I thank Chris Arnold, the Founder of Your Big Year and World Merit* for sharing these words of wisdom. I also appreciate his generosity and kindness in acknowledging my Visions and visions of IU.
Following is a direct letter from Chris Arnold, Founder of YourBigYear, Smaller Earth & WorldMerit*.
Today,
Inspiration is not that difficult to find. Social Media makes great quotes extremely
accessible, almost to a point beyond saturation. The oratory and poetry of great historical
figures is being somewhat undermined by the sheer quantity of ‘wise words’
online.
However,
though sharing a platform with the common words of ‘Anonymous’ may dent the ego
of past poets and political leaders, I say this ‘inspiration clutter’ is a
great thing. It has created a modern day peer pressure to be a source or conduit
for inspiration. As Anonymous or perhaps a famous poet first said, there is a
pressure now to do well but also to do good.
Users of
Social Media have already and irreversibly made a commitment to check or judge the
actions and values of politicians and corporations. Though that is not always
going to be fair in the unfiltered world of places like Facebook or Twitter,
the consequence is that all emerging leaders know that they have to be people
of value and values. The best of the upcoming generation know that it makes
strategic sense to be collaborative, emotionally aware, culturally aware, ‘social’
entrepreneurs.
In the past,
because the chance of being ‘found out’ was much lower, leaders were ‘safe’ if
standards occasionally dropped lower than the electorate or customer would
want. There were only so many news reporters to go around. Compare this to the
speed and distance both news and innuendo can travel today. As David Jones, CEO
of HAVAS Worldwide and Founder of One Young World says, "People are now empowered by
social media to hold business and leaders accountable. So, if you behave in the
wrong way – whether you are the head of an Arab Spring country or News
International – then people can sanction you. That has taken corporate social
responsibility out of the silo and put it in the P&L statement. Business
cannot avoid this.”
In my opinion
the remarkable effect of Social Media is not the access to information or
communication it has provided, but rather the positive change in culture it is
inexorably making. Twenty year olds have always been vaunted as idealists and
activists, but today I believe it is increasingly more so. The tools are there
to collaborate across borders and the desire to be seen to take action and have
positive momentum is something for society to harness.
Old people,
and by that I mean everyone who has failed to adapt to the current online
methods of communication, will latch onto the painfully frivolous uses of
social media. They believe that Twitter is about sharing lunch updates; they
believe Facebook is simply a source for inanity; they regard the Internet
mostly as an efficient delivery system for porn and a way to browse information
– like a big virtual library. This view is irrelevant and almost certainly in
its final years.
There is
Merit Online. That is a useful pun for me as my organization is called World
Merit and we have our own online social community, however, I mean it in a more
encompassing way. The upcoming generation is grouping together in ways that
will absolutely change the world. Yes! There are huge number of superficial
online communities, but just look at how many powerful groups are being formed,
for example, www.worldmerit.org,
www.oneyoungworld.com,
www.dosomething.org.
This multi –tasking generation is comfortable with being bombarded with
messages that naturally splits its focus. In the same minute it will think
about football and famine, pop and poverty, and these groups sit
unapologetically next to each other on Facebook and in their consciousness.
So here is my
main point. Quotes are unlimited, messaging is unlimited, but because of the
actions that the upcoming generations will take and the way that content is
easily shared, inspiration is also unlimited.
This has been
recognized by my friend, Sujit Lalwani, who happened to be a finalist in the www.yourbigyear.com
competition that I started a few years back. In YBY2 Sujit beat over 60,000
people from almost every country in the world to become a finalist. He had
already recognized the power of his actions on peers and had set up the
Inspiration Unlimited initiative, and has now authored his first book with the
title ‘Life Simplified!’. Sujit is in his mid twenties and is one of the most
motivating emerging leaders I’ve met. The incredible thing is that the ‘Your
Big Year’ competition revealed to me the positive power and positive mentality
of such a huge proportion of youth. They will not allow the cynicism of the
older generations to infect them, but unlike in the past, this is not because
of naivety.
They know the
problems that face humanity and the planet. They understand the need for change
more acutely than ever before. They also know that their approach will be unrecognizably
different, more collaborative, and more open, than ever. They are aware of the
risks of being subverted or made immobile by sheer weight of input and death by
committee, but in the transition of leadership styles, to theirs, they know
that they hold the seeds of previously unimagined potential.
Sujit from
India, Charles from Uganda, Barbra from the US, Linh from Australia, Sarah from
the UK, each one of them knows their responsibilities to make the world a
better place. I for one, for the sake of my two children and because it is so
much fun, will do everything I can to help them.
Join the
Merit community of global citizens and emerging leaders at www.worldmerit.org.
Also try and become the voice of the upcoming generation by winning our
Ambassadorial world trip at www.yourbigyear.com. If you are in a
position of influence please try and support both initiatives and contact me
directly. If you are old, and I mean in the definition I laid out earlier (not
being literate in the new world’s communication methods) then you are unlikely
to have read this note, but if you have, either modernize, or get out of the way of Sujit et al.
Chris Arnold,
Founder, World
Merit and Smaller Earth
There was a dream I once dreamt to celebrate World Inspiration Day
every single year. The date was decided to be April 23rd owing to the
conception of IU on the same date. Every birthday of IU was celebrated as a day
to inspire. But this year on, we are glad to let the world know that we are
officially celebrating this day as THE WORLD INSPIRATION DAY, which just leaves
me to tears. I know this would never stop from here on in, and create a more
inspired world year after year. 
