E40: Kevin Smith: Kindness is the World's Best Hope

Today's guest, Kevin Smith, shares the journey from a single incident of kindness to the creation of Kindness Worldwide, an emerging movement to get individuals, government officials, and business leaders to commit to kindness to drive their decisions and better outcomes. Kevin didn’t know that the return of a lost wallet would change his life, but almost immediately he felt something change. Join us for a fast-paced discussion of the Kindness Worldwide movement where we discuss: - Two simple but powerful changes in perspective that came to Kevin from one act of kindness. - Steps we can each take to get involved in the kindness movement. - The importance of people being seen as more than a “blurry face.” - The introduction of an upcoming documentary that could change the world. This episode will both give you hope and inspire you to action. Join the movement! Let’s build Kindness Worldwide. Shaped by the values of his upbringing, Kevin Smith’s guiding principle is his conviction that “the meaning of life is to live it in a way to make a meaningful difference.” Upon graduating Phi Beta Kappa as Class Salutatorian from Gettysburg College in 1989, Kevin joined a Fortune 500 company where he quickly rose the corporate ranks to become Director of its largest business unit. Soon after this promotion, he walked away and left a promising 12 year-corporate career behind. Instead, he found greater meaning and purpose by founding what is now Smith Wealth Advisory Group in 2001, with a team of advisors dedicated to helping others translate their monetary resources into meaningful life experiences by experiencing the riches of life itself. He has been recognized by Barron’s, Forbes, and the Financial Times as one of the top wealth advisors in the country, and his attainment of 14 professional designations is unparalleled in the financial services industry. On Good Friday morning 2023, fate and circumstances intervened when a lost wallet was returned to him by a Good Samaritan within moments after he discovered it was missing. Kevin’s desire to identify and thank the young woman in a more meaningful way soon became an unexpected adventure of a lifetime, causing a moment to turn into a movement and the catalyst to form the global nonprofit Kindness Worldwide. Launched November 9, 2023, Kindness Worldwide’s vision “to create a culture of kindness in communities throughout the world”, and the story that inspired it, has attracted the attention of prominent leaders and influencers at the national and global level including the World Kindness Movement. He recently delivered keynote remarks at its 11th General Assembly in Palermo, Italy and called on leaders at all levels in all communities including every member nation of the United Nations to elevate kindness to the global shared value that represents all of humanity. Kevin’s commitment for this call to action to be heeded and passion for the vision of Kindness Worldwide to be achieved has rejuvenated his purpose and brought new life to his belief that “the meaning of life is to live it in a way to make a meaningful difference.” Changing the world through kindness is by far his most meaningful pursuit yet. Kevin and his wife Anne of 30+ years live in York, PA and are the proud “pet parents” of their 10 year old Bichon Frise “Bella,” an adorable lapful of charm in puffy white clouds of cotton ball hair. Contact Kevin: Email ksmith@kindnessworldwide.org Organization Kindness Worldwide Inc: Website http://www.kindnessworldwide.org LinkedIn http://linkedin.com/in/kevin-smith-a0040a19 Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kindnessweekofficial Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kindnessweekofficial Twitter http://www.twitter.com/@KindnessWeekWW Documentary trailer: https://www.kindnessworldwide.org/documentary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices