I am intrigued by the concept of “social entrepreneurship.”  A quick search of Wikipedia reveals the following definition….”the main aim of social entrepreneurship is to further social and environmental goals.”  The Wikipedia page goes on to say, “whilst social entrepreneurs are most commonly associated with the voluntary and not-for-profit sectors, this need not necessarily be incompatible with making a profit.”  I can think of no better example of a social entrepreneur than Blake Mycoskie, founder of Toms Shoes.  If you don’t know about Toms Shoes, then you must be living a very sheltered life.  Young budding entrepreneur Blake visited Argentina once upon a time.  He was thinking of business ideas and really liked the Argentine “alpargata” style of shoe.  But he also noticed something else…that in the poorest neighborhoods many kids didn’t have shoes at all.  So Blake had an epiphany.  Why not start a company that manufactures this style of shoe and for each pair sold, give a pair away to a kid without?  And the rest, as they say, is unfolding history.  Toms Shoes has become a national and international phenomenon, with almost a million shoes given away to kids in need.  Not to mention, Blake, has become a very wealthy and influential dude.  Why the name, “Toms Shoes” you ask?  Why not Blake’s shoes?  Or Mycoskie moccasins, or something similar?  Because it stands for “tomorrow’s shoes.”  Blake appears to not be in it for self-glory, but to really and honestly make a difference.  I like the part in the above definition of “social entrepreneurship” that suggests that it’s “OK” to make a profit.  I have written about love and power in my other blog, 365 Reasons I Love Costa Rica.  I was reading about another social entrepreneur, a beautiful lady by the name of Jacqueline Novogratz, and I came across the following quote….“power without love is reckless and abusive, whereas love without power is sentimental and anemic.”   How can anyone expect to give unless there is some reservoir from which to give, some power source, if you will?  That reservoir may be a bank account, a successful business idea, or it may just be a big heart, but there has to be some enabling factor.  Blake has inspired me that maybe one can use a passion for entrepreneurship, not just as a tool for return on capital, but also for a return to people.

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