DO GOOD X Podcast
Welcome to the DO GOOD X Podcast – where purpose meets business, and the journey is just as important as the destination. Hosted by advocates for impactful entrepreneurship, Kimberly Daniel and Stephen Lewis, this podcast creates a space for Black and Brown folk, especially Black women, navigating the intricate path of purposeful business.
In this sanctuary, the hosts understand the challenges of entrepreneurship, and their mission is to help listeners transform doubt into confidence, fostering the growth of their dreams without sacrificing well-being.
Embark on a transformative journey, discovering inspiration to fuel your passion for business. Shared experiences and stories act as beacons, nurturing you for the entrepreneurial road ahead.
Navigate the challenges of being an under-resourced entrepreneur with practical strategies and resources in the Tools & Tips segment. Overcome obstacles and thrive in the purpose-driven business world.
In the Mentorship segment, hear from seasoned guides who have successfully built businesses with a focus on social impact. Gain insights not only from the guests but also from hosts who intimately understand the unique journey of overlooked entrepreneurs.
This podcast is more than a productivity machine; it's about slowing down to go further. Each episode invites listeners to exhale, reconnect with inner wisdom, and rediscover the power of community. Embrace the impact your business can make without compromising well-being.
Leave feeling lighter, shedding stress, embracing self-compassion, and finding joy in the entrepreneurial journey. Gain actionable insights, learn from diverse perspectives, and expand your knowledge with tools for success, guided by hosts Kimberly and Stephen.
Feel empowered, recognizing yourself as your greatest asset. Build confidence to develop and grow a viable, impactful business aligned with the needs of the community.
About the Hosts
Kimberly R. Daniel catalyzes entrepreneurs and organizations to do good. She is
co-founder and project director of DO GOOD X, a community that provides programs
and support for faith-driven social entrepreneurs whose businesses focus on positive
Change.
Kimberly also helps purpose-driven organizations clarify and design compelling brand and communication strategies. With over 15 years of experience developing and leading communications efforts, it is her commitment to produce effective processes and create authentic, “sticky” brands that are community-centered.
In any aspect of her work, she is deeply passionate about purpose, meaning, and the
common good.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-r-daniel/
Stephen Lewis is the president of the Forum for Theological Exploration (FTE) and creator and co-founder of DO GOOD X, a community that provides programs and support for faith-driven social entrepreneurs whose businesses focus on positive change.
He is an organizational change strategist and a leadership development specialist,
focused on inspiring the next generation of faith-inspired leaders and entrepreneurs to live and work on purpose. Stephen is the co-author of Another Way: Living and Leading Change on Purpose (2020) and A Way Out of No Way: An Approach to Christian Innovation (2021).
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-lewis-8b1b941/
DO GOOD X Podcast
Ep. 11 Nipun Mehta on Leadership, Joy, and Grace
In this episode of DO GOOD X, we are thrilled to continue our conversation with Nipun Mehta, a distinguished speaker and writer who is celebrated for his dedication to values such as generosity, compassion, and personal growth. If you missed our first interview with Nipun, we highly recommend listening to episode 10 in addition to today's insightful discussion. Nipun shares his thoughts on the legacy he aims to leave and the key factors he attributes to his success. He also highlights the role of meditation in maintaining his balance. We hope Nipun's story and lifestyle inspire and encourage you.
IN THIS EPISODE:
(00:00) Introduction
(01:54) Nipun responds to what piece of technology has been a game changer for his business
(02:42) Nipun shares what the most significant lesson he has learned on his journey
(04:02) Meditation is how Nipun slows down and reconnects with himself
(04:30) Nipun comments on what one gift he feels he brings to the world
(04:30) Nipun discusses what he credits his success to - grit, will and hustle versus faith
(07:04) Nipun completes a sentence posed by Stephen regarding his entrepreneurial endeavors for the community
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- AI can produce code greater than the speed of an entire engineering team, but lacks the relational connections that come with working with teams.
