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Everyone Can Be A Philanthropist | Kelly Hackett, JD, CAP | TEDxBaylorCollegeofMedicine - YouTube
Channel: TEDx Talks
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Transcriber: Gabriel Cintra
Reviewer: Dinh Lieu Vu
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Have you ever been asked a question that
makes you freeze with anxiety?
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It may sound odd,
but for me,
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that question has always been.
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Can you tell me
a little bit about yourself?
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A simple get to know your question,
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but one that's always carried
so much weight,
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because as much as
I want to give people insight
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into the real me,
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I have this tendency to provide
resum茅 or bio answers,
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things I feel like I鈥檓 supposed to say.
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For example,
I love to snowboard.
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That's true, I do love to snowboard.
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Unfortunately, though,
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I haven鈥檛 been snowboarding
in about 20 years,
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so I鈥檓 50 50 as to whether
I could actually make it off of
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a chairlift today without completely
falling on my face.
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Or how about the often use? I love
to read a great book. Sure.
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But I've taken the binge watching
crime TV, and I got to tell you,
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I definitely prefer that. And then there's
the fact that I love to cook,
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which is completely motivated by
the fact that I love to eat.
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I actually grew up in a house where my
mom would occasionally have to remind
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me, You know, Kel, there are people
in this world who eat to live.
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And then there are those who
live to eat like you,
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which might explain why when I was younger
and I would get into trouble,
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she would take away my Oreos instead of a
toy or a game like one of my siblings.
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Anyway, what I found is that the answers
I've been providing share with people,
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things I like to do. And while that
gives some insight into who I am,
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who I really am at my core
is a philanthropist.
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Now, I don't say that because I've given
away millions of dollars or fronted
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a major social justice cause.
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I say that because whatever
resources I do have,
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I want to share with others and that's
what philanthropy is all about.
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Over time, its definition has
become really restrictive,
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but I'm hoping that together we can get
back to its original and simple meaning.
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So I'm here today to ask
all of you to join me.
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Let's update our resumes and LinkedIn
bios because everyone can be
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a philanthropist. The key is threefold.
First, accessibility.
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Second, approachability.
And third, inclusivity.
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I believe that if we can shift our
focus to those three things,
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then we can both individually and
collectively find empowerment
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and fulfillment as we work to make
the world a better place,
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which is no small feat. So let's start
with the first concept. Accessibility.
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It may seem like a pretty bold claim to
say everyone can be a philanthropist.
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I mean, after all, four years,
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we've associated philanthropy with
the gifting of significant funds.
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Articles have been written awards given
buildings have even been named
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for people and organizations whose
financial generosity has or will have
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a great impact on the community,
and rightfully so.
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What鈥檚 interesting, though, is I consider
myself a philantrophist
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and I don鈥檛 have any of those accolades.
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Now, don't get me wrong, I'll
be the first to acknowledge
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the many blessings and privileges
that my parents hardwork
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and values have provided
to me. But he didn't.
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They came from generations of family who,
as my grandmother would say,
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didn't have two nickels to rub together,
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but they could also be considered
philanthropists.
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So how does that make sense?
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Well, you may be surprised to know
that philanthropy actually has
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a really simple definition, and it's
one that applies to all of us.
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Derived from Latin and Greek, Phyl,
meaning love and Anthropocene,
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meaning humankind, philanthropy literally
means love of humankind.
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That鈥檚 it. It鈥檚 that simple. So I think
that鈥檚 exciting,
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because what that tells me is philanthropy
is highly accessible.
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The door is wide open to anybody who's
willing to love humankind now, OK?
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You may be thinking that
sounds really good,
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but isn't the point of philanthropy
to have significant impact?
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How can I do that if I don't
have a lot of money?
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Well, that brings me to our second
concept approachability.
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I don't know if any of you were,
like me, introverted,
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socially anxious card carrying members of
the Sweaty Palms Club, but if you are,
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you'll understand that it's
always been pretty easy
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for me to psych myself out thinking
if I don't win the lottery,
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then my only real shot for philanthropic
impact is going to have to be through
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some sort of newsworthy activism
like leading a massive rally
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or crowdfunding effort, which makes
me want to literally melt into
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the ground right now.
Good news: There are people
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out there who are
actually really good at it,
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so we don鈥檛 truly have to rely solely on
me and my sweaty palms.
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But I get it.
It does leave the question OK.
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You say the door is wide
open to philanthropy
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but does it take a certain sort of person
to actually walk through it?
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The answer is no. Poetry is
also highly approachable.
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How do I know first hand experience?
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I grew up watching it, modeled when
my mom would volunteer to run
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Vacation Bible School, where, by the way,
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on occasion I could have some of
the office snacks like Oreos,
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or when my dad would teach
junior achievement.
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Whenever I would see a neighbor
lend an ear or
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a hand to another neighbor in need,
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or even when neighborhood kids would offer
to babysit and tutor one another.
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Those are all philanthropic acts,
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and they're all critical to the welfare
of humankind. Take it from me.
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Someone who has over 40 first cousins
babysitting is critical to
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the welfare of humankind.
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You know, I鈥檝e also been really lucky
over the last decade or so to find myself
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working in the
business of philanthropy.
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And I can assure you the same holds true.
