I have decided! J’ai décidé!

Version française en bas !

I came to realize recently that I am not spontaneous enough. I took a lot of decisions that I did not apply. I told myself that I would like to do this or that and the next day I forget about it or keep pushing it until I finally don’t achieve it. I'm not talking about extreme things like jumping out of an airplane in flight (which I had planned to do before backing up) but I'm referring to things much simpler such as talking to a stranger in the streets or in the elevator, taking a class out of school to learn something new, trying a new physical activity… 

I have a friend who is an extrovert and an expert in public speaking. Every time we take a Lyft together, she is always first to engage the conversation. We went together at the ATM and by the time I was done with my transaction she was already friend with a security agent standing near us. By hanging out with her, I have learned and I am still learning to talk to strangers. The easiest one being Lyft driver, I always start the conversation with the same question: Are you from San Francisco? Therefore, I learned that some of them were from El Salvador, Egypt, Oakland, Tibet, India and many other places ... Where am I going with this story? Well I have decided to stop procrastinating these little pleasures I can have in new experiences. 

I decided it was time to have a chat of at least 2 min with strangers and that they would probably not bite me. I wanted to improve my spanish so I look for an institution that provides spanish classes. I decided to write an article every day, regardless of whether or not I post it on my blog. I decided that I would read at least a book every week and try to summarize it. I have noted somewhere that I will learn how to code. I don’t know when yet, but I will in chaa Allah (procrastinating again). I have decided to post a photo of things I see or live every day. And finally I have noted that I will enjoy a physical activity during a minimum of 10 minutes each day (dancing, running, walking ...). 

Ok, I admit that I have only noted some of these challenges and not started yet but this time, I will do my best to fulfill the promises I made to myself. I will learn to set goals and reach them or die trying to. I just wrote the first article of a series of multiple ones and for me it’s already a great way of starting! And you, what challenges are you going to set for yourself? What are you planning to do to get out of your comfort zone and experience new pleasures?

Yes I can fly!

J'ai decidé!

Je me suis rendue compte que je ne suis pas assez spontanée. Je prends beaucoup de décisions que je n’applique pas. Je me dis oh tiens ! Je ferais bien ci ou ca et le jour suivant je ne le fais pas, le remettant toujours à plus tard pour ne finalement rien accomplir. Je ne parle pas de choses extrêmes comme sauter d’un avion en plein vol (ce que j’avais prévu faire avant de me dire qu’il ne fallait pas être folle non plus) mais je fais référence à des choses beaucoup plus simples comme aborder des inconnus dans la rue ou dans l’ascenseur...

J’ai une amie qui a vraiment la langue facile (façon de parler) pour échanger avec des étrangers. Chaque fois qu’on emprunte un Lyft ensemble, elle est toujours la première à engager la conversation. On va ensemble au guichet automatique et le temps que je finisse ma transaction, elle a fait ami-ami avec l’agent de sécurité posté juste à côté. À force de la côtoyer je crois qu’elle a déteint un tout petit mais vraiment tout petit peu sur moi. Au point où j’arrive à présent à converser avec les chauffeurs de Lyft en lançant toujours la même phrase : Are you from San Francisco ? Et ainsi j’ai pu savoir que certains d’entre eux venaient d’El Salvador, d’Égypte, d’Oakland, du Tibet, de l’Inde et bien d’autres endroits… Ou est-ce que je veux en venir ? Et bien j’ai décidé de ne plus remettre certaines choses à demain...

J’ai décidé qu’il était temps d’avoir une conversation d’au moins 2 min avec des inconnus et qu’ils n’allaient surement pas me mordre. J’avais envie d’améliorer mon espagnol alors j’ai noté quelque part que je vais m’inscrire à des classes d’espagnol. J’ai décidé que j’écrirai un article par jour, peu importe que je le poste ou non. J’ai décidé que je lirai un livre par semaine et que j’en ferai le compte rendu. J’ai noté que j’apprendrai à coder. J’ai noté que j’apprendrai l’arabe. J’ai décidé de poster une photo sur Instagram et autres chaque jour. Et j’ai noté que j’exercerai une activité physique d’au moins 10 minutes chaque jour (danse, course, marche…). 

Ok, j’avoue que j'ai juste noté certains objectifs et que les entamer est une autre paire de manche mais cette fois, promis je m’y mets. Je vais apprendre à me fixer des challenges et à les accomplir. Je viens de finir mon premier article et c’est déjà un excellent début selon moi. Et vous, que voulez-vous faire de nouveau ? Quels challenges allez-vous vous fixer pour sortir de votre zone de confort et expérimenter de nouveaux plaisirs ? 

Open your eyes and see the change / Ouvre les yeux et oberve le changement

French version at the bottom / Version française en bas

Intelligence and capability are not enough. There must also be the joy of doing something beautiful. Being of service to God and humanity means going well beyond the sophistication of the best technology, to the humble demonstration of courtesy and compassion to each patient.

