Pay it Forward (Call to Action)

Here is my answer to Quest 006: So what kind of world-changing action do YOU want to design? Your quest this week: Create three original calls to action: for an individual, for a crowd, and for a massive community.

If you had the power to convince today one person to do one thing, who would it be, and what would you call on him or her to do?

For an Indiviudal call to action: Pay it Forward

It's a simple concept. Perform a Random Act of Kindness wherever you see a need and can help.
If the recipient asks how they can pay you back, the answer is "Pay it forward."

Who would be my child

If you had the power to convince today 100 people to do one thing, who would they be, and what would you call on them to do?

For 100 people call to action: Pay it Forward

It's a simple concept. Perform a Random Act of Kindness wherever you see a need and can help. If the recipient asks how they can pay you back, the answer is "Pay it forward"

A Random Act of Kindness is just what it sounds like. It can be as simple as a smile to a stranger, picking up a dropped toy for a mother with children on both arms, or letting someone merge in front of you in traffic.

It can be an anonymous donation, a ride to the airport for a friend,or paying the 12 cents the person in front of you in line is short for their purchase.

The amazing thing about this concept is that performing these Random Acts of Kindness benefits YOU. After performing a Random Act of Kindness you tend to smile more, be in a better mood, and feel good about yourself no matter how large or small the act.

Who would be my online community

If you had the power to convince today 1 million people to do one thing, who would they be, and what would you call on them to do?

For 1,000,000 people call to action: Pay it Forward

It's a simple concept. Perform a Random Act of Kindness wherever you see a need and can help. If the recipient asks how they can pay you back, the answer is "Pay it forward"

A Random Act of Kindness is just what it sounds like. It can be as simple as a smile to a stranger, picking up a dropped toy for a mother with children on both arms, or letting someone merge in front of you in traffic.

It can be an anonymous donation, a ride to the airport for a friend,or paying the 12 cents the person in front of you in line is short for their purchase.

The amazing thing about this concept is that performing these Random Acts of Kindness benefits YOU. After performing a Random Act of Kindness you tend to smile more, be in a better mood, and feel good about yourself no matter how large or small the act.

I can't take credit for either idea as I heard them somewhere else first. I have practiced them together since that day. Here are some true stories.

In the MMO I play, when I was a neophyte, and a very low level character, I was selling some crafted goods. A max level character paid for them and asked me to give them away free to the next low level player who needed them. I loved the idea, and commented that if I could afford to do so (in-game) I would do that all the time. Later that day another player handed me 1 Gold in in-game currency. I refused to take it until he told me why he was giving it to me. "A little bird told me you would craft for people for free if you could. This is your start up funding." I accepted and have been giving crafted items away in-game for free for two years now. Paying it forward.

My daughter was on a school trip to a large well-known amusement park. Each student had been given food cards for meals which were only good in the park. When it was time to leave they each had small random amounts left on their cards. It added up to about $20. When they had paid, they turned to the next person in line and handed all the cards to her and told her to buy an extra treat for her young children. She was amazed a group of teenagers wopuld be so thoughtful and promised to hand them down the line until all the funds were used up. Paying it Forward.

(In addition, the teenagers were so excited they had found a way to use those bits of change left on the cards they spread the word. There were 300 kids on that trip. Maybe it will become a tradition.)

I once overheard a co-worker just back from medical leave say she had $5 left and had to decide between food and gas until her leave check arrived. Later that day I handed her a $20 bill and told her to get both and let me know if her check did not arrive as scheduled. She asked why I would do that and I replied we have all had moments when we could use a helping hand and that down the years plenty of people had helped me, and now I was in a position to help her. She said she would pay me back and I told her no, please Pay it Forward. She said she absolutely would.

My daughter and I were driving down a neighborhood street and saw a couple trying to push a disabled car up a hill to a sfae place. We parked, jumped out, and ran to help push. When we were done, they thanked us profusely and were amazed that we would stop to help a total stranger. We replied "How could we not?"

Exactly. How can we not?

If a million people perform a Random Act of Kindeness and those million people pay it forward and start doing the same we will soon have a never-ending chain of acts of kindness. And we all get to smile more every day as well.

Sounds good to me. Are you in?