Day Nine is done and we are well on our way to being a third of the way through the challenge. On day nine's morning stream, I went into depth on Scott Harrison, the founder and CEO of charity: water. Scott also wrote the book Thirst, which we went into detail on a a couple days ago. Most of what I know about Scott is from the book, but he has also recently been on a couple podcasts that I listen to, so I have some additional context from listening to those. I'm going to share a short synopsis of Scott's life, but I highly recommend buying Thirst if you want the full story.
Scott grew up taking care of his ill mother, which consumed nearly all of his spare time. By the time he graduated high school, he was primed to turn away from a life of responsibility, and decided to pursue club promoting. He was good at promoting, and would spend the next decade of his life chasing money, drugs, and women. After years of degenerate of behaviour, Scott's body and emotions began to betray him. He started feeling numb, and physically ill, and was no longer excited about partying every night. I needed to seek out something of meaning and value.
Scott proceeded to wholesale liquidate all of his worldly possessions, and joined the crew of a hospital ship, where he would pay to work on the ship for a year, taking photographs and documenting the stories of the individuals that they would go help. During his time abroad, Scott's heart continued to grow for others, and he learned about the water in local communities. After returning from Africa, Scott was primed to do something, and started the organization that would become charity: water.
Scott's story is one of redemption and hope. It resonated with me, and shows that none of us are "too far gone" to change, and still make a difference with our lives. While Scott's story is extreme, and most of us are unlikely to go onto start super successful charities, we can be extremely successful in small ways immediately. If we practice enough self-responsibility and start looking for little ways to give back, you never know what your actions might amount to.
Challenge updates from day nine. It's hard to come back to work after an extended sick holiday weekend. Motivation is at an all time low, and I'm still not at 100%. I'm somewhat discouraged that interest in the challenge seems to have decreased, but I'm committed to the 30 days, and I hope my dedication might inspire even one more person before the end. Day 10 is tomorrow, and we are quickly approaching the halfway point!
Who likes watching the liquids go down!