Can I do that?

Today... met my Fulbright friend Zaki for some beers and together we went to a lecture on environmental health sponsored by the Rainforest Alliance. Talk was okay. Something about how humans, by degrading the environment, are causing and/or exasperating six modern-day pandemics. One of those "the world is coming to an end lectures" and "sorry I don't have any solutions to this problem to enlighten you with". I'm being harsh... i'll just say it was eye-opening.

Anyway, the coolest part of the lecture was learning about the Rainforest Alliance. Cool story. Founded by a 25 year old KID disillusioned with the whole business world! 11 years later... it's an internationally celebrated sustainable development non-profit with a multimillion dollar budget. Can I do that one day? I'm not just attracted to the idea of saving the world (although that's also a great motivating factor)... I'm also attracted to the autonomy (and responsibility) that comes with it. It's been two years since I've been out of college, and I've pretty much decided that the only way I will have true job satisfaction is if I am independent to make my own decisions. And the most efficient way of doing that is to just start your own organization. You know what they say... If you want something done. Do it yourself. Indeed...

I guess my one major issue with this is that you don't want to end up reinventing the wheel, which in my opinion happens all too often in the "do-gooder" world.

Oh well... if you're bored check out Surf International which combines surfing with direct health care services. Random. Yet SO COOL!