October 8, 2020

After listening to the opening keynote speaker at ASAE’s 2020 virtual annual meeting I wanted to share with each of you his message.

His name is Leon Logothetis. He is a best-selling author, speaker, and host of the Kindness Diaries on Netflix. Leon’s overarching message in all of his work is simple: Be kind. 

And he’s talking about the type of kindness that can change the world...

Leon said, “leadership is needed to change the narrative in society – stop all the focus on the negative and infuse kindness.” That statement holds so much power, yet it’s such a simple concept: Practice kindness in our everyday lives. 

Netflix documented and produced a series highlighting Leon’s travels around the world, from Los Angeles where he met disparate homeless, to Vietnam where he was met with skepticism in his bright yellow motorcycle/sidecar combo (lovingly named Kindness 1). Along his travels, Leon showed kindness and received as much in return, even if it took six hours to convince the Cambodian border guard that their shared love of Liverpool soccer was enough to let him through. 

Here are just a few key takeaways from his keynote:

  • We are all the same – we all want to be seen/heard/loved
  • We cannot allow extremists on either side of an issue to tell us we are different – race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc.
  • Exercise empathy when dealing with others – show more compassion (there is no way of knowing what others are dealing with)
  • Its not about seeking perfection – it’s all about the commitment to be kind (kindness is free – there is no reason that we cannot be kind to one another)
  • True wealth is best measured in how we treat others, as well as ourselves (we should not be afraid to let others know when we are struggling – emotionally, physically, etc.)
  • We have a choice in how we treat others (if we treated our fellow human beings like we treated our pets (most of us), the world would be a much kinder place)

He reminded us that we all have the ability to be a hero simply by being kind, showing empathy, and being generous with feelings of good faith in each other. Show love.

Leon challenged every attendee to go out into the world, find just one person, and treat that person with love and kindness. 

Maya Angelo stated, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

So, I have a challenge for each of you: 

Look for AH on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and read the stories of kindness submitted by AH staff members. The goal is to see the change we can make in this world by flooding social media with messages of kindness and positivity. One can never underestimate the big difference a small gesture of kindness can make in someone's life. The power is within all of us to lift hearts, raise spirits, and lend a hand.

Download the instructions below and the image for your preferred social network, and join the kindness challenge!

Instructions Images
For inspired individuals, click here Posting to Instagram? Use this image
For inspired companies, click here Posting to Twitter or Facebook? Use this image

Hear more of what AH’s President & CEO had to say about the kindness challenge