Changing Business From the Inside Out

The Austin Professional Chapter of Net Impact hosted a dinner discussion with Tim Mohin on Thursday evening.  Twelve of us dined at Buenos Aires Cafe and enjoyed each other's company while getting to chat with Tim about his experiences in the world of corporate social responsibility.   

Tim is the author of Changing Business From the Inside Out.  I really enjoyed reading his book and thought it was very well written and was an easy, enjoyable read.  I've just posted an Amazon book review.

Through reading the book, I gained an appreciation for how much the really large companies, like Apple and Walmart, have an impact in raising the standards for people beyond our borders.  Their market power has the very real potential to make factories in other countries change their labor practices, working conditions, and environmental impacts. 

It was so encouraging to meet professional men and women who are redefining conventional careers.  In several cases, they had left well-respected, high-paying jobs to pursue opportunities that will allow them to have a more direct positive impact on the people, companies, and communities they serve.  

So inspiring! J

Some of my favorite take-aways from the Book:

"All great leaders started from lower-level positions and discovered ways to leverage their capabilities to add value to their organization."

(14)

"The keys are to have the desire to learn and grow, the humility to be less informed than others, and above all the passion for your cause."

(31)

"The key to success as a corporate treehugger is to nurture the flames of your passion even when the inertia of company bureaucracy douses it with cold water."

(41)

"Effective managers are always looking for that next increment of improvement, the innovative ways to define leadership best practices.  In other words, corporate responsibility is a journey, not a destination."

(82)

Book Review: Wild

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail

By Cheryl Strayed

Published: 2012

Read: May 2012

Wild is an awesome, captivating story.  Cheryl Strayed is a 26-year-old woman solo-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in the summer of 1995.  The way she writes the book makes you feel as though she is telling you her story through the quick-turning pages.  The reading experience is quite different than the first book review I wrote, with this book having fewer (almost none) LOL moments.  Instead, I was living the story while intimately understanding Cheryl's transformation as she grew not only physically, but more importantly, mentally and spiritually, while hiking the trail.  I simply could not put this book down.

Throughout the 315 pages, Cheryl keeps things interesting by weaving the trail hiking experience with stories from her past as they came up as issues and emotions she dealt with and conquered.  The motivation for hiking was to refocus her life after grieving the painful loss of her mother and the ensuing disintegration of her family and her marriage.  She was also breaking free of old bad habits  while building self-confidence to make herself whole again.

The way Cheryl makes the read feel like she's telling you her story personally is through her unique writing style.  I remember being a bit thrown off during the first few pages by the punctuation and sentence formatting.  Re-reading them now makes me realize it was just an adjustment period in getting to know Cheryl's voice.  

"It was the thing that had compelled [the trail creators and advocates] to fight for the trail against all the odds, and it was the thing that drove me and every other long-distance hiker onward on the most miserable days.  It had nothing to do with gear or footwear or the backpacking fads or philosophies... It had only to do with how it felt to be in the wild."
(Pg 207)

"I was entering. I was leaving.  California streamed behind me like a long silk veil.  I didn't feel like a big fat idiot anymore.  And I didn't feel like a hard-ass motherfucking Amazonian queen.  I felt fierce and humble and gathered up inside, like I was safe in this world too."

(Pg 234)

"I've given you everything," [Cheryl's mother] insisted again and again in her last days.  "Yes," I agreed.  She had, it was true.  She did.  She did.  She did.  She'd come at us with maximum maternal velocity.  She hadn't held back a thing, not a single lick of her love."

(Pg 268)

Cheryl focuses on the right topics for the right amount of time.  You want to read every word, rather than feeling tempted to skip over boring, needlessly descriptive sections.  Her adventure makes readers (...at least me...) want to get out there and hike - to feel the blisters, the lost toe nails, the sweat-coated body - all for the purpose of experiencing the same transformation that Cheryl underwent.  The trail's physical demands forced so much focus on the physical and basic needs of life that the petty, irrelevant issues of Cheryl's past life were cast away, easily rolled off the side of one of the many mountains she traversed.  Hiking also built up her confidence to deal with the issues of her mom passing away and her wandering lifestyle.  

