Categories: Articles

A Big Thank You… For Being You

Sometimes you don’t even know how much you have changed the world.

Every year, I take part in an event called, Light The Night Walk. It’s for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada. I take part in this walk for a very personal reason. My best friend’s daughter was diagnosed with Leukemia when she was just five years old. No previous family history. No previous medical issues with her. Just “boom.” She was suddenly very sick and the prognosis and recovery is always very touch and go. A living nightmare. Leah made it out alive. She is in remission… back at school… back with her loving family… back playing with friends. Others, are not so lucky. I know a handful of other children – just like Leah – who are no longer with us. They died way too young and leave massive holes in their families and friends’ lives. It’s a kind of gunk that sticks in your belly and festers. Walking and trying to raise money for this worthy cause seemed like the least that I could do. But, I didn’t want to do it alone.

This is where you came in.

On September 17th, 2014, I pleaded my case (again) to all of you in a blog post titled, This Ain’t No Ice Bucket Challenge. I ask you – my very dear readers, friends and members of the Six Pixels of Separation community – to help me out and raise some funds. As I am constantly stating, I do not like asking for help (especially) when it comes to asking for money, and I was well-aware that I need to make this ask hot on the heels of the popularity of the the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. I set a goal to raise $5000 for this event… and you crushed it for me. Thank you! Together, we raised over $14,000. Awesome. Our team, Leah’s Helpers, raised close to $65,000, and we wound up being the #3 team in the country. Yes, all because of you. Thank you (again).

My side of the deal.

As part of the experience, I also offered up some prizes for those who wanted to participate. I’m really thrilled to announce those today:

Prize #1 – The one-hour get together with me (via Skype, Google Hangouts or in-person) is Harvey McKinnon. Harvey will also get a signed copy of my two business books, Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete.
Prize #2 – The business book bundle including: Six Pixels of Separation, CTRL ALT Delete, Unselling by Scott Stratten and Alison Kramer, How The World Sees You by Sally Hogshead and The Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau goes to Derek Coburn.
Prize #3 – A pair of special tickets to The Art Of… event of your choice (excluding travel, etc…) goes to: Stephane Lagrange, Kim Blake, Gillian Steinberg Sinclair, Helen Egan and Kate Henderson.

Congrats and thank you everyone!

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.