I’ve seen a bit of this going on lately.
Being real is opening your eyes to what is actually happening around you. Being real in a first world country for many people should be about being grateful for living in such an amazing country and not taking it for granted. Being real is being humble. Being real is looking after others. Being real is being considerate of the situation others find themselves in. Being real should be about more than just you and your opinion. Your opinion is your opinion, everyone is entitled to one, and no-ones opinion is necessarily more ‘real’ than anyone else’s. Being real is not just complaining about things and calling it realness. It’s not about putting people down and calling it real. Real doesn’t have to be controversial or combative, it can be inclusive, understanding and forgiving. It’s an exercise I have to practice daily, and it’s not always easy, finding a way to look for a positive rather than just point at the negative all the time. But you get energy where you give it, and if you are always looking at what is bad, you will always see the worst in everything. There is as much real in the good as there is in the bad, so let’s try and even the score. #RealTalk #BeReal #JBNProject It has come to my attention over the last few years that there is a bunch of men out there that aren't quite sure how they should be conducting themselves around women. It doesn't matter if you are online, on an app, or in person, there are some things that we need to stand up and take responsibility for as gentlemen! Abusing women in person, on Tinder, Twitter, groping people in clubs, generally being pests. Its not ok, and its not funny, mostly it just results in women being scared and wary of men. I propose that as a gender we just agree that a handful of things aren't ok! I will be illustrating them over a couple of VLOG's so there is no confusion. You don't have to marry every person you go on a date with, and freedom of speech gives you the absolute right to think and speak your mind however you feel fit. It does not however mean you can just abuse whoever you like and try to make people feel scared and terrible because you're having a bad day. With permission, feel free to do whatever you guys are down with! Without permission..... Just Be Nice. Stop the unsolicited dick pics, abuse and grabbing. We can do better! With all the problems that we have in the world currently, this is an easy place to make a huge adjustment, working to help women feel safe no matter where they are, what they are wearing, how much they've had to drink and what they are doing. Ironically, in a world where women feel safe and comfortable around men... Dating and striking up conversations would probably be easier! If you aren't one of the bad ones, that's fantastic! The good ones need to speak up and put an end to it. Clearly we need the men to stand up and say something because women have been doing it for years and it appears to fall on deaf ears. Gentlemen lets end dance-floor creeping, Tinder-abuse and generally being idiots around women!! Watch Part One Here! ![]() While helping non-profits run more efficiently, I talk to many individuals who are passionate about starting something themselves to help. People looking to make a difference by starting a new enterprise — the ‘Social Enterprise’. Too many of these individuals are starting their conversations with ‘Insert passion and purpose here’ followed by “Business is not my strong point”. With big hearts and a passionate drive to help, they are frustrated often at how hard it can be to get involved with other organisations that are already doing work. Bottom line. If business is not your strong point, you should not be starting a business. It doesn’t matter if your intentions are noble, a business needs to be run well independently of the cause that it is servicing. For instance, if you start a café that employs the less-fortunate and provides opportunities for training, engagement and employment for those that otherwise struggle with it, it will not do well if the coffee is terrible. It won’t do well if the food isn’t up to scratch, and it won’t do well if the service is no good. What these remarkable, generous and understanding people bring to the table however is exactly that. They bring understanding of particular difficulties, they bring relationships with those in need, or people going through tough times. They bring an ability to connect with those who need a connection. The real future of social enterprise, or social responsibility is the connection of these people with business people, people whose skills are business. The Just Be Nice Project is about connecting business with those who understand social responsibility. We need to let the business people grow enterprise with scale, and the socially responsible individuals need an avenue to grow and scale the positive impact they can have. A successful cafe may just employ those less fortunate, if we have people to provide wrap-around support services to make it easy for the business to be involved. It allows the cafe to participate in making someones life better, if allows the social entrepreneur to focus on looking after the human element and challenges that come through employing disengaged individuals. If you believe you can run a social enterprise… Run a business first. It is much easier to add social responsibility to a successful business with scale, than to find a way to create consistent revenue from good intentions. Social responsibility is a long game, long term consistency and scale