Things I think I'll remember most about this book:

(and things that will make more sense after reading the book:)

2nd skin

Boots and puffy toes

Boxes waiting at secluded post offices 

Literally living on next to nothing

Monster

Camaraderie from fellow trail mates

Food.  Fresh.  And cold Snapple

Cold sweat

Just keep going. 

While I naturally paint a picture of the scenes and events Cheryl depicts in the novel, there are some places she describes that seem absolutely beautiful.  Because they are actual places, I wanted to look a few of them up:

Crater Lake
(http://planetoddity.com) 

Mt. Hood
(http://www.discovernw.org)

Thanks, Luke, for recommending this book!  I loved reading it!!

Book Review: "Happier Than A Billionaire"

Happier Than a Billionaire

By Nadine Hays Pisani

Pages: 227
Price:  I paid $9.35 on Amazon.com (but it has recently gone up to $12.99)
Publisher:  This book was published on July 3, 2011 by Nadine using an online publishing tool, Createspace.

Nadine shares with readers the challenges and rewards of moving life from the States to the Central American country of Costa Rica.  Above all, Happier Than a Billionaire is absolutely hilarious.  Be warned: if you don't like the attention you'll get when bursting out laughing in public places, don't read this book in public places.  Because, within the first two sentences, you'll be in fits of laughter and transported to a whole different world.

Originally both chiropractors in the US, Nadine and her husband Rob radically changed their lifestyle four years ago.  Both were fed up with their jobs, miserable and unhappy, and tired of their life.  So, they sold their practice, their house in the States, and moved to Costa Rica (after much discussion and research, of course).  They buy a house on a mountain, enjoy a carefree lifestyle of a 'zero-hour work week', and go on adventures while trying to integrate into the Costa Rican lifestyle.  Nadine's style of writing has you right there beside them as they bounce down the pitted dirt road on a moped or run down a mountain after seeing a group of bulls while 'house-hunting'.

Educational
According to Amazon.com, books often bought with Happier Than a Billionaire include travel guides and other books associated with the lifestyle of Costa Rica.  Nadine's book shares with readers the reality of this lifestyle change.  Including everything from dealing with realtors to purchase a house, buying cars, using Spanish translators, and getting residency, Nadine's account is honest, informative, and of course, 100% hilarious.  Once in Costa Rica, Nadine and her husband take advantage of the sights around them.  They travel to neighboring countries (usually to renew their visas every 90 days) and share stories of crazy adventures about navigating the roads, visiting beautiful beaches, and experiencing the natural wonders the Central American countries have to offer.    While the general picture will be painted in your mind as you read about these adventures, it would be a good idea to have a travel book by your side if actually planning out a trip to Central America to solidify names of cities, resorts, roads, parks, etc.

Heather's Opinion

This book is a fantastic resource to get readers familiar with both international travel and international living in a low-stress and enjoyable way.  Reading this book is worth many, many laughs and is a welcome break from typical every-day life in the US.  It is eye-opening to the possibility of living internationally and inspiring to read about Nadine and Rob's journey of pursuing what they truly want out of life.  

Throughout the book, Nadine experiences the transformation that living a low-stress lifestyle has on her.   Quotes from Happier Than a Billionaire:

Last night was difficult.  There were times during the drive that I wanted to turn around but I never imagined it would be this beautiful.  And just like that, as my sister would say about childbirth, all the pain faded away.  My life doesn't feel like a long dark tunnel anymore.  Perhaps it's because I'm falling in love with a place I haven't been in for longer than twenty-four hours.                                                                                                                                  --Page 34

The longer I live here the more I am changing.  I'm opening up to people and finding something in me I thought was lost years ago.  I'm enjoying myself and allowing walls to come down that I built up while working in my office.  I'm learning it is still possible to have the life you always dreamed of and there are still people out there who are waiting (and willing) to be your friend.                                                                                                            --Page 209