Imagine how wonderful this world would be if every single one of us practiced spreading kindness from time to time. For a phenomenal Philanthropist Konrad Kucharski, this act is a way of life.
Konrad Kucharski realized how fulfilling and impactful an act of kindness really is, to the extent that he left his beloved corporate job to fully focus on his passion for spreading kindness.
Here’s a unique experience on benevolence and happiness as Konrad shares.
- Please tell us about Kind Konrad?
I’m just a guy on a mission to make this world a happier place. I left my amazing job at Uber in NYC, with all the benefits and reasons to stay, in order to chase my true passion of spreading kindness. I think we can all agree that we just want to find happiness in this life. So I looked at the most experienced people in life, our elderly, and saw how they focus so much on kindness. Are they giving us a clue perhaps? Why not live in happiness instead of expecting it to just appear at the end of life? This is why my purpose in life is to inject the world with happiness by using kindness as my superpower!
- What in your life inspired you to become a philanthropist?
I was at a Chipotle one day, just getting my typical burrito bowl, and they were out of peppers. No big deal to me, I keep going, and as I get to the register, the manager insists on covering the cost due to the shortage. I already had my card out and had intended to pay so I said it was totally cool, but the manager insisted once again. I don’t know what sparked it but I saw another person getting into the line and insisted on paying for their order. I then stood off to the side and observed, as I’ve never done this before and was curious to see what would happen. The individual came up and handed over their card and the manager said the person before him had paid for him. He immediately went through a mixture of shock, joy, gratitude, confusion, and looking around as if he was being pranked. He finally realized this was simply a true act of kindness, and decided to also pass it on… this continued for 5 more people and only stopped because there wasn’t another person in line. During this chain reaction, the workers and surrounding customers all noticed what was going on and were lit up with big smiles and the look of inspiration. It was this moment that opened my eyes to how insanely powerful kindness is, and that I had to figure out a way to scale this superpower and share it with the world. Fun fact, I recently paid it forward at a Starbucks drive-thru, and the $3 espresso that I paid for the person behind me, started a 2-hour long chain reaction at this super busy location… how insane is that?!
- What constitutes a philanthropist?
How I see it, it’s someone who fights for a cause that’s bigger than themselves, by any means necessary. Not only contributing their own time and money when it’s convenient but when it’s not as well. Someone who is truly dedicated to solving a major global problem.
- What’s the largest impact you would say you’ve had around the world or your surroundings?
This is a tough question because every kind act, no matter how big or small, can make a very significant impact. This is what I call the impact tree, where one little seed of kindness can turn into a tree full of several branches that continue to grow for years to come. Just like I’m sure you can recall a time where someone was really kind to you, and just by you telling me that story years later, shows that its impact continues to spread. If we look at the instant ROI on one act where I witnessed a large impact, it would probably be the recent 2-hour chain reaction at the Starbucks drive-thru. Even past my visibility, many of those people went on to spread more kindness that day and beyond that, I didn’t see, but I know it continues to travel on. At the same time, I’ve gotten messages from people who were suicidal and told me that one of my kindness videos restored their faith in humanity and kept them from taking their own lives. So whether it’s saving one life, or adding a bit of happiness into hundreds of peoples’ days, both are significant. All of us go through tough times, whether you’re super-rich or super poor. Kindness doesn’t have a demographic, so make sure to not only help those that show it, because oftentimes the ones that don’t, are the ones who need it the most 😉
- In your own opinion, how does an act of kindness impact an individual, whether they are on the giving or receiving end?
Kindness is very unique, in that it almost always impacts both the giver and the receiver positively. I would even argue that the giver has the biggest benefit many times. When you receive an act of kindness when you aren’t expecting one, it leaves a memorable imprint on the individual, one that they not only want to immediately share with someone but one that they will continue to share throughout their lives. When you are giving back, you not only get the pleasure of making others happy, you also get to witness first-hand that you are capable of making a real impact in the world. By seeing the impact you’re able to make, this belief in yourself and confidence begins to trickle into all of the other parts of your life. This is why kindness is the true key to the most important parts of life; health, wealth, love, and happiness.
- With your philanthropy work, how do you target people needing help?
Again, kindness doesn’t have a demographic. Everybody needs help. Both the super-rich and super poor experience everyday problems. The point is to be helpful at all times, whenever you see an opportunity. If I’m walking past a homeless person, I help them out. If I’m at Whole Foods in a super-wealthy neighborhood and someone is struggling to carry their groceries or reach for an item on a high up shelf, I help them too. Doesn’t matter what their social class is, political beliefs, race, gender, nothing… What’s important is that we see an opportunity to help, and we act on it. Try it, and you’ll find that it’s a lot of fun and makes you feel amazing.
- What challenge(s) have you faced while becoming a well-known philanthropist and how have you dealt with this?
We all face challenges in life, but when you’re trying to do something significant in the world, for some reason people tend to zoom in on you more and have a higher expectation of you. Let’s take Ronaldo, for example, the greatest soccer player in the world. He still goes to practice every day to get better. He has a world-class nutritionist, massage therapists, recovery equipment, and rituals… all to continue to make him better, even though he’s already at the top, There are millions of people who criticize him every day, and many people that criticized him when he was starting. Now, I’m no Ronaldo, but the impact I plan to make on the world is of a similar caliber. Many people look at my past and are shocked to see what I’m doing today, and I am too quite honestly. I was an athlete that was preparing to go pro, chasing girls, and focused on being the cool kid, but life has its way of taking unexpected turns for the better, and I, just like Ronaldo, will continue to work on myself today, and every day, to become the absolute best and most impactful person I can be while I’m alive on this beautiful planet.
- What type of support do you receive in terms of people, finances, etc.?
I have an incredibly supportive social media following, friends, and family, that encourage me every single day to keep being me and make this dream of mine a reality. There are always some people holding us back, but I believe I have let go of most of those and am on a path towards greatness. In terms of finances, I’ve been funding this passion completely myself. Many people are shocked by this and believe it’s a waste, but I view it the same way how someone who loves to play golf pays for their time on a course. Golf makes them happy, kindness and making an impact makes me happy. I plan to build a team shortly to help take this mission to the next level, and I believe the best way to attract this team is to first make sure I’m putting my money where my mouth is.
- How do you define success?
Having fulfillment in one’s work, and purpose in one’s life.
- In a world going through a pandemic, what approach/method have you used in maintaining the spread of kindness?
Gratitude. It’s the key to help you circumnavigate through any negative situation with ease. Now, it’s not something that comes naturally when just starting, it’s a muscle that has to be worked on to grow, and at the same time, if you stop working on it, the muscle starts to shrink. I write down 5 things I’m grateful for every day and have done this for many years now, quite honestly making my pandemic experience much better than most. Not because what has been happening isn’t tragic, but rather because I have trained myself to find the positives in the most difficult of times, which has allowed me to continue to spread kindness despite the challenges.
Go out and do a random act of kindness today and feel how powerful it truly is, both on you and the receiver. Call a family member and tell them how much you love them and how grateful you are for them. Pay for the person’s order behind you at the coffee shop. Smile at someone who looks sad. Compliment someone’s outfit… Instead of just talking about wanting to see a kind world and nicer people, let’s BE the change that we want to see! Konrad Kucharski encourages.
