Today I proud to share with you a guest blog from my friend Jaki Bent. Jaki is one of those people I am happy to share here on the  SSi site as her life’s work is fully congruent with the SSi message and mission. Read her posting below and visit her site at IfEveryoneCares.org to learn more and like her page on facebook.

HAVE YOU EVER HAD A DREAM?  A guest blog from Jaki Bent

Have you ever had a dream, something that you wanted so badly that it became part of you? A dream that lit you up inside, left you feeling as though your energy level was off the chart and that if someone plugged you into the mains you would light up a whole city or more? A dream that felt as though it was encoded into your DNA?

Now may I ask you have you heard the quote -

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t you are right?”

It is so true –

If we think we can’t do something then our mind is focusing on all of the things that prove us right – well actually that is if we even bothered to start in the first place! Believe it or not some people (not you of course!) have the thought that they can’t do something and they believe it – so they don’t start and then end up wondering ‘what if’.

Yet, if we think we can – we get on with ‘it’, we overcome obstacles, we get creative and we prove ourselves right. Unless of course in the middle of doing ‘it’ we allow our thoughts to tell us ‘we can’t’ and then we may give up.

I know that there are exceptions to the rule, that is life. However if you think about it, really think about it, the only time that we don’t succeed at something is when we give up and then in all honesty we can’t really say that it wasn’t possible because ‘we gave up’ and do not know what would have happened if we had just pushed on anyway. Does that make sense?

I know when I first started to think about all of the possible scenarios my head went into a total spin!

Here is another quote to think about -

“Don’t give up five minutes before the miracle”

Back to my initial question about ever having had a dream, something that you wanted so badly … … I have and it is big, very big – I admit that my initial thought was ‘who am I’ to have such a huge dream? Luckily it was followed by ‘I can dream and if I take action this dream can become a reality’.

‘If Everyone Cares’ was born.

The concept is simple. If you can go to Google Earth to find a Hotel or restaurant then imagine the far reaching benefits if you could use a similar technology to create an Interactive ‘Global Community Map’ that had every single Charity, Non-Profit and Community Project, in the world, marked on it! (Sorry for the long sentence – I get carried away with the excitement of it!)

Just think how those who need help could find it instantly by clicking on their community, those who want to help could find project that spoke to their heart and then volunteer, people who want to donate can find where to, projects would be able to link up and share resources, tools, strategies and best practice – enabling them to reduce their costs and use their vital funds for those they are there to help.

The list of benefits goes on and on. Communities around the globe would be strengthened and so much more. If Everyone Cares now has strategies to stretch in to the next decade, so that it can keep evolving.

It has been a year since I started working actively on If Everyone Cares. Yes it is still in it’s infancy and yet every single thing in life, be it the chair you are sitting on, the computer screen you are looking at, the bath that you bathe in or the car that you drive started as someone’s dream. This is possible, it is achievable, and I am prepared to make sacrifices to make it happen. The outside of my house needs painting? Well that is one of the sacrifices, no ‘biggy’ you might say. However please let me be honest here, and I am not looking for a pat on the back or a round of applause. This project is not about me – it is about the lives that it can and will impact. For that I am literally putting my home on the line. If I need to sell my house and move into rented accommodation to get this project up and running – I will (and at that point, which is getting closer, it would be better for the sale if the house had been painted!).

On the January 5^th If Everyone Cares entered a competition run by Richard Branson and Virgin Unite. The prize is a ‘money-can’t-buy’ Connection Trip with Richard and Virgin Unite to South Africa in 2012. IEC would meet frontline leaders who are making a difference and share ideas with fledgling business leaders at the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship. This type of mentoring and networking would be truly invaluable to If Everyone Cares. It would be a step on the journey to making the Interactive Global Community Map a reality.

If you would like to know more about the project, then please go to www.IfEveryoneCares.org.  (Psst! – There is a clickable picture about the Virgin Unite challenge at the top of the page that will take you to our video entry. – If you like what If Everyone Cares is doing, please vote for us!) Please note – the Virgin Unite page loads quite slowly, however after about 15 seconds our video will pop up automatically.

On a final note, Please believe that if you have a dream, go for it – remember the quote –

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t you are right?”

In Gratitude,