Speaking at September’s Impact Unlimited Summit, Mike urged people to look beyond the stream of bad news and recognise their ability to create positive change.
“Everybody can do something positive to help somebody else,” he said.
Mike, whose book How To Be A Better Human encourages everyday acts of kindness, said he was prompted to write in response to two challenges – the difficulties people face in their lives and the sense of helplessness created by global events.
In conversation with summit co-host Gemma Greaves, he said: “The world is overrun with glumness,” pointing to wars, climate change and political turmoil.
He dismissed the idea that individuals cannot make a difference – illustrating his point with a story about a Mexican boy throwing stranded starfish back into the sea.
When a passer-by questioned the value of helping while thousands remained on the beach, the boy rescued another starfish, threw in back into the ocean and replied: “well, it made a difference to that one.”
Mike said millions worldwide were already helping others through their communities, charitable causes and individual acts of generosity. His own experience illustrates the point.
An impulsive decision to run the London Marathon to raise money for a girl with cerebral palsy led him to co-found Whizz-Kidz. The charity went on to raise £150 million to help 70,000 young people gain mobility and independence.
Asked what single action people could take to become better humans, Mike suggested that everyone “think about three people you know, then get in touch with them and ask them how they’re really getting on.”
‘Just sit in the mud with me’
Arguing that sometimes just being there is enough, Mike said “you really do not have to come up with a solution for their problem.”
Recalling a story from leadership thinker Simon Sinek, who described feeling unhappy despite his professional success because he had failed to form a relationship. “I just want people to sit in the mud with me,” Sinek had said.
Speaking post-summit, Gemma Greaves said: “Mike is an extraordinary person and an absolute gentleman. Sharing the stage with him was an honour. The response to Mike’s talk, both in the room and later on social media, was very special. Magic Mike indeed.”
Mike Dickson was talking to Gemma Greaves about how to be a better human at the Impact Unlimited Summit on 30 September. View the talk on YouTube.
Photography and video by Gaia Visual.