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It doesn't matter who we
are or what we have.
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If we're willing to share whatever
resources we do have with others,
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then we鈥檙e philanthropists.
It鈥檚 truly that simple.
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It could be our talent, technical
expertise, our networks,
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or even just our willingness to listen
and to love one another.
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Those are all such valuable resources, and
they're so necessary for progress.
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So I hope that we all have
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the confidence we need to walk straight
through that door with our heads held high
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because we are philanthropists.
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So if you're still with me,
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we've now established two things right
the door to philanthropy is wide open
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and we all have what it
takes to walk through.
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But something I've noticed is even if
we can all walk through that door,
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we can't necessarily do so together.
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Barriers can arise and on the basis of all
sorts of things age, race, gender,
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socioeconomics and even if we can cross
the threshold and actually get into
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the room, those same barriers can still
exist to leave us feeling unwelcome
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or like we don't belong. When
it comes to philanthropy,
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I want to focus on age because
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I think we've long associated philanthropy
with more mature generations,
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and that makes a ton of sense.
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But I'd like to suggest
that going forward,
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if we do solely that we're missing out
on a big part of the equation.
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I'm sure you've noticed, especially
on social media,
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that more and more members of younger
generations are developing
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an interest in and a passion for
philanthropy, which is fantastic.
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It's also one of the main reasons
that I think it's
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so important that philanthropy
also be highly inclusive.
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That's the third concept. Did you know
that today at least five different
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generations are all living
at the same time?
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That's more so than ever
before in history.
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They range from the silent generation all
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the way to Generation Z and take it
from me, someone in the middle.
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I'm afraid to say a millennial.
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There are a lot of differences
between the generations.
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For example, not every nine year
old is going to appreciate
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the Tik Tok phenomenon, and not every
tween will understand or appreciate
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the quieter heads down approach of elders.
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But for all of the differences that
we often note between generations,
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many of which I think we allow to
become barriers to progress,
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we actually have a lot in common. Truly,
those commonalities are our values.
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Now I'm not saying all values are
the same across all generations,
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but we do have common ground and that we
all want to make meaningful connections.
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We all want to love and be loved.
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We all want to feel as though we're making
an impact and we all want to leave
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the world a better place. So
that's why I think it's
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so important that we not only open
the door to philanthropy,
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but that we invite all generations
to the same table
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for conversations that are open minded,
loving and patient.
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Now, I'm not saying that those
conversations will always be easy,
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although now that I think about it,
I bet if you brought a few Oreos,
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everybody, they'd be easier. I
don't know. Just a thought.
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But I do know that if those conversations
are successful and
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I know that they can be, the upside
potential is amazing.
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I mean, who wouldn't want more passion
and resources brought to bear on
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the causes that matter so much to us?
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I know me and my sweaty palms
are all in for that.
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See, the thing is, as if philanthropy
can be accessible,
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approachable and inclusive, then it
can also be highly successful.
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What's more, it's actually good for us.
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Yes, we want to focus on love of humankind
, progress and impact.
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But it's also important that
for each of us as givers,
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we find fulfillment as we share
our time, talent and treasure.
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After all, we don't want it to go the
way of my snowboarding hobby,
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which we all now know is a thing
of the very distant past.
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I'm sure you've all heard of the
concept of the gift of giving.
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It's the idea that when you
give you feel good.
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Well, if you don't know what I'm talking
about, think about it this way.
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Have you ever given a gift to someone
and known it is the perfect gift
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for whatever reason? You know that
when the recipient opens it,
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their mind is going to be blown because
you've completely hit the nail
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on the head. You know what I mean?
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Or for someone like me, it's kind
of also the feeling I get when
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I realize that oxygen is about to release
a new episode of Snapped,
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one of my favorite shows. I get flooded
with this feeling of satisfaction that
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I want to happen over and
over and over again.
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It's that that's the feeling
I'm talking about.
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And at least in the context
of philanthropy,
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that feeling is backed by science.
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Neuroscientists and psychiatrists around
the world have studied the brain
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and found that at the time of giving
dopamine and serotonin levels spike,
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that's the happiness hormone.
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And when studied over a
longer period of time,
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active giving can lead to
a reduction in cortisol,
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the stress hormone that can lead
to increased neuroplasticity,
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improve mood and overall health. It
could even make us live longer.
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Who wouldn't want that? I'm sure you'll
agree with me that especially over
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the last couple of years, the world
has seen so much social isolation
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and divisiveness. But I hope you'll
feel reassured like I do,
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knowing that as we come
back together fully,
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it to me is a great way for us to
authentically reconnect with one another
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and to start to see that progress we
want so desperately for the world.
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See, the bottom line is giving is good
for the world, and it's good for us.
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It doesn't matter who we
are or what we have,
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we don't have to be millionaires
or newsworthy activists.
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If we're willing to share whatever
resources we do have with others,
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then every one of us can
be a philanthropist.
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Science suggests that for our health,
every one of us should be.
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And I truly hope for the sake of the
world that every one of us will be.
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So I say, let's start right now.
Join me. Let's go.
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Update our resumes on LinkedIn bios
because we've got work to do.
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I'll meet you at the table. I'll be
one with the Orioles. Thank you.
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