Dare to Matter: Your Path to Making a Difference Now

by Jordan Kassalow, Jennifer Krause

Foreword by Neil Blumenthal, co-founder of Warby Parker
 
“A beautiful, timely book that will guide you as you find your way to make a difference in the world.”
—Walter Isaacson

You don’t have to be a billionaire philanthropist, give up your day job, or wait for retirement to make a difference in the world. And you can start now.
 
We all want to make the world a better place, but with busy, demanding lives, most of us struggle with the where, when, and how. Dr. Jordan Kassalow, founder of VisionSpring, the groundbreaking venture that has restored eyesight and hope to millions of people across the globe, has the answers: here, now, and in your own way. Sharing his personal story of integrating real-world responsibilities with his desire to make a difference, Jordan offers you a practical way forward, custom-made for your unique talents and circumstances, to take you from thought to action.
 
By exploring key questions about your strengths and interests, personal resources, core beliefs, and most cherished values, Jordan will give you the motivation and the tools to start repairing the world in a way that is meaningful, fulfilling, and true to you. He will show you how working to create change in the lives of others can have a positive impact on your own outlook, well-being, and quality of life.
 
In a world awash in need, it’s easy to give in to anger, frustration, and powerlessness, to let cynicism consume your natural optimism and hunger to build a better world. The soulful and pragmatic approach in this remarkable book will help you see with your heart and use your head to invest in your highest goals—while still earning a paycheck, being there for those you love, and enjoying life. To dare to matter, today.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help

290 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 30, 2019

About the author

Jordan Kassalow is an optometrist and social entrepreneur who has recently been named one of the Forbes Impact 30. He is a partner at a thriving practice in New York City and is also the Founder of VisionSpring, an award-winning social enterprise that works to provide eyeglasses to the 2.5 billion people who need them but lack access. VisionSpring has been internationally recognized by the Skoll Foundation, the World Economic Forum, the Aspen Institute, and the World Bank. Since 2001, it has distributed over 5.5 million pairs of eyeglasses across 43 countries. Jordan is also the co-Founder of the EYElliance, a coalition of multi-sector experts including public, private, academic, and NGO partners that channelizes collective efforts to address the global unmet need for eyeglasses. Jordan was also the Founder of the Global Health Policy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations, a fellow of Draper Richards Kaplan, Skoll, Ashoka, and is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute. He was named one of the Schwab Foundation’s 2012 Social Entrepreneurs, was the inaugural winner of the John P. McNulty Prize, and was recently named to Forbes Impact 30.

Reviews

[Amit Verma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book thinking that it is another Self help Book explaining value of dare and courage in life.

But it is different. It is manifesto and biography of Visionspring which is an organisation aiming to provide affordable eye spectacles to most poor regions of the world. It was started by eye surgeon Dr Jordan Kassalow.
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It details biography and reflections of founder father of organisation. Details of how it all started, what were the problems faced and how visionspring fought all obstacles.

That is where reader gets wisdom. From various principles that were followed by visionspring at each level.

There is lots of bible, rabbis, spirituality and quotes.
And there are stories of entrepreneurs, companies and fables to illustrate basic principles of being meaningful in life.

I liked concept of east and west in life. Going east you stick to old traditions and going west is embracing latest technologies.

Fascinating to know various eye disease and how very simple interventions can prevent and treat these diseases to increase productivity of poor people.
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It was also nice to see Indian impact on visionspring. Aravind eye institute's founder Dr Venkatesh find honourable mention throughout.

Modern enterprises like netflix, trademe, essilor, graneenphone are also discussed.
Book is interesting and covers modern as well as traditional wisdom which are interwined with author's personal biography.
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I liked quotes and fables mentioned in book.
It is nice work to encourage philanthropic resolve in the heart of youth who will make their life matter by changing lives of others.
Dare to matter is about effect of happiness of others on your happiness and what one can do to realise that.
Thanks netgalley and publisher for review copy.

[Shelhorowitzgreenmkt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Social entrepreneur and optometrist Jordan Kassalow gives us a book that’s part memoir, part guidance for social entrepreneurs, and part inspirational self-help pep-talk about living a meaningful life. Co-authored with his rabbi (who gets a full co-byline, not just a “with” or “as told to” credit), the book is exclusively in his voice.

Kassalow stumbled around for a while before he found his joy, but eventually chose to help people in deeply disadvantaged economies live and work better through providing eyeglasses. In many cases, a simple non-prescription pair of drugstore readers could take someone from hopelessness to active citizenship and add years to their productive work life; for others, a common prescription could do the same. After working with various medical charities that took him to distant lands, he founded VisionSpring to make glasses more widely available.

