Entrepreneurs: Social Entrepreneur at Any Age
by Miki SaxonWriting as a guest at HBR Lara Galinsky, senior vice president of Echoing Green, a non-profit that funds social entrepreneurs globally, uses the story of a woman she mentored years ago to demonstrate that being a social entrepreneur doesn’t always mean starting a company.
Galinsky says that if every person who wanted to change the world did so by starting a company there would be no one to work at or support those companies.
She argues that social entrepreneurship is just as much a way to live your life as to build a company.
I agree with everything she says except…
Galinsky constantly refers to young people just starting out and the need to encourage and support their efforts.
I think her message applies to people of all ages.
I do not believe that only the young can effect change.
In fact, change is driven faster when people of all ages embrace and actively encourage the change as opposed to dragging their feet or actively fighting a reactionary battle.
I really don’t believe that Mahatma Gandhi had a specific age in mind when he said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
You can be a social entrepreneur at any age, whether you do it by starting a company or living a socially responsible life, just do it.
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