- Dr. G.Venkataswamy

When I was younger I wanted to be a doctor. I dreamt about building two hospitals: one for rich people and one for the poor ones. I thought that I would use the money paid by rich patients to provide free or low cost services to the less privileged. Well, growing up, I didn’t want to be a doctor anymore but reflecting about it I already dreamt about being a social entrepreneur without even knowing what it meant…

There are many definitions for what social entrepreneurs are but to make it simple, a social entrepreneur is someone who creates business(es) to address community problems. As I told you in my previous article, I have started a Master of Social Entrepreneurship at Hult International Business School. As part of my program, I am currently taking a Social Innovation class. In addition to the fact that it is a very interesting and interactive class, we get to learn more about innovative ideas and products that are changing the lives of people around the world. This led me to decide to share the stories of some people and organizations that are making social impacts around the world. I want to start this series of social entrepreneurship articles with my midterm project organization: Aravind Eye Hospitals.

It seemed like while I was dreaming about my hospitals for rich and poor people, somebody was already realizing it in India. Dr Govindappa Venkataswamy better known as Dr V. wanted to eliminate needless blindness in India. Indeed, it was estimated that there were 12 million of blind people in India and 80 percent of them because of cataract for which there was a solution. Convinced that the McDonalds business model based on strict quality norms, assembly line efficiency, standardization…could be implemented in the eye care system, Dr V. worked relentlessly against the odds to create which would become one of the biggest network of ophthalmology hospitals in the world. He wanted to provide eye care services to people who would otherwise spend their lives blind while surgery or early detection could make a difference. Despite the fact that banks refused to loan him money because he was a retired man of 58 and his project seemed unrealistic, Dr V. mobilized some of his relatives to create the first Aravind Eye hospital with only 11 beds at the time in 1976. Six of those beds were reserved for people who could not afford treatments while the other five beds were attributed to people who could pay and therefore subsidize the others. This is still the way that Aravind Eye Care hospitals operates. Patients pay only if they want to and generally symbolic amounts. All patients receive the same treatment apart from the lodging where people with more financial means can have better accommodations…

One of my favorite thing about this organization is its self-reliance. It does not rely on any external aid neither from the government or international organizations. They are able to offer free services, build new hospitals and even make profits through the paying patients. Years after his death, the name of Dr. V will remain as someone who cares about others and demonstrated that you could do business and have a social impact at the same time. I’ll let you learn more about him from his granddaughter. 

Ouvre les yeux et observe le changement

L’intelligence et les aptitudes ne suffisent pas. Il faut également la joie de faire quelque chose de beau. Être au service de Dieu et de l'humanité signifie aller au-delà de la sophistication de la meilleure technologie, jusqu’à l'humble démonstration de courtoisie et de compassion envers chaque patient.

- Dr.G.Venkataswamy

Enfant, je rêvais de devenir médecin. Je voulais construire deux hôpitaux : un destiné aux riches et l’autre aux pauvres. Je pensais utiliser l’argent des patients nantis pour fournir des services gratuits ou à faible coûts aux moins privilégiés. Eh bien, en grandissant, j’ai perdu cette envie d’être médecin mais en y repensant, je rêvais déjà d'être un entrepreneur social sans même savoir ce que cela signifiait ...

Il existe de nombreuses définitions de l’entreprenariat social mais pour faire simple, les entrepreneurs sociaux sont des personnes qui créent des entreprises profitables afin de trouver des solutions à des problèmes sociaux et/ou environnementaux. Cette année, j’ai commencé un programme de Master en Entreprenariat Social à Hult International Business School. L’un des cours requis pour ce programme est la classe d’innovation sociale. Ce cours nous permet de découvrir chaque jour des idées et des produits novateurs qui transforment la vie de millions de personnes à travers le monde. J’ai donc décidé de partager les histoires de certaines personnes et organisations qui chaque jour apportent leur contribution pour créer un monde meilleur. Je vais commencer cette série d'articles sur l’entrepreneuriat social avec l’organisation que je dois analyser pour mon examen de milieu de semestre : Aravind Eye Hospitals.

