Shownotes:

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Chris Field, CEO and founder of Mercy Project, an innovative nonprofit working to end child labor trafficking in Ghana, Africa.

Outside of his role at Mercy Project, he is an award-winning author, speaker, business consultant, college lecturer, four time Guinness world record holder, viral sensation, 27-time marathoner, and ice cream lover.

About Chris

Chris’ passion around community is centered on all of us getting more comfortable with what it is that we have to offer. He believes that when we choose to give what we have and not what we have left, the impact of that kind of gift can be so great.

His greatest superpower is inspiring people to believe they can actually change the world and then showing them how to join him in doing it.

He is married to his high school sweetheart, Stacey, and is father to Micah, Beckett, Lincoln, and Theodore. He is the author of "A Billion Hours of Good" and "Disrupting for Good."

BIG IDEA 1

“Community is us believing that we're better together.” (12:09)

Chris talked about how everyone of us have something good to give the world today. He said that we all have these little moments for us to give what we have, and just to say, “Look, it's not much but this is what I have”. And the beauty of that is when a whole bunch of people do that, collectively, it's transformational, and it creates a tidal wave of good that simply cannot be contained.

He also discussed about how a community is a bunch of ordinary people choosing to receive the gifts we have with open hands, and how we are also giving the gifts back with the same open hands. He encourages us to give what we have a little bit every day, and trust that over time, the impact of that is going to be greater than we could ever imagine.

BIG IDEA 2

“What we lack is courageous leaders.  I really believe there's this beautiful opportunity to find courageous leaders as the world is desperate of them. ” (17:26)

Chris shared that based on his experience, if you've got a well thought out, sincere, life changing, life altering sort of idea and you're willing to sacrifice for it, people are going to line up behind you because we're all hungry to be part of something bigger than ourselves. We have this deep yearning of our lives to matter. We want to do stuff that matters. And that cuts across all socio-economic status and education level and age.

He advised to do the right thing and find that things that you know and chase it like a dog chases a tennis ball, and look behind you, you’ll see a bunch of people following behind you. He added that people are so gracious, especially when you're vulnerable, transparent, and honest about what you're learning and how you're growing and how you're improving.

BIG IDEA 3

“At some point, you have to ask if the things you’re sharing and the ways you’re communicating and the choices you’re making and the messages you are creating about, is really resonating with people.” (26:55)

Chris said that on social media,vanity metrics are fine. But at the end of the day, as an author, speaker, and as somebody who really wants to make a difference in the world, it's when people start coming to him and saying, that something he wrote mattered enough that it was changing behaviors in their life, for him, that's the greatest gift anybody can give.

He thinks that if we listen carefully, people will tell us if the things we're doing are making an impact. We'll be able to tell in the ways people look at us. If they're waiting for us, if they're listening to us, if they're wanting us to weigh in on hard topics, because they value our voice, those are some of the intangible things that are most meaningful.

Social Media Links:

You can find Chris Field at:

Mercy Project: www.mercyproject.net

Website: https://meetchrisfield.com/about/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/disruptionchris/

https://www.facebook.com/mercyproject

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/disruptionchris/

https://www.instagram.com/mercyproject

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/christophercfield

We’d love you to join us for future episodes of the Social Lights podcast, produced by Social Mediology.

You can connect with us on Facebook at @SocialLightsPodcast and find future episodes at socialmediology.com.au/sociallights.

Thanks for your time and stay inspired,

Kate vanderVoort