While short on the specifics of how to start and operate a social entrepreneurship venture, the book is strong on the personal challenges one particular social entrepreneur faced, and how he overcame them. And even stronger on how to figure out where your skills, interests, and resources intersect, what your purpose is—and how to align your life and career with that purpose, and make your life matter by harnessing that purpose. Among the tools to guide that discovery are the instruction to find the need that specifically needs you, as opposed to some random other person—your skills, knowledge, joy, and feeling of aliveness when you do the work (pp. 113-114). Related to that, ask yourself these two questions (p. 228): “What needs me? What feeds me?” He also gives some good guidance on whether, in your unique situation, you should set up as a for-profit, nonprofit, social entrepreneur, or other model (p. 76), and how to balance your need to do good with your own financial health (p. 83).

And I love his injunction to “see compassion as a renewable resource,” nurtured by your own self-care (p. 108). He further admonishes,

Be hyper aware of any injustice you encounter that ignites a fire in your belly so intense that the only way you can extinguish it is to act. Challenge yourself to examine the issue from all angles—don’t stop at one giant problem. Tease the issue apart until you find the need within the need that you are uniquely suited to serve…the point of need where you can exert your energy that helps take down much bigger and more overwhelming problems. (p. 131)

Providing glasses to those in need enabled him to check off boxes for addressing poverty, inequality, and educational opportunity.

He notes that social entrepreneurship pioneer Bill Drayton calls finding that personal sweet spot “your jujitsu move.” This is particularly relevant to my own mission of using profitable business to address the world’s biggest social and environmental problems.

I also love the schooling he got in making sure every aspect of a social good enterprise respects the dignity of those you serve. One lesson was understanding why it was no help to provide someone with the perfect prescription if the frames were so hideous as to make the patient a laughingstock. Similar lessons are sprinkled throughout the book.

Peppered with quotes from people like Helen Keller, Rumi, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (one of my favorite spiritual teachers), and even my old friend Rev. Victoria Safford, who I’d lost touch with decades ago (and got inspired to track down and reconnect with), the book is an easy read. It’s fun to watch Kassalow try to integrate the very different parts of his life: practicing his craft as a partner in his father’s optometry practice where he serves mover-and-shaker clients in the 1%, his work on the ground in primitive conditions in remote parts of Latin America, Asia, or Africa, his love of backcountry camping, his journey as a Jew, his hobnobbing with other social entrepreneurs at conferences such as the World Economic Forum in Davos. There were a few times when I found him annoyingly out of touch with the realities that many of us face, a certain sense of privilege and arrogance. But on the whole, I enjoyed it.

One of the things I really like is that Kassalow sees joy and gratitude as integral in his work. I especially like the suggestion (borrowed from Heschel) to live your life in “radical amazement” (p. 256). I didn’t have that wonderful wording until reading this book, but I’ve been attempting to do that for many years, and fairly successful at it. My daily public Gratitude Journal on Facebook often celebrates the mundane with that sense of radical amazement—the joy I take in living a life so full of blessings. Later this month, I will post about whatever little miracles happen to me for the thousandth consecutive day.

Strongly recommended for people of any age who are figuring out how to align their career with their values. Order from your favorite independent bookstore at https://www.indiebound.org/book/97808...

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was received as an ARC from Kensington Books - Citadel in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

We are always in need for self-help motivational books throughout the library and Dare to Matter hit the key points that a lot of our patrons are in search for. I also loved Jordan's story and how he overcame his struggles and developed one of the top companies in the country. What I loved most about this book is that Jordan applies his theory to every personality type, career path and lifestyle and how you can make a difference in the world and the beauty of it, is that you might even when you don't know it. This will be the perfect book for anyone to read to have a different outlook on life and for more motivation of course.

We will consider adding this title to our Self-Help collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

[JasmineB · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like how grounded the advice in this book is. It doesn’t tell you to just hike off and pursue your dream while leaving all responsibilities and realities behind. It encourages you to pursue making a difference in a realistic but still meaningful way. This book gave me a lot to think about, and also a lot of inspiration.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. It has excellent suggestions on narrowing/creating your possible ways to "matter". Although, I found it slightly long-winded. But I disagree with the author's premise -- if we demonstrate loving kindness (or even if we don't), everyone matters already (as does our actions). So I must not be the target audience. That said, if you want some inspiration, some guidance, and some stories for entertainment, context, and possible motivation, this will probably be helpful. More power to the author--keep up your great work and your rippling, positive impact upon the world thru your efforts and this good book!

[Jerrius Jubran · Rating 5 out of 5]

A transformative book for any who looks at life and says,"Maybe I can do more"

[Karla Dobson]

Actually quit at about 60%. Some of it was good but it really was about his mission and what he did.