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Belize

Belize, Generosity, PathLight, Philanthropy,

Alexandria

Lent starts on Wednesday. It’s never been a big deal to me. To be honest I was smug about it; all these people giving up chocolate seemed, well, shallow.

But a few years ago I read about the history of Lent and was impressed by the depth of the tradition. Lent could be summed up as a time to focus on three things:

Prayer to focus on our need for God’s mercy and forgiveness.
Fasting, or giving something up, to prompt reflection on God.
Giving as a way to respond to God’s love.

The last one is what …

Belize, Generosity,

The Coin and the Generous Soul

This is a story from several years ago that has stayed with me. It was not a big deal when it happened, but for some reason the randomness of the coin combined with the confusion of the woman has stuck. There is a generosity of the soul in the story.

In two days, back to back, I found two things in a parking lot. Both were out of place, lost, and lonely.

The first thing I found was a Belizean quarter. That’s worth about 12 US cents. No idea how it got in the parking lot of a Pleasanton Home …

Belize, Generosity, Leadership, PathLight,

Generous Teaching

I’ve got an exciting announcement buried at the end of this article. So please bear with me for a few paragraphs.

Teachers are in the news these days as the nation moves toward reopening classrooms. It got me thinking about the selflessness of people who dedicate themselves to education. Teaching, and serving the educational system in general, is a way to be generous to our future.

Years ago a PathLight colleague asked me if I thought systemic change was best done from the top down or the bottom up. The question was in the context of a decision about how …

Belize, PathLight,

Christmas Greetings

Merry Christmas from Junkyard Wisdom! Here’s a letter (slightly updated for today) I wrote some time ago. It still seems powerful and has always been one of my favorites. This year, more than ever, it is my hope we can gather together around the true hope, meaning, and power of Christmas.

David L. Fleming writes, “The son of God became poor by becoming incarnate. He embraced poverty in the circumstances of his earthly life. God was born in a stable manger and was given the name Jesus. His parents fled with him as refugees to escape a murderous tyrant. Later he lived …

Belize, PathLight,

PathLight 2020

The year 2020 is just around the corner. No doubt we’re going to hear a lot of 20/20 jokes this week! But in a remarkable effort of restraint (for me), I’ll avoid the easy joke. Instead, I want to share the thoughts of my friend and colleague Roger Dermody.

If you read my blog you know the work of PathLight is dear to my heart. And as much as I wanted to be, I wasn’t the right guy to lead PathLight going forward. The opportunity to bring Roger onto the team has been heaven-sent. That’s why it’s an honor to …

Belize, Jaguar Creek, Junkyard Wisdom Book, Leadership, PathLight, Salvaged,

Givers, Leaders, and Drinkers

Greetings from Jaguar Creek, Belize! I’m here with a dozen or so givers, leaders, and drinkers. Not necessarily in that order. The third annual Junkyard Wisdom Belize is happening and we’re having a blast talking through the challenge of being a good donor, a wise leader, and a sober … well, never mind.

Seriously though, the conversations are amazing. Most conversations about philanthropy take place in fancy hotels. Most conversations about leadership happen in large conferences or online TED Talks.

What I love about this event is we have these conversations in the rainforest of Belize, within a few …

Belize, Junkyard Wisdom Book, Leadership, Salvaged,

Junkyard Wisdom Belize 3.0

Want to go to Belize with me in November? I’m heading there November 17 for a 4-day workshop focused on generosity, faith, and leadership. This is definitely not like any other trip before it! Read on for more information.

A few years ago, after the publication of my first book Junkyard Wisdom, a few friends suggested a retreat event based around the themes of the book. That led to the initial Junkyard Wisdom in Belize where we had an amazing event with twenty or so people. The next year we did it again.

This year one of my collaborators, …

Belize, Leadership, PathLight, Salvaged,

Buy a Book, Build a Leader

An acquaintance of mine asked if we are using my book Salvaged to help the new Leadership Institute at PathLight. As it turns out they are using it, and we had a fun conversation about how young leaders from a different culture might read my book.

All of which led to an exciting promotion idea this acquaintance is supporting: buy a copy of Salvaged and $50 will be donated to the PathLight Leadership Initiative. All you need to do is buy a copy of the book and forward the receipt to salvaged@pathlight.org. Then a $50 donation will be …