What are you going to do to change the

world?Is your life going mean

something – or are you going to waste it talking?

Are you human?How would I know?

How do you know?

ARE YOU WILD AND NEW?

OR ARE YOU IN THE ZOO?

I BET THIS IS YOU

I BET THIS IS WHO YOU WANT TO BE

Only if you’re an animal

DOES WILD AND NEW MEAN BEING AN ANIMAL?

Does wild and new mean being an animal?

ONLY IF YOU’RE AN ANIMAL.

But what does it mean for a human?

Power?Wealth?Status?Designer sun glasses?

NO COMMENT

So what is WILD and NEW for you?

And then acting!

For me

It is seeking meaning in my life.It is living a meaningful life.It is asking myself every day:

“What is my measure as a human being?”

Do you want to lead a meaningful life?

Make the world a better place?

Have the courage to break out of your cage to try something completely

NEW?

Let me tell you a real life story so that you know that I am not making all this up.

We had it all• Yale, Columbia,

Harvard• Businesswoman• Professor• Two cars• House, country house• Kids• Real middleclass• Smug

But then…

Why?

Because we believe in a better world.

Because we believe in a world in which all people are created equal and have an equal opportunity to make better lives for themselves whether they are born into poverty or plenty.

Because we believe that you do not leave important things to others.

Because we believe that if it is worth doing, you do it yourself.

Because we believe that we are responsible for others.

Because we believe that through social enterprise we can make this vision a reality.

Lessons from child prostitutes

Like what?

I resigned my position at the university. My wife quit her job in big business. We threw away stuff. We sold stuff. We gave away everything else. People thought we were out of our minds. We never felt so free.

Free to work like hell on something we believed in.

So we decided to do something

Our core beliefSocial enterprise and smart business plans can

transform the world’s greatest problems – poverty, public health, climate change – into

profitable businesses that generate social good.

No more pretending that we cannot End poverty because it is too expensive. Provide public health because it is too expensive. Stop climate change because it is too expensive.

Win-win-win solutions are possible if you are smart enough and care enough.

Win-win business models for poor farmers and a greener world

WE KNOW; WE ARE DOING IT.

So what do you believe in?

And what are you going to do about it?

Are you all talk-talk?Café philosophers save the world every day, but bull shit is bull shit. There is talk-talk and there is do-do. Meaning comes from do-do.

Are you do-do?

Are you going to change the world?

Do you want to be wild and new?

Then get out of your cage, stop talking, and start turning your complaints into clearly defined social problems that you can address with sustainable programs of change.

Your measure as a human being is:

How much better you leave the world than when you entered it.

I wish I could be like you, but…

Don’t be so lame!If you can complain…

…you can make change!

So…

If your measure as a human being is how much better you

leave the world than when you entered it…

…what’s your measure?

Did you hear my question?

LIFE ISN’T JUST ABOUT BEING FREE

The question is:

To do what?

ESCAPING FROM THE ZOO IS EASY

ANY MONKEY CAN DO IT

MAKING SOMETHING MEANINGFUL FROM YOUR FREEDOM IS HARD

WHAT WILL BE YOUR MEASURE?

Thank you very much.Now get to work, there’s a lot to do.

Michael ShaferFounder and Director

Warm Heart FoundationA.Phrao Chiang Mai Thailandd.Michael.shafer@gmail.com

This talk was originally presented in Chengdu, China to the Idea Meeting “Wild and New,” Aug. 20, 2015