We Will Change the World
We already have every resource and every dollar we need to solve the problems in front of us. What we have been short of is peace between us — and the will to act.
Why I believe this is possible
People hear “we will change the world” and assume it is a slogan on a coffee mug. Let me say it more plainly than that.
The money exists. The knowledge exists. The people exist. Look honestly at what America alone holds — in capital, in expertise, in ordinary goodwill sitting in ordinary houses — and the arithmetic is not the obstacle. We are not short of resources. We are short of peace, and we are short of the will to put the resources where the problems are.
That is not a small distinction. A shortage of money you have to wait out. A shortage of will you can fix this afternoon.
So I started with what was actually mine to give.
What I have put on the table
Not intentions. Things that are already true, and things I am on the hook for next.
| Commitment | What It Means in Practice | Who It Reaches | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Give half | 50% of everything the video course and e-books earn is donated to help America and the world | People in genuine need | Underway |
| The sliding scale | Coaching priced against what a person can actually afford — not against what the market would bear | Anyone under pressure | Underway |
| Hardship access | Earning under $70,000 with a child, and cannot afford the course? Write and explain. We find a way. | Students & single parents | Underway |
| One free hour | One full sixty-minute one-on-one session given away every month — no cost, nothing to buy after | One person a month | Underway |
| No-risk promise | If you are not happy with the results, you do not pay me | Every client | Underway |
| Charity in time | Gather people willing to give hours instead of dollars — the resource nearly everyone still has | Neighbors & volunteers | Next |
| The open ledger | Publish where the donated money actually went, so anyone can check the arithmetic | Everyone | Ahead |
| Books into hands | Get the college books to families who need them most, whether or not they can pay | Families & schools | Ahead |
Updated as commitments move. Nothing is listed as underway that is not already happening.
Charity in time
Most people cannot write a large cheque. Nearly everyone can give an hour.
An hour of your actual skill — the thing you are good at, the thing you do all day — is worth more to somebody than the money you would have felt able to spare. The accountant who does one family’s taxes. The nurse who explains the diagnosis slowly enough. The tradesman who fixes the step before somebody falls on it. The person who simply sits with someone who has nobody sitting with them.
That is charity in time, and it is the part of this that does not require anyone’s permission or funding. It starts the moment you decide.
Love your neighbor. Treat him the way you want to be treated. You do not have to agree with him — just be civil, respect him, and forgive him.
Every large thing on the table above is downstream of that one small thing. If enough of us do the small thing, the large thing stops being a slogan.
How this got here
A chart in time — from a field beside a college to what we are building now.
The dream in the field
God asked me what I wanted. I said: help as many people as possible; do whatever You must to me; put whatever You need in me. Then I got up and walked away — like the prodigal son.
Michigan State, and the working life
A BFA from Michigan State University. Then business — real estate, negotiation, building companies. Seasons of real money, and seasons of the opposite. Both taught me things I could not have learned any other way.
Mercury Realty Group
President, CEO and Managing Broker. Twenty years in commercial real estate — deals, negotiations, and a great many rooms where I learned what people do under pressure.
Studying people
Not as an academic exercise. Watching, up close, what actually moves a person forward and what keeps them exactly where they are. Everything I coach came out of those three decades.
Three books written to be used
The End to Insomnia. Master the Game of College — the things only a college president’s son knows. And How to Play the Game of College and Win!
Half of it goes back out
Coaching on a sliding scale, one free session given away every month, and 50% of everything the course and books earn donated to help America and the world. The assignment I asked for at sixteen, finally being worked.
Charity in time — and you
Gathering people willing to give hours. Publishing the ledger. Getting the books to the families who need them and cannot pay. This part is not mine alone.
“We have all the resources and all the capital we need to solve the issues in America and the world. What we need is peace.”Tobin Knight
Give an hour
You do not need money or a title to start. Tell me what you are good at and how much time you can give, and we will find someone it helps.
Count Me In