Making Good: Finding Meaning, Money, and Community in a Changing World

Social entrepreneurs Parish (co-founder of Energy Action Coalition) and Aujla (founder of DreamNow) provide an informative and engaging look at how to make the world a better place while simultaneously earning a living. The authors show that there's an upside to our web connectivity, namely the awakening of empathy on a wide scale and its power to prompt global change. Those that are driving this movement and improving their own lives are responding to three important developments: the increasing ability to see the world as one family; opportunities provided by the internet to "collaborate, innovate, and share information across borders;" and strides being made in green technology. While the authors emphasize the huge shift occasioned by the rise of social networking, they insist that this is a multigenerational effort. Parish and Aujla make a convincing case for this growing trend, but their greatest contribution centers around monetizing social commitments and turning them into jobs. While stressing that each person's path will be different, the authors offer practical strategies and identify four common stages that all will encounter. Along the way, they share success stories from their own lives and others' across a variety of industries to demonstrate how to find and take advantage of opportunities. Geared toward helping readers find satisfaction in work that reflects their principles, this book shows that you don't have to compromise to earn a living by doing good. (Mar.)