realtor in North America), I relaxed for the first time in a year and enjoyed it. Well, I enjoyed it until I realized that if I wanted to keep my success going, I would need to go out and bust my hump for another year to win another big award. It was when I reached the top of my game that I realized that the great feeling success brings is temporary, fleeting, not real, illusory. It is not anything close to true happiness.

This scenario played out over and over again in my 20s. Reaching higher and higher goals in business, physical fitness, romantic relationships, and finances. Each became less and less fulfilling to the point where I said “screw it!”, sold everything, and took up social entrepreneurship full time.

It was largely because of hitting huge goals that I abandoned the notion of “more” equaling happiness. It was because of hitting goals that my entire life is now dedicated to service. It’s not that I made a boatload of cash and became a wealthy philanthropist. Heck no. I sold everything I owned to fund my current venture that has now funded 60 schools and libraries in 9 developing countries for 60,000 kids, and am flat broke because of it.

But you would not believe how great I sleep at night. With a big, stupid smile on my face.

Why? Because a number in a bank account doesn’t define me. And nor does it define you.

Like the normal guy from India, I had desires that needed to be fulfilled. Thanks to going after those desires 100%, I can now say with personal experience that money, success, and hitting goals don’t mean squat. What matters to me is loving yourself, serving others, and taking pleasure in simplicity.

Striving after material success in my 20s ended up being the most spiritual thing I could have done. It was my way of materializing my desires so I could see the illusion they actually are. I am nowhere closer to enlightenment than anyone reading this, but I do know what makes me happy, and that feels really good.

What I want to do in this next year of my life:

Just… be… me.

Here’s the real deal: Getting lots of press and some frickin awesome results with Change Heroes has been a blast. But, it comes with it’s challenges. In the beginning, I felt held back from being the real “me”. Having the new label of “do gooder” was a bit odd, and at times it was heavy. I am no more a do gooder than a do badder… hell, we are all both… or at a deeper level, we are all neither. I want to be straight up and REAL. This is the year of non-censorship…

So my mission as a 31 year old is to share whatever is real in the moment. And there are parts of this little blog post that are pretty “real” too. May as well start right now! This is my 30th year in brief review…

Biggest accomplishment:

Within the last few days, Steven (my graphic designer friend who has been doing Change Heroes with me since day 1) and I did some math. We added up all of the Change Heroes and other donation totals, and figured out we just (as in 2 days ago) hit half a million dollars contributed to charity. That’s roughly 50 schools and libraries funded, and 50,000 children impacted. To think that this all happened mainly in the last year, is beyond belief.

Darkest hour:

I met a lovely woman in Victoria at the end of summer 2011. We hung out a little bit at first. Then a bit more. And within 4 months of knowing each other, we packed our bags and moved to Costa Rica. We lived in a little cabina near the beach, surfed nearly every day, and got to know each other really fast. I also got to know someone else really fast. Her 3 year old daughter who moved there with us.

The 3 of us went to the beach, rode our bikes, ate papaya and mangoes, and watched sunsets. I fell in love with that woman (I had already started to before we left), but what I didn’t know is that I would fall in love with that little girl too. The feelings crept up on me without warning, and every day I could do nothing but watch myself become more and more connected. A chunk of every trip I took away from them for business was spent finding that little girl the perfect gift (which always had to be something pink – she was obsessed with pink). On one trip I even found her a bright pink surf board that I dreamed of teaching her to surf on one day.

We moved back to Victoria in the spring of 2012. After being home for a few months, my lovely woman and I had some challenges in our relationship and in ourselves that couldn’t be resolved with us being together. The night we decided to part ways was quite quick and straight to the point. It seemed to make sense that we would do this separation. Then it hit me. All the feelings I had for that little girl welled up inside me and I cried like I have never cried before. It was uncontrollable. The sheer thought of not being able to see her was unbearable. I had hardened on the inside about my relationship with her mom, but I couldn’t harden to her. In a way, I didn’t know the full extent to which I cared for her until that night. And it is something I will never forget. On my knees in the living room that night was the darkest hour I had all year.

Today, that lovely woman and I have not “gotten back together”. We think it is a better fit to say that we have started anew. Our time away from each other lasted almost 3 months, and provided incredible learning and growth for both of us. We are having fun together now and looking at the future lightly with a priority of having fun and enjoying life.

And that little girl… well I play with her every chance I get. I sneak her bigger cookies than she is allowed to have, tickle her till she can’t stop laughing, and know that I will get to teach her how to surf on that bright pink surf board in Costa Rica someday soon.

