Bus 374 Week 2 Reflection

 This week the focus was on what we as individuals can do to make a difference in the word. These differences can happen regardless of where we are in our lives. There is a place for everyone in the world of social innovation. There is obvious need for the big idea people and the people with the financial means to pull it off. There are also needs for individuals that can take an existing idea or space and make more programs or applications of it work. There is also the need for individuals that are volunteering time and talent or selecting jobs in social innovation positions that take the big ideas and help them become reality. A difference can be made by everyone and each change can bring about even more change down the line.

The video "Inside the Mind of a College Social Innovator" really stood out to me. The idea of social innovation is new to me and is honestly, quite overwhelming. I think that because it is overwhelming to me, I tend to look at it as something that other people do - people with money or influence, people with huge dreams, people that already have a deep rooted cause on their hearts. I love the idea of making  a difference in the world, especially one that cn also be a means of an income for myself. However, that seems like something either for someone else, or if it is for me, it isn't for a long time. This video of the 3 college students made an impact on me. Social innovation can have a place for me right now. I have existing passions and I have small things that I can do now to support the people making changes and I can become someone that makes a difference.

In the article by Jeffrey Thompson, "What is Your Calling in Life?", Thompson lists out some heresy examples that can get in our way of finding our calling in life. I believe that as Children of God, we have been given talents that will help us and those around us as we progress through our mortal journey. Thompson's question What is your calling in life ties into those talents. What has God given us so that we can do something meaningful in our lives. This also ties into social innovation. In order to be an impactful social innovator, an individual should be working with their passions and using their talents. God has us on this Earth to be tested, but he also wants us to learn and grow and also to help, strengthen, and support others. He has given us the mean to do that. One way is to look at it as our life's calling. When we feel that compelled about a specific subject, social innovation plays a perfect role as a means to fulfilling a calling in life. We take our passions and talents and help others with them

Reflection Week 1 BUS 374

    The systems created to help society, like government and education have left out individuals and have cause vulnerabilities and problems within society that need to be addressed. Finding these problems and creating new solutions to them at their root is called social innovation. Social innovation allows individuals to use their passion to help people, societies, and the world by turning their passions into a business. The complex problems that our systems create require complex solutions and the work of social innovation takes that challenge on.

    The video, Ambition, opens by showing clips of things like the building of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Egyptian pyramids, and a rocket into space. Then it gives a quote about our imagination and how we imagine the world is how the world can become. Without individuals imagining creative solutions, then change will never occur. This is something that stands out to me about social innovation. It is about looking into the world and imagining things that seem impossible and finding ways to make them real. It speaks to the passions that people have to improve the lives and situations of the people and the planet around them. 

    Social innovation is more prevalent today for two reasons. One is that there is more of a need. As society has advanced, we have created many more systems to help manage and organize our lives. While theses systems have had many benefits, there have also been numerous problems created by them. The second reason pairs well with the increase of problems and that is more people are concerned about the plight of others as well as the safety of the planet. As people care more and see more and more problems in the world, the desire to make changes increase. Individuals as well as companies are beginning to see that they have an effect on the world and are taking responsibility to make a difference.