Pendant que je rêvais de mes hôpitaux pour les personnes riches et pauvres, quelqu'un les avait déjà conçus en Inde. Dr Govindappa Venkataswamy mieux connu en tant que Dr V. souhaitait éliminer la cécité évitable. Il y avait environ 12 million de personnes aveugles en Inde et 80 % souffraient d’une cécité liée à la cataracte. Convaincu que le modèle d'entreprise de McDonalds basé sur des normes de qualité stricte et un service efficace et à grande échelle pouvait être appliqué dans le système ophtalmologique, Dr V. a travaillé sans relâches et malgré les difficultés pour créer ce qui allait devenir le plus grand réseau d'hôpitaux d'ophtalmologie au monde. Il voulait fournir des services de soins oculaires à des personnes qui autrement, passeraient leur vie aveugle alors qu’elles pouvaient recouvrir la vue ou éviter la cécité grâce à des interventions rapides. Compte tenu du fait que Dr V. était un homme à la retraite de 58 ans et que son projet semblait irréaliste, il ne put obtenir de prêt bancaire. C’est grâce à l’aide de ses proches et à l’hypothèque de leurs biens, qu’en 1976, Dr V a ouvert le premier hôpital ophtalmologique Aravind avec seulement 11 lits. Six de ces lits étaient réservés aux personnes qui n’étaient pas en mesure de payer les frais tandis que l’argent payé par les patients des 5 autres lits couvrait les frais et permettait de subventionner les opérations des autres. Aujourd’hui encore, les hôpitaux ophtalmologiques Aravind continuent d’offrir des services gratuits. Les patients décident si ils veulent payer ou non et donnent le montant qui leur sied. Pourtant, tous les patients payeurs ou non reçoivent le même traitement en dehors de l’hébergement où certains peuvent payer pour des chambres plus confortables.…

Au-delà de tout le travail accompli par Aravind Eye Hospitals, je suis fascinée par l’autonomie de l’organisation. En effet, ce réseau ne reçoit aucune aide extérieure, ni du gouvernement, ni d’une quelconque organisation internationale. Ils sont capables d'offrir des services gratuits, construire de nouveaux hôpitaux et même faire des profits grâce aux patients qui paient leurs traitements. Dr v. est décédé en 2006 mais il a laissé derrière lui un héritage inestimable. Vous pouvez en savoir plus sur la vie de cet homme et son organisation à travers sa petite fille...

The Dream Share Project

I have been so lazy lately that I didn’t take the time to share these beautiful things I have seen, listened and learned. Before taking you into my journey at Tedx Youth, I would like to embark you on a trip with the Dream Share Project.

 “The Dream Share Project is an inspirational documentary that follows Chip Hiden and Alexis Irvin, two recent college graduates, on a road trip across America, as they explore how successful people have chased their dreams.” This is what you can read on the website of the project and I want to add that this is a trip to be inspired and inspire others.

Chip and Alexis spent weeks on the road because they found out that their jobs didn’t make them happy. Although their parents did not understand their decision, these two young people got into a car and travelled across America to interview people that took the risk to be happy. I have learned a lot during that evening and as usual I will share everything I found interesting with you.

An important thing to remember is that everybody needs a dream. Think about it, “If you don’t have a dream, you have no hope. Dream makes the difference between one that exists and one that lives. You need a dream.” But you don’t need any dream. You need something that is yours, which will make you happy. So don’t let anyone decide your dreams.

Sometimes we want to follow a path that is not in accordance with what our relatives especially parents want for us. And there is this little sentence that you may hear “You need to grow up.” I believe this is mostly what artists hear. For incomprehensible reasons, people think you can dream of being an artist when you are younger but growing up, you need to have “realistic” projects. Let me tell you then that “growing up doesn’t mean leaving your dreams.” On the contrary, you need to live them.

Support may not come from your relatives but it can come from anyone so don’t be afraid to share your dreams. If you don’t talk about your aspirations, you will never know that the person right next to you is also dreaming of building a better world. And for those who do not understand you, maybe they just need some proofs. So before presenting your ideas, try to answer any question they may bring up to the table.

We fear to pursue our dreams because we think they are unrealistic and we favor security. 

However we can’t conquer fear by sitting at home and thinking about it. If you are not feeling anxious it is almost certain that you are not doing something you are passionate about. Fear is normal but the only way to overcome it is by acting. We should overcome the syndrome of assessment which is the paralysis of overthinking, too much analyzing instead of making the right move. The biggest risk is not doing anything. According to the Dream Share Project subjects, the recipe of success is risk taking + passion + hard work.

If you value security more than adventure, you will say that you don’t have enough money to pursue your dreams.  According to these two adventurers, who have slept in tents and ate precooked food for many weeks, there are only two ways for funding our dreams. Lower your expenses or increase your income.  We need to prioritize between the needs and the wants.

People spend more time thinking about their majors, careers instead of defining their values. 

Do whatever it takes to find your passion. If you have a dream, follow it now. Do it as quickly as possible. “The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers but most of all, the world needs dreamers who do”. Make yourself happy. Life happens and if you don’t take the opportunity to pursue your dreams now, life will happen to you.

The presentation was followed by a workshop during which we were encouraged to speak about our dreams and what prevent us from actually pursuing them. So I want to ask you, what would you like to achieve before dying? And why don’t you pursue it?