2 moments that blew my mind:

1) Costa Rica, early 2012: I was chatting with a friend of mine who has done some huge things in social entrepreneurship, including forging a big partnership between his non profit organization in Kenya and Whole Foods (the awesome grocery store). I asked him how he made the connections and if he could introduce me to anyone there, as I wanted to forge a partnership of my own with them and Change Heroes. He told me that I would just need to meet someone there and begin a friendship (that’s how he started). The next day I went to the outdoor pool at one of the local hotels and started chatting with an older guy who had just arrived in CR and was soaking up the sun. I had the feeling I should tell him about a documentary idea I had that would take place in Kenya and other developing countries. “Wow that’s a great idea” he said. “You should meet my son in law!”. I told him thanks, and asked why and if his son in law was in film making. He said no, he wasn’t in film, but that his son in law was the head of the philanthropic arm of Whole Foods. My stomach dropped. My voice cracking, I said “Oh really? That’s awesome. I would love to shoot him an email. Where does he live? New York? LA?”. “No” he answered. “He lives right up the street”. Needless to say I met him, our women became epic friends, and we got to surf together too. He has since introduced me to people at Whole Foods and they have agreed to run a pilot program to test out a partnership when we are ready. That was a pretty cool 24 hours.

2) Kenya, late 2012: Darcy Turenne (www.hellodarcy.com) and I brought a 22 year old guy who funded a school though Change Heroes to Kenya to meet the kids that will be going to his school, and to make a mini documentary out of the journey. It was cool being in Kenya again, and playing with the kids and seeing the schools. But the most incredible part of that trip was watching a young man’s life change forever. It was 3 years earlier that I first went to Kenya, and… well… things have never been the same. I doubt highly that his will ever be the same either. Here is that mini documentary (amazing job Darcy!!!).

Coolest trip:

My 2 favourite girls and I (see the darkest hour part if you don’t know what I mean by “my 2 favourite girls”) went to Guatemala for a week in the beginning of 2012. We explored Mayan temples before sunrise, enjoyed some pretty awesome street meat, destroyed our rental car my plowing into huge speed humps at 80 Km per hour, and ate 5 different kinds of mangoes.

Best books:

For the business minded: ‘Start With Why’ by Simon Sinek, or anything ever written by Seth Godin (the guy is a genius).

For everyone on earth: Half the Sky. You know the change you hear people go through when they visit a developing country, like Kenya or Uganda for example? Well, save yourself the $5000 in air fare and expenses. This book will change you just like one of those trips would, all from the comfort of your own home.

For the men out there (and for the women to get for their men): ‘She comes first’, the thinking mans guide to pleasuring a woman. Guys, have you ever read a book on this subject written by a woman? The ones where they tell you to “go slow” and “take your time” and “feel what she is feeling” and other B.S. ambiguous terms? What the hell does “go slow” mean? “Go slow” to most men means actually taking your socks off before bumping uglies. This book skips ambiguity, and goes right for the numbers. Here are a few I remember… Do you know how many parts there are to the clitoris? Guess……………… EIGHTEEN! This book will teach you about every single one. And did you know that under 10% of women report orgasming after 7 minutes of cunnilingus, yet over 90% report orgasming after 20 minutes? And you thought you were missing the spot… nope… woohoo!

Words of advice:

Nadda. When I turned 30 I finally figured out how little I really knew about the world. Now that I am 31, I have realized that there is even more to know than I thought… so I guess I actually know even less than I did a year ago!

Looking forward to: 

Spending lots of time with my BF Serena, hanging out with the boys lots in Van (Leo or course. Rhino I hope! And Pete… not likely – joking!). I am stoked to get to know Chris’ new little boy, and to watch Tony Z force biking on his new son faster than Tiger’s dad forced golf And lastly, I will surf at least 30 times in the cold water off the west coast, and pee in my wet suit as little as possible.

October 10th, 2010 – THE IDEA

I attended Free The Children’s ‘We Day’ in Vancouver and the idea for asking 33 friends for $3.33 a day for 3 months popped in my head. Six months later 33 of my friends did just that, and we raised our first $10,000 for a school in Kenya, impacting roughly 1000 children.

October 10th, 2011 – IT’S ALIVE

We ran our first real campaign through the site. My friend Elton did it and raised nearly $30,000, impacting approximately 3,000 children in India.

October 10th, 2012 – TODAY

We have raised $300,000 so far, impacting approximately 30,000 children in India, Nepal, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Haiti.

October 10th, 2013 – GO TIME

You can make your own predictions… and I bet mine are higher

As I pushed off the soft sandy ocean floor propelling myself toward the white foamy surface where I would search for my surf board, the thought popped into my head… “I wonder if we hit $100,000 yet”.

After hitting some personal issues a little over a week ago, I decided to take a last minute trip to Mexico’s South West Coast for some wave (and soul) searching to clear my head.

