Giving Back to Change the World

I haven’t written many posts that added a personal element to the mix of content. Today… I want to change that. I recently had the pleasure of taking a two week trip with an organization that helps the development of non-profits with marketing and creative ideas. I wanted to help out with the organization and actually give back to the process.

Service above self

I decided to join a group of guys to go on a road trip for a national organization. We went on a two week road trip where everything was donated from clothes to cars to hotels. Our food was donated and we had to scrape to put together interviews for building brand awareness for the organization we were supporting.

The purpose of the trip was to use our business, professional, networking, and marketing expertise to help an organization that was in need of marketing. I helped the best way I knew how…. by using social media.

The point of the story is simply this… you don’t have to fly to Africa to give back… you don’t have to travel down to your local soup kitchen… you don’t have to join an organization… you can simply use your talents to make a difference.

This does not mean that Africa, relief organizations, and local soup kitchens are a bad idea… it just means that you were given talents to help support and make life better for other people… friends, family, and strangers.

Anna from Chicago may fly to Africa twice a year to help build wells.

Matt from St. Louis may send money to sponsor a child in a developing country.

I used social media to build brand awareness and financial support for an organization.

The question you should be asking yourself amidst all this content about personal branding is… how are you using your talents to change the world?

… or not.

Picture of Kyle Lacy

Kyle Lacy

Kyle Lacy writes a regular blog at KyleLacy.com and is founder and CEO of Brandswag, a social media strategy and training company. His blog has been featured on Wall Street Journal’s website and Read Write Web’s daily blog journal. Recently, Kyle was voted as one of the top 150 social media blogs in the world (on two websites), and produces regular keynote speeches across the Midwest. He also just finished writing Twitter Marketing for Dummies by Wiley Publishing.

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