Points of Courage: A Village and a Vengeance

by May 26, 2016

I had the coolest experience, and crossed off a bucket list item I didn’t know I had.

I was invited to be on a very special podcast called Points of Courage, and I wanted to share the recording with you. (Click play at the top of the page.)

The host, Jessica Jackley, is the founder of Kiva, the first micro-lending website, which she started after a trip to Uganda. She met many people who, if they could just get $25, could purchase an animal or an item that would allow them to start a business.

The important thing was that this business would change the trajectory of their life. These people didn’t want a donation, they wanted a loan, so they could use their own talents to make a difference for themselves and their families.

The podcast series, Points of Courage, highlights people similar to Jessica, who had the courage to turn a profound life experience into a business. I was humbled to be asked to share the story of how my profound life experience with bullying changed my life, and you can listen to it here.

If you want to hear Jessica’s story, you can watch her TEDTalk here. What she talks about is other peoples’ stories. That we should listen to them and be inspired by them. We even have the ability to change the trajectory of someone else’s life with one small gesture.

If you know someone who is being bullied at work, what small gesture can you provide that could change their trajectory? How can you help? If you yourself is being bullied at work, what small step can you take to change your own trajectory? My book, BACK OFF! offers several options in response to that question, one of which is to change your mindset.

The TEDTalk is six years old, so you might be interested to know that Kiva has since reached $1 BILLION in microloans. Pretty amazing.

Keep on keepin’ on.

Do you know how much money chronically bad behavior costs your company? Spoiler alert – it’s a LOT higher than you want it to be. Download our data and worksheet to see how it’s costing your organization and what you can do to fix it.

 

About Catherine Mattice

Catherine Mattice, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is President of consulting and training firm, Civility Partners, and has been successfully providing programs in workplace bullying and building positive workplaces since 2007. Her clients include Fortune 500’s, the military, several universities and hospitals, government agencies, small businesses and nonprofits. She has published in a variety of trade magazines and has appeared several times on NPR, FOX, NBC, and ABC as an expert, as well as in USA Today, Inc Magazine, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine, and more. Catherine is Past-President of the Association for Talent Development (ATD), San Diego Chapter and teaches at National University. In his book foreword, Ken Blanchard called her book, BACK OFF! Your Kick-Ass Guide to Ending Bullying at Work, “the most comprehensive and valuable handbook on the topic.” She recently released a second book entitled, SEEKING CIVILITY: How Leaders, Managers and HR Can Create a Workplace Free of Bullying.

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