A friend and I found waves. Huge ones. We surfed ‘Pasquales’ for 3 days, and stayed in a hotel called ‘Pacos’ that had walls full of autographed pictures of every pro surfer you could imagine. This is where the greats stay. I felt like a solid surfer just walking in the lobby, but that feeling didn’t stay around for long. It ended about 7 minutes into our first session when I got absolutely rag-dolled just trying to paddle out past the break. The humblings kept coming, and coming. It was like I was that annoying penny you left in the dryer, getting smashed around with no rhythm or consistency. The only thing that was consistent was my getting punished by every wave, popping up gasping for air… and smiling from ear to ear. I was loving it. It took my mind off the personal stuff going on, and put it solely on my love for waves. Until I thought of another love of mine… changing the world through fundraising.

I had to wait another 2 days to answer my thought of hitting $100,000 or not because Pacos doesn’t have internet. But when it was answered, the answer was a huge yes. In late July, 25 people launched campaigns through our site www.pocketchangeheroes.com with hopes of each funding a school in Kenya for hundreds of kids. It has been one month since then, and the combined total just broke $100,000.

We had one guy from California hit $10,000 in 4 days. We had another from Australia hit it in 3 weeks. And we just had a 22 year old young man get the job done in just 23 days. HE is who I should be talking about right now instead of painting a clear picture of my horrific surfing abilities (oops – I forgot to mention that I put my knee right through the fibreglass on one of my more epic wipeouts). His name is Evan, and instead of me just rambling about what an amazing guy he is… I will let his answers to a few questions we asked him do it instead. Enter, Evan…

o What inspired you to run a campaign?
I was fortunately raised by parents who taught me to appreciate what I had and to always give back. It didn’t matter if it was my time (community service, volunteer work, etc) or my money (donations, tips, etc), all that mattered was that I was doing something. I think this value and appreciation for giving and making a difference was one of the main reasons that I was drawn to running a campaign.

o How did you first hear about Pocket Change Heroes?
?I first heard about PCH through Taylor Conroy and his TEDx talk. After watching his speech online, I immediately visited the 10in3 website and signed up for the mailing list. After waiting anxiously for a few months (maybe longer?) I received an email asking if I would like to be a part of the first 30 to run a campaign using the PCH platform. I jumped at the opportunity and the rest is history.

o What made you want to start your own PCH campaign?
The reason I chose to run a PCH campaign is two fold. The first reason was that I was intrigued at the idea of making a difference with my friends. This wasn’t about asking random people or businesses to join our team and raise money – it was about a small group of close friends that shared a common vision coming together to change the world. The PCH platform allowed me to do this and form a team of friends (that all personally know each other) that ultimately came together to raise $10,000 – and more specifically build a school. This leads to reason number two, which is what we were raising money for and what we were going to accomplish. From the beginning – I did not view this campaign as a fundraising effort that would simply raise money and magically solve a problem. Often times, it takes much more than money to solve a problem. What is special about this movement is that the money we raised will have a trickle down effect. The money will be used to build a school, which will then educate children, which then provides the children with the knowledge and opportunity to break free from a cycle of poverty that has likely plagued them and their families for generation. It is this intangible asset of knowledge (that can never be taken away from them) that will ultimately solve the problem.

o Did you feel intimidated by this challenge?
I was never intimidated by the challenge. I was confident from the start that this was something that could be accomplished with the right message and the right group of people. From the beginning it was never a question of if I would reach the $10,000 goal but it was a matter of when. I am happy to say that through the great work of the PCH team and the awesome friends on my team – the answer to the question of when was only 23 short days.

o What obstacles did you face in during your campaign?
?When I think about it – I think it’s fair to say that there were no real obstacles that I faced in running this campaign. That’s not to say I did not run into people who were not interested, people who were skeptical, or people who just flat out did not respond. Of course there were those people – and that is perfectly normal and understandable. I never viewed this as an obstacle; in my eyes it was all part of the journey. I think it’s important to be mindful and respectful that this is not for everyone. Everyone is different and that is okay. I made it a point to respect each person’s decision and never ever pressured or tried to guilt anyone into joining the team. For me, this campaign was about finding those friends that shared a similar vision and brining them together to make a difference.

o Did you and your team have fun while raising money for this great cause?
The entire campaign was enjoyable from start to finish. Everything from making the videos, to spreading the word and message, to watching the team grow. And it was exciting for everyone who was on board to see how a small group of friends could come together and make such a big difference.

o Would you recommend this campaign to one of your friends?
?To anyone who values giving back, making a difference, and changing the world – I would absolutely recommend this campaign. If your genuinely interested and committed to making a difference I think it’s important to avoid thinking that you are too small, too inexperienced, or too busy. The great thing about PCH is that is shows how literally anyone (regardless of age, job, income level, etc) can make a difference with the right attitude.

o How has this experience helped you grow personally?
?I am confident that this experience is just the beginning. This was my first “big” jump into this type of work but I am positive it will not be my last. I am not sure where it will lead me but I look forward to the days, months, and years ahead.

