I’ve met so many college students whose answer to the question “what do you want to major in” is:
“I don’t really know yet…I just know I want to help people.”
I love this answer mostly because it reveals the genuine heart and one of the best parts about this generation. While there are many issues Millennials have to overcome – one of the greatest things about the Millennial generation is that most of them really do want to impact social change in their work.
But whenever I hear the "help people" answer, I know we have to go deeper. Because the truth is, there are millions of ways you can help people in the work that you do – because a lot of work helps people, and it doesn’t even have to be in non-profit or in a start-up. And it doesn't have to be in the traditional social change industries - we need positive change in many areas of the world and business.
However, if you are one of the students who really wants to help people and make an impact on the world in a way that promotes social change – the hardest part can be figuring out how to make money and do it full time, beyond volunteering.
I just read the most amazing book on this subject, and it’s called Making Good by Billy Parish and Dev Aujla.
Billy and Dev are living their dreams and make money from organizations that are having a huge impact on the world. Dev cofounded the Energy Action Coalition (an incredibly group of college students making a serious impact in the global climate crisis) and is now president of Solar Mosaic, a solar energy company.
Dev is the founder of DreamNow, an organization that helps young people fund social change projects.
Making Good is the most comprehensive book I’ve ever read on this subject, and is a book anyone who has even a little bit of interest in social change should read.
Billy and Dev write in a really engaging and conversational way and take you through step-by-step of exactly what you need to do to make change, make good, and make money so that you can do it full time.
They do this by first giving the most amazing overview of some of the biggest global crises in our world and reveal some of the big gaps that need to be filled. This will help you think about where your interests and passions lie and will stimulate your creativity in how you could impact one of these large global issues in your own unique way – and get paid to do it.
The key to making money while doing good is being creative, thinking globally, and filling a need in the economy with your change initiative. You can also partner with companies and other organizations to help fund your social change projects or organizations. And in addition to being an entrepreneur, Dev and Bill also share how you can be an advocate of social change in almost any job or industry, by working within your organization.
The book is filled with incredible content and tools that will inspire you to pursue your dreams and think bigger about how you can help solve our world problems full-time.
You are uniquely equipped with talents and passions that can indeed help people. It doesn’t mean you have to come up with the idea to stop world hunger. It just means you have to start taking small steps by learning constantly and engaging in what you love in small ways, every day.
The first step I recommend? Get a copy of Making Good right now.*
*As always, I only promote things that I love and want to shout from the rooftops because I think they will help you too. No one asked me to review this book, and I do not know Dev and Billy – though I really hope to meet them sometime soon. You can also check them out on their recent MSNBC appearance!
To read more about Isa's personal story & how you can build relationships to: make positive friends, be more successful in academics and work, find the right people to connect with, and access the hidden job market, grab a FREE e-copy of the first chapter of Community College Success: How to Finish with Friends, Scholarships, Internships, and the Career of Your Dreams! Claim your free copy on the Facebook page! Or if you're just amazing - you can buy your paperback or Kindle copy on Amazon.com right now :)