โIf you want to help create a more equitable world but donโt know where to start, Infectious Generosity is for you.โโBill Gates, GatesNotes (Summer Reading Pick)
The bestselling author, media pioneer, and curator of TED exploresย one of humankindโs defining but overlooked impulses, and how we can super-charge its potential to build a hopeful future
Letโs face it: Recent years have been tough on optimists. Hopes that the Internet might bring people together have been crushed by the ills of social media. Is there a way back?
As head of TED, Chris Anderson has had a ringside view of the worldโs boldest thinkers sharing their most uplifting ideas. Inspired by them, he believes that itโs within our grasp to turn outrage back into optimism. It all comes down to reimagining one of the most fundamental human virtues: generosity. What if generosity could become infectious generosity? Considerย
โข how a London barber began offering haircuts to people experiencing homelessnessโand catalyzed a movement
โข how two anonymous donors gave $10,000 each to two hundred strangers and discovered that most recipients wanted to โpay it forwardโ with their own generous acts
โข how TED itself transformed from a niche annual summit into a global beacon of ideas by giving away talks online, allowing millions access to free learning
In telling these inspiring stories, Anderson has given us โthe first page-turner ever written about human generosityโ (Elizabeth Dunn). More important, he offers a playbook for how to embark on our own generous actsโwhether gifts of money, time, talent, connection, or kindnessโand to prime them, thanks to the Internet, to have self-replicating, even world-changing, impact.