Being Peace is a book written by Thich Nat Hanh, a Zen Buddhist monk, that was suggested to me by a friend back in 2008. I didn’t retain much of the book except a profound sense of peace, and one nugget of knowledge that has lodged itself in my brain, and won’t go away. That nugget is that every day  40,000 children die of hunger. It was this piece of knowledge that set my life on a new trajectory.

My life’s vow from that day on is to dedicated the remainder of my life’s work to ending child starvation due to poverty. What I’ve come to understand is that the goal is clear. However, the road is windy, obscure and untravelled. I do know for certain that it will take disciple and perseverance to S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Results-based, Timely) Goal setting principles that will ensure the success of my life’s efforts. We know for certain that we are now producing enough food to feed the world regarding tonnage. However, the importance of culturally appropriate, sustainable and nutritionally dense food, must be taken into measure. Furthermore, once quality and quantity are both achieved, access will then be the next issue to tackle.

To summarize my view of S.M.A.R.T and how it relates to my life’s work.

• Specific: The end of world hunger due to poverty and malnutrition.
• Measurable: There are many organizations which are tracking world hunger today. http://www.stopthehunger.com
• Actionable: Everyday we can take action towards our goals. http://download.thelancet.com/flatcontentassets/pdfs/nutrition-eng.pdf
• Results-based: With sound management, great leadership, vision and continued effort towards the goal, change is happening. Gapminder
• Timely: 50+ years that are left in my lifetime. That is a lot of time.

A lifetime is a precious thing if not the most valuable, it defines all of our experiences, and bookends our life’s work. How will you write your life’s novel, how many chapters will you have, what will you write and what will life write for you. I encourage you all to find what motivates you from within because I can assure you that the outside world will get turbulent and attempt to dislodge you from your goal but if your motivation is from within, then your ambition and compass for a better world will not falter.