- Mediation is an essential part of Nipun’s life
- Nipun attributes 90% of his success to grace and 10% to hard work
RESOURCES:
GUEST BIOGRAPHY:
Nipun Mehta founded ServiceSpace, a global community at the intersection of technology, volunteerism and gift culture. As a designer of large-scale social movements rooted in small acts of service and powered by micro-moments of inner transformation, his work has uniquely catalyzed "many to many" networks of community builders grounded in their localities and rooted in practices of cultivating compassion. More recently, ServiceSpace's pandemic response showcased the beauty of its agile ecosystem. Today, ServiceSpace reaches millions every month, is powered by thousands of volunteers, and blossoms into ever-expanding local and virtual service projects that aim to ignite a "whole greater than the sum of its parts." Nipun was honored as an "unsung hero of compassion" by the Dalai Lama not long before former U.S. President Obama appointed him to a council to address poverty and inequality in the U.S. Yet, the core of what strikes anyone who meets him is the way his life is an attempt to bring smiles in the world and silence in his heart: "I want to live simply, love purely, and give fearlessly. That's me." Nipun Mehta
DO GOOD X Short Form Ep 11 Transcript
[00:00:00] Narrator: Welcome to the do good X podcast, a sanctuary from the entrepreneur grind hosts, Kimberly, Danielle, and Steven Lewis advocates for impactful entrepreneurship, guide you on the path where purpose meets business. Join us to slow down, reconnect, and explore the challenges of under resourced entrepreneurs, uncovering the unique journey of building businesses and creating value.
That make a difference. Now you're host.
[00:00:34] Kimberly R. Daniel: Welcome everyone to the do get X podcast. I hope you are doing well today. My name is Kimberly Danielle, and I am your co host. I'm also a community builder, a coach, and a communication strategist who comes from generations of faith driven entrepreneurs who believe that our purpose should drive us to contribute to the common good.
I want to thank you for being present and being here. And. In last week's episode, if you did not join us, [00:01:00] Steven and I had a wonderful time chatting with Nipun Mehta, who is the founder of ServiceBase. ServiceBase is an incredible organization that leverages technology to encourage everyday people around the world to do small acts of service, their aim is to Is to ignite generosity and themselves and others, and to create both an inner and an outer transformation.
So check out that episode, but first stay tuned in for today. If you are an entrepreneur who is committed to building your business from a place of compassion and generosity, hearing from Nipun might be Be the gift to spark some ideas for you. And after listening to this brief episode today on technology, slowing down and community, you just might be inspired to go back to last week to hear more from Nipun.
What is one piece of technology that has been a game changer for your business?
[00:01:54] Nipun Mehta: I think coding, um, AI is able to code stuff like [00:02:00] there is, uh, it's, it's like stuff that would take a whole engineering team. It just spits out like that. So there's this new model called, uh, or a lot of people are thinking about single use software now.
Where you think of software as something you have an engineering team, you build and you deploy and, and, and then you keep iterating and make it better. Now it's just so cheap. It's like a tap of a button. They're like, well, what's off, what app should I make for Kimberly this morning? You know, it's like kind of mind blowing.
Um, so yeah, I I've, uh, we've been using that a whole lot.
[00:02:35] Stephen Lewis: All right. What is the greatest lesson so far on your entrepreneurial journey?
[00:02:42] Nipun Mehta: Well, I would say on my entrepreneurial journey, I would say that, you know, typically you tend to think of leadership as, um, you know, deciding between right and wrong. Um, but I think what I have learned is that you have to [00:03:00] decide leadership is really about decisions where it's between right and right.
Like you have two right decisions. And which right decisions are you going to go towards? Um, and I think that's a much harder because this is, uh, each decision is going to have, if you go in this direction, it's going to be right for a certain set of conditions. And if you go in this direction, it's going to be right for a certain other set of conditions.