o What creative approach did you take to get others involved?
This is an interesting question and something I have discussed at length with both Taylor and Mike. I ran about 90% of this campaign from my iPhone. What I mean by that is that almost all of the contact I had with the team members and potential team members was done through email or texts through my phone. The only thing I used my laptop for was the initial set up, to upload the PCH banners to my Facebook, and to add team member’s pictures to my main website – that’s it. This again goes to show just how capable people are of making a difference in this world. As far as my strategy is was simple and straight forward. I sent out all campaign related info through email and I handled all of the follow up through texts. And throughout I was sure to personalize every email or text I sent. There were never any “mass texts” or “group emails” – everything was personalized and specific to the person I was speaking with. Other than that it was simple organization and follow up skills.

o How much money did you raise in total?
?I stopped once I reached the $9,902.72 mark which was when the school was fully funded.

o Is this something that you would consider doing again?
?See question 9.

Want to be an Evan?

We would love to change the world with you… www.pocketchangeheroes.com

Much love.

T

Short and sweet:

We have been testing and refining this platform for the last year.

The smallest amount one person raised was 900 bucks. The biggest was 30K.

Those were the old days… they were tests… they taught us a lot… they funded 20 school houses in Nepal, India, Sierra Leone, and Kenya… and they were fun.

Now it’s time to get serious.

We won’t be getting any more $900 raises. And we are hoping for a lot more $30,000 raises.

Next week, we shoot to fund 33 schools in 33 days.

My prediction is that the ‘game changer’ will be couples, 2 friends, or even 3 people teaming up to do one campaign (aimed at raising $10,000). It will lower the amount of people they each need to commit to giving $3.33 a day for 3 months to 16 friends (with 2 people doing it) or 11 friends (with 3)… and it will be more fun.

You might want to join us… just say “I am in” here… and let’s empower some of our young sisters and brothers in Kenya and Haiti.

I met Sara a month a few months ago via email. She has done some pretty awesome things so far, has a wonderful grasp of what her part is in changing the world… and is doing it in a big way. She founded the ‘Run for Women’, which will be in BC, Alberta, and Ontario. You know that saying “you eat an elephant one bit at a time”? Well Sara eats elephants for breakfast… and washes it down with a nice warm cup of ‘change the frickin world’.

I wanted to know her female perspective on what us guys can do to help support amazing women like her, and take part in the eventual merging of feminine and masculine approaches toward bettering the world for all of us. So I asked her 3 questions… Read more

No idea if this will hit home for anyone like it did for me. This is just something that was a turning point in my life. Something that made things very clear. And something I will never forget doing. Read more

This is a guest blog post I was humbled to be able to do for Harvard.

You are only allowed to read it if you promise not to tell Harvard that I barely passed high school and had to use spell check on the word ‘entrepreneur’

Here is the link to the actual post – may as well read it on there – it’s just cooler.

The post:

The word “Entrepreneur” is one of the most over used terms in the English language today. Read more

I started 2011 owning and operating the real estate company I started in 2006. I lived in Victoria BC. I had a random cool idea for raising some money for charity. The main things I was working on were company culture, systems for the business, and reintegrating back into daily life after traveling for almost all of 2010. It was time to settle back in and get down to work.

Now it’s 2012.

I don’t own the company anymore. I live in Central America. That idea to raise some money for charity has turned into an online fundraising platform that has funded 18 schools in 6 countries. A friend and I came up with the Early Entrepreneurs Experiment, which has launched in 3 countries, raised tens of thousands of dollars and taught hundreds kids to be social entrepreneurs. Now the main plans are to 1) finish the platform for individuals and non-profits to raise millions of dollars for legitimate and world enhancing projects, 2) to launch the Early Entrepreneurs Experiment world wide and be accepted into general curriculum – teaching kids to be entrepreneurs and how to change the world for the better through business, and 3) to film a ridiculously cool documentary made up of 12 separate YouTube size episodes highlighting amazing and world changing work being done by friends of mine in Kenya, India, and Cambodia – it will be a mix of adventure travel, extreme sport feel, and giving on a massive scale – Adventure Philanthropy.

What the F happened?

Happy New Year.

Japan was ridiculous.

Went there on a whim… an intuitive feeling… and a whole bunch of pocket change.

I was at one of my weekly meditation sessions with my (for a total lack of a better term) “guru”, Shigenori Murata, when the feeling came. I have been seeing Shigenori once a week for some time, and have been growing exponentially working with him. He is what we westerners would likely call a “Spirituality/Meditation Coach” and is the most educated man on the subjects that I have met. With an Oxford PhD (DPhil) in Asian Philosophy and Spirituality, and a huge self-study of Zen, Shamanism, Kundalini and different types of meditation, the man has been an incredible wealth of knowledge (I will pop his info at the bottom if you want to try out a session in person or on Skype). Read more