Opportunity

To my fellow agents of change, I challenge you all to take a look at my new favorite word: opportunity. Opportunity is how we got to where we're at and how we will get to where we're going. The beauty of this is that we don't always recognize the various opportunities that are presented to us every day. We may not see it until an hour later, or even a week or a month later. We may not even see it at all. But sometimes, we may see that opportunity and dive in head first. It may work out, it may not, but that's the beauty of opportunity because for many of us, we're guaranteed to get another shot. If you don't get that job, you can get another one. If you don't make the football team, try out for the baseball team. If you don't like the vegetables your mom made for dinner, sneak into the cookie jar after dinner and grab a handful. We always get another shot.

It's possible you already know where I'm going with this. There are millions of people around the world who don't get a second shot, truthfully these millions of people don't share in our view of opportunity. Our opportunity could mean the difference between going to a concert because you managed to score VIP passes or sitting at home on your couch watching the show on your television. For those others, opportunity could be the difference between a healthy immune system and one infected with malaria. Opportunity could mean the tools and knowledge to grow your own food or starving to death otherwise. Millions of people around the world don't get a second go around, much less one to begin with.

Many of us have the means to affect change in the world, we just need the proper outlet or simply the right motivation. The One Cup Project is an opportunity for me and for you to affect positive change around the world. Currently we are helping fund World Vision programs in Africa, more specifically Zambia in an effort to eradicate poverty. Okay, I did the plug. While we at The One Cup Project are just a small group of people huddled together in a small office in Lynnwood, Washington, we have seized that opportunity to affect change. Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS Shoes is another person who seized his opportunity to affect change. After spending time on the Amazing Race, Blake saw the hardships that had fallen upon some of the many communities in South America. He was given the opportunity to see potential change, and he dove in head first. And guess what, his venture has proved pretty successful.

I challenge all of you to find that opportunity to make your mark on the world. That doesn't mean you need to be the next founder of TOMS Shoes, but it means that you can view the world as a whole and say with confidence, "Yeah, I changed someone's life," or "I made the world a better place." We at The One Cup Project are behind you and hey, if you want a great cup of coffee while you change the world, we're here to help you out. Peace.