Um, and so what is going to be your barometer? Um, and I think that's something that I've refined over the years. And again, for me, for a lot of people, you optimize for the narrow margin goals. Um, and I think it's for each one to figure out, uh, what those things, you know, what their parameters are. But I have learned in the value of the broad margin goals, uh, you know, leading with the broad margin goals.
And then of course, narrow margin goals as well. So, yeah, distinct between right and right, man, that's hard.
[00:03:55] Kimberly R. Daniel: What is one of your go to practices or rituals to slow [00:04:00] down, center, and connect with yourself?
[00:04:02] Nipun Mehta: Apart from acts of kindness, I would say meditation. Um, so I just sit, usually, except for this last year because of some family illness.
Uh, I'll spend 30 days of the year in just satellite retreat, no reading, writing, talking. Um, and I think I would be a disaster if it wasn't. For that, so I'm very grateful for the meditation.
[00:04:25] Stephen Lewis: All right. What is one gift that you bring to the world?
[00:04:30] Nipun Mehta: You know, I would say joy, maybe. I, you know, I look at people like Desmond Tutu and Dalai Lama, man.
They have the weight of the whole world on their, uh, they've, they've held the weight of the world on their shoulders for decades. Decades and decades, and they're full of joy, man. They're not short cutting suffering in the world, but they're able to hold the suffering with these incredible, incredibly wider arcs of capacity, [00:05:00] which I think is, uh, far greater than the ebbs and flows of, of the suffering, which is heartbreaking.
Um, but so I think that kind of joy, you know, that deeper kind of joy, um, is right. I aspire to have, so I can't say it's my hundred percent gift, but I hope I can bring it, you know.
[00:05:21] Kimberly R. Daniel: How much of your success do you attribute to your faith versus your own grit, will and hustle?
[00:05:30] Nipun Mehta: Oh, well, you know what I want to say?
I want to say a hundred percent. I would attribute to grace. Um, but if I'm being honest, I would say a 16 year old asked me that question, not that question, but asked me the question, what would you, what advice would you have to your 16 year old self? And I said, back when I was 16, I would have thought that 90 percent is grit.
And 10 percent is grace that it kind of happens, you know, and I [00:06:00] would say that now it's flipped for me. I would say it's 90 percent grace, 10 percent great. And where I want to get to is that a hundred percent grace in the sense that the more deeper I see the power of grace, uh, the power of unearned merit, uh, that factor into each equation.
I mean, look at this podcast. Like we met in a hallway where we, we met in like some post conversation. Then we were in a hallway together in like some random place in Los Angeles. You don't live there. I don't live there. And you know, here we are like, so is it because you're great and I'm great, or is it because of some larger story?
And I, I am very biased towards now. I'm very biased towards thinking. I think it's a larger story. I don't need to know it, but I can float with it.
[00:06:54] Stephen Lewis: Complete this sentence. Because of my entrepreneurial endeavors, communities [00:07:00] will be or are more able to do.
[00:07:04] Nipun Mehta: Are more able to come alive, not just individually, but collectively.
They are able to connect with each other in many to many networks. and awaken a collective heart intelligence which is greater than the sum of the parts. So one and one is more than two because the plus sign has value, right? It's not just you and me. And your gifts in mind and your accumulated power and wealth and my accumulated power and wealth.
It's something much greater than both of us put together. So I hope, I hope.
[00:07:43] Kimberly R. Daniel: Thank you, Nipu, for being a reflection of generosity, compassion, and kindness. And for the way you approach business and technology for good. If you want to learn more about ways to connect with us and other entrepreneurs on the journey, go to do good at excite org here.
You can [00:08:00] subscribe to our email to keep posted on our resources, to help you build a business for good. As always, thank you for joining us and until next time be well and do good.
[00:08:12] Narrator: Thank you for listening to the do good X podcast to continue the conversation or access our resources. Visit www. dogoodx. org.
Join us again for conversations that will nourish your soul, ignite your dreams, and empower you to build an impactful business. One intentional step at a time until then keep striving, thriving, and doing good.