EP #147: Your Right to Give of Yourself with Justin Levy
We all have a special set of gifts and skills to use for good. Unfortunately, we also have some challenges that we’ll need to address, consistently. The more we collaborate and encourage each other, the more opportunities there will be to give of ourselves.
Today’s guest believes everyone deserves the right to be a giver. Justin Levy’s path to executive leadership in the impact space is nothing short of amazing. You might consider some of the things he dealt with to be limiting but his mindset is anything but limiting. He has a servant leadership thought process that seeks to develop relationships and give everyone a chance to participate in generosity. Listen in as he describes what it takes to be a leader in the impact space.
What You'll Learn In Today's Episode:
How Justin got into Impact work
About the work of Conscious Alliance
What awakening compassion is
How Conscious Alliance’s first event garnered 400 meals
How bringing food to a concert can awaken compassion
About Conscious Alliance 2.2 million meals served
The Story of what Justin’s Peanut Butter would support
About Pine Ridge community and Justin’s time there
The importance of connecting with people and relationships
What Justin thinks of running a big organization
What Justin thinks is most important to his work
How Justin’s role has changed
How Justin has to stay active in the cause
How it’s important to be soft and be kind
What Justin thinks about generous cultures
How people who work for impact organizations feel about their work
How a Conscious Alliance concert works
How the posters from concerts have generated support
What the next level of engagement is
What’s the funnel of compassion
How participation is contagious
A story about one of the concert fans/supporters
How the cards were stacked against Justin
About Justin’s health challenges before and at birth
About Justin’s other limitations that really aren’t limiting
The number of operations Justin has had
How many times Justin has had to learn how to walk
How Justin’s guidance counselor believed in him
How we all have something to learn from each other
Ideas Worth Sharing:
“I made the commitment in my life to support the younger generations in a way that I was supported.” - Justin Levy
“I think at the core everyone is willing to give of themselves, support community.” - Justin Levy
“Bringing food to a concert was a way to awaken compassion.” - Justin Levy
“It’s our job to redefine that, find that in ourselves and keep that spirit going.” - Justin Levy on compassion
“Volunteerism isn’t just something that we do on Saturdays.” - Justin Levy
“I fundamentally will never put a ceiling on what’s possible for Conscious Alliance.” - Justin Levy
“I don’t think any of us knew that Conscience Alliance would be where it is today.” - Justin Levy
“We didn’t put a box on…what’s possible.” - Justin Levy
“Never underestimate the interaction.” - Justin Levy
“The people that we work with are friends of mine.” - Justin Levy
“With relationship comes trust and opportunity.” - Justin Levy
“I’m very proud of how grew from one community and one community and one brand to being a national organization with a big reach but at the end of the day, it is about the small actions.” - Justin Levy
“As we scale, we can almost work ourselves out of a job.” - Justin Levy
“Sometimes I get stuck behind my desk or I’m on six hours of back-to-back phone calls.” - Justin Levy
“It’s important for me to make sure I’m getting out in the community often.” - Justin Levy
“Everyone is welcome. Everyone has something to give. Everyone deserves the opportunity to give of themselves.” - Justin Levy
“I still get lit up when I see fans carrying bags and bags of groceries.” - Justin Levy
“It’s not about a specific skill set. It’s about a desire and a fire from within.” - Justin Levy
“I had all the cards stacked against me from one side of the coin and I would say every opportunity to be had from the other side.” - Justin Levy
“A few days before I was born, my brain bled.” - Justin Levy
“I was born with cerebral palsy.” - Justin Levy
“I didn’t learn how to read until I was 21 years old.” - Justin Levy
“From the time I was two, I can remember always being involved in most major decisions that affected my life.” - Justin Levy
“I’ve undergone 14 operations. I’ve learned how to walk 4 different times in my life.” - Justin Levy
“It wasn’t the people that gave to me that I had to give back to. It wasn’t this reciprocal circle.” - Justin Levy
“Let’s not just think outside the box. Let’s remove the box.” - Justin Levy
“You can be a philanthropist, a giver, in multiple ways.” - Bob DePasquale
“You developed a relationship.” - Bob DePasquale
“You gotta start simple.” - Bob DePasquale
“Generous cultures allow people to collaborate rather than to compete.” - Bob DePasquale
Resources In Today's Episode:
Justin Levy - LinkedIn
Conscious Alliance - Website - Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn - Instagram - YouTube
Bob’s Book - Personal Finance in a Public World
This week’s E-Impact Blog Entry
Episodes Referenced:
EP #09: Providing Water to Communities in Need with Laura Moreno
EP #111: Generation Impact with Sharna Goldseker and Michael Moody