is the key to enormous positive impact, not big ideas with poor execution. There are already plenty of organisations with mission statements and bold ideas that fall well short of the mark before they fade into insignificance. With a non-profit for every 385 people in Australia alone, we could surely solve a large portion of the worlds problems by being more collaborative, consistent and accountable. If you are a person with a big idea that is unsure how to execute, feel free to drop me a line to discuss how we can use your skills, in collaboration with another organisation to reach scale and achieve longevity and consistency in the field of social responsibility. Along the way we can reach more people, educate and inform those who are able to help and provide lasting impact across the globe. As always, Just Be Nice. JOSHREIDJONES.COM ![]() Missed Parties. Missed Weddings. Missed Dates. Late Nights. Early Mornings. Long Days. Emails. Emails...... More emails. There is a lot of work and sacrifice that goes into doing what I do, its not glamorous, I don't live in a penthouse and drive a fancy car. But I do it because of this video below.* Last year I changed my defining metric of success from how much money I can accumulate, to how much I can do for others. Now, I am a business man, and I believe that the way to help the most people is through sustainable and successful business! The business still runs like any business, balance sheets, sales, marketing etc, but changing the metrics for me personally have allowed the freedom to make sure that we can create an environment that produces amazing moments like the ones below. Rather than try to find ways to do everything myself (which I think is inefficient and not necessary) , I have teamed up with a whole bunch of charities who maintain relationships and deliver incredible results to at-risk and in need humans. This day we went out with Anonymous X who distribute clothing and essentials to rough sleepers in Melbourne. This particular night, we connected Diane, a woman from the other side of the country, who had been a part of the #JBNProject by purchasing some apparel from Odin, with PJ, a rough sleeper who received new apparel from Odin. It is amazing to see such gratitude and appreciation from both sides of the story, and through the course of a 10 minute conversation, Diane came to learn PJ's story and to see that homelessness can be the result of a whole myriad of reasons. Its because of these moments, and the impact that we are able to have that I can keep up the amount of work required to reach even more people. And for that, I am grateful to Sean, PJ, Diane and everyone who's ongoing support makes this possible. *A tear may have been shed in the editing of this video. I was asked today if I believed that we were lacking empathy in society today?
I really don't. I believe that what we lack is understanding. There are so many examples of peoples empathy in everyday life. People are empathetic online every day. Every like for a video that tugs at the heart strings is an empathetic response, even though it typically doesn't actually achieve anything or help anyone. However, when we see a tragedy on a global scale, we also see an outpouring of empathetic action. In response to the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, Australians alone donated in the realm of A$190 Million. That is a significant undertaking, and directly relates to the level of exposure and understanding that we, as a general public, had to the event. Understanding can come in a variety of ways. Firstly, you can understand an issue as a result of being personally exposed to it. In the case of the tsunami, you may have known someone who was killed, injured or affected seriously by the event. We see so many people become passionate about causes that they have been exposed to on a personal level because empathetic response is high when you have felt what you believe other people are feeling. It's not unusual to become passionate about issues that you have seen up close. Seeing as I would never wish for more personal exposure to tragedy on anyone, this is not what I would consider the best way to seek out an increase in your knowledge. Another way to understand an issue is to educate yourself. Seek out others who have had the unfortunate experience of disadvantage, illness or misfortune. Talk to people who are from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Talk to people of the opposite gender, different age groups, different levels of education, family structure and sexuality and bring up your general understanding of other peoples lives. If you cannot speak directly to these people, speak to people who deal with these people or groups. If you aren't inspired currently to do anything in particular, rather than look for causes to get involved with, look for knowledge and understanding of the challenges and difficulties faced by individuals, animals and the environment across the world and you will naturally be exposed to the areas towards which you will feel the most empathy. Bust myths, get good quality information, and no doubt at some point you will feel compelled to get involved. Once you have found your areas of empathy... Stay tuned and I will hopefully help you make good decisions about how best to make a difference. So at every opportunity you get this week, seek understanding. Empathy will soon follow. .- JRJ |
AuthorJosh Reid Jones - Founder of The Just Be Nice Project and Odin Sports Archives
June 2018
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