“There is no passion to be found playing small — in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living” — Nelson Mandela
Time is Nothing // Around The World Time Lapse from Kien Lam on Vimeo.
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Time is Nothing
Jocelyn Ling
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Why I Believe in Social Entrepreneurship
Jocelyn Ling
Have you ever been asked a question that simply stops you in your tracks…creating that lump in your throat that results in you awkwardly staring at a person for what seems like eternity (but really was only perhaps 30s)? I have. It wasn’t that the question that was unexpected. Only my response. I thought the answer would be at the tip of my tongue, ready to provide that sweet elevator pitch… but my words spluttered and died before I had a chance to arrange them into coherent thoughts.
The question that caused this surprising reaction was: why do you believe in social entrepreneurship?
My brain raced through the reasons, each reason followed by what seemed like a giant red sign that screamed CLICHE.
I believe in a human centred market based solution to poverty.Cliche.I believe in making the world a better place and leaving it better than when I’ve found it.Cliche.My background and journey has led me to believe in the power of entrepreneurship.Cliche.I come from a family whose lives have been changed through entrepreneurship.Cliche.I stumbled into this field unknowingly.Cliche.Social entrepreneurs are the key in unlocking the levers of change.Cliche.Entrepreneurs have the ability to create and imagine. With support and direction, they can be the change we wish to see in this world.Cliche.In my head, my emotions quickly churned from alarm to frustration. Why was it that I couldn’t explain my Why? Was it because I didn’t understand my reasons, or perhaps was it because I couldn’t find the words to say? Why do these reasons seem cliche? Perhaps people have overused them and they have lost their meaning…and then the question becomes: how do you do then convey any one of those reasons with sincere belief? After all, how can you capture passion and belief in 30 seconds. In a paragraph even. It doesn’t seem to even do it justice.
About a year ago, I wrote a post on the beauty of imagination. Although I still believe this reason to be true, I couldn’t quite get the reason of imagination to fit within the social enterprise/international development piece of my beliefs. It seemed to be missing a piece.
Truth be told, I was then suddenly mesmerized by the fact that perhaps, just perhaps my reason WAS the combination of all those cliches. And more. After all, isn’t our understanding of the world a limitation of what we have experienced and inherited knowledge? Maybe my passion is a combination of a mathematical sequence of experiences (I like to think so!):
1) I grew up painfully aware of poverty and socio-economic oppression
2) My family’s story changed because of entrepreneurship
3) Hard work and a stranger’s faith in seeing my potential allowed me to continue my education in Canada
4) I unknowingly stumbled into this field through a “less-than-perfect” volunteer program through my university
5) Tipping point: Working with a women’s group in Lesotho ignited an understanding that identifying change levers in a community can change lives
6) Throughout business school, I have developed a natural bias towards a market based solution to solving problems.
Therefore: 7) Giving people the opportunity (just like it has been given to me) to create and imagine a better life is the key to creating a better world. A human-centered market based solution.
Social entrepreneurship shakes up our complacencies by challenging how we place value on social and economic urgencies. It spins us round in two ways at once: it shows us the sights and social values that we might ordinarily ignore; but it also, and more deeply, shows us parts of capitalism that have grown rusty and need changing.
So what is my answer you might ask? For now, I will have to settle for a combination of cliche answers, my sequence of experiences and that nagging voice at the of my head telling me that it is the right thing to believe in.
I’ll be sure to check in with my answer again as my understanding of the world continues to grow!
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"This is your Life" Manifesto
Jocelyn Ling
I recently discovered http://www.holstee.com — kickass products, sustainably made, with a social impact and loved the concept!! And then, I came across the company’s manifesto and was totally blown away not only by how awesome it was as a manifesto, but the fact that that Holstee IS their manifesto. Their products are all sustainable and beautiful — “design[ed] and curates[ed] with the hope that each product and its inherent story inspires others to follow their dream.”
Simply Wonder-full.
P/s: I also love the Alpaca Reversible hat! Made in Peru by a group of women to improve their family’s income.
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On turning 24
Jocelyn Ling
Flux: |fləks| noun
1. The action or process of flowing.
2. Continuous change