【推荐2】In 1982, Chuck Feeney, a rich businessman, quietly set up a charitable foundation(慈善基金会). His goal was to secretly give away all of his money. Now he has achieved his goal at the age of 89.

Chuck Feeney made his money in the shopping business, building a nest egg(储备金) of $ 8 billion over the course of his life. Though he is rich, the Irish-American does not own a car. He rents a small apartment, he flies economy class, and he owns only one pair of shoes. The elderly businessman told reporters that he was very happy with “completing this on my watch” He called on other rich people not to wait until after they have passed a war to experience the joy of giving away their money. In explaining what inspired his generosity(懒慨), the shopping businessman said “Wealth brings responsibility. People must feel a responsibility to use some of their money to improve the lives of their fellow humans, or else deal with problems for future generations.”

Feeney has given away $ 3.7 billion to universities, including close to $1 billion to Cornell University alone. He has also given away $ 1.9 billion to fund many projects in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, where he helped found the University of Limerick.

The businessman’s charitable actions inspired Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to set up the “Giving Pledge(誓言)” for the world’s richest people. Those who take the pledge devote themselves to giving at least half of their money away to the charity.

【推荐3】My first job at KCRW was Ruth Seymour’s assistant. Soon after, I became Assistant General Manager and worked closely with her for 16 years. Therefore, I have had the opportunity to observe her and the enormous impact she had on KCRW and the other radio stations.

Ruth did nothing conventionally and nothing she created was a reaction to anything. She created KCRW not to gain the most listeners or to win any awards but to be an intellectual force for arts, culture and smart ideas. She wanted to start the conversation, not just contribute to it.

Ruth had the highest artistic standards, which is why KCRW aired radio dramas like the 10-hour Babbitt and 30-hour Ulysses. She created Jewish Short Stories From Eastern Europe and Beyond in two audio collections that featured famous actors reading the work of Jewish authors like Sholem Aleichem, Philip Roth and Isaac Bashevis Singer. KCRW sold more of those collections than anything else in our history.

Ruth went to a newsstand every day and read articles from New York Times, word for word, on the air at noon because ordinary people couldn’t easily get that paper then. She discovered people who matched her intellect at dinners or parties and gave them on-air shows on journalism, literature, film, art, theater, travel, dance or music.

She said it best, “I wanted to do the program as an act of love and respect.”

When she came to KCRW in 1977, she found herself building the station in a junior high classroom right off the playground. Now KCRW could be heard across Los Angeles. Most powerfully, the radio format (总体安排) she created continues to be used by radio stations — news of the day, debates of ideas, art, artists, food, literature and film.

Outspoken and fearless women leaders were rare in the 1960s and 1970s — in fact, women couldn’t get credit cards apart from their husbands until 1974 — which is why her achievements are so singular.

【推荐2】How to Volunteer Abroad and Actually Help People

Fear of “voluntourism” shouldn’t stop you from doing something great. We’ve all heard it. Those “voluntourists” going to Africa think they’re helping, but they’re actually going for a holiday, wasting money, and strengthening dangerous stereotypes (刻板印象). I am, though, against the idea that we shouldn’t volunteer abroad at all. How would the world be a better place without people devoting their time and resources to help others who need it?

I chose my organization well. As a student, there are so many options for volunteering abroad. I travelled with Cambridge Development Initiative, a student-run project that works on sustainable development projects in Tanzania. There were four branches and I was on the business team. We were trained on the dangers of voluntourism and on best volunteer practices. We learned about the culture and even learned some basic Swahili, the local language, before travelling. When we were in Tanzania, we stayed in the same accommodation alongside our Tanzanian team members, ate the same food, and spent our free time in the same places.

When I told my friend I was travelling to Tanzania to volunteer for the summer, he said, “Oh, you’re going to have one of those summers where you go away for a couple of months and it totally changes your profile (头像) picture.”

I didn’t change my profile picture, but I did help 23 young people start their own companies. They brainstormed ideas, surveyed target communities, improved their designs, came up with business plans, and collected seed capital for their startups. They came up with creative ideas, such as a “mini-grid” (微型电网) providing electricity to an off-grid village and a plastic-waste recycling company.

Before I went to Tanzania, I was “this close” to taking an internship in a company instead because I worried I would be contributing to the negative practice of voluntourism. Here’s how I made sure that didn’t happen, and why I think the benefits of volunteering abroad far outweigh the benefits of taking some questionable moral high reasons back home.

【推荐3】As a kid in Rochester, I sent an evening newspaper, The Times Union, with a friend. We had two routes. Once when my friend went on a trip with his family, I had my two younger brothers help me. We developed a system. We put the papers in a wheelbarrow which I’d push up the street as fast as I could. They’d take the papers and run them to people’s doorsteps. We could do the whole route in 20 minutes.

When I look back, I realize I’ve asked myself three questions about each job I’ve taken: Is it interesting? Will I learn a lot? Who will I work for? At 22, I had to design my own program, from choosing the textbook to planning the course outline.

After graduation in 1983, I got a job as a market analyst at Chase Manhattan Bank. In 1986, a friend told me about a job as an investment specialist at Vanguard. I knew nothing about Vanguard. I took an interview with about 20 people there, and it was clear to me I was not the best for the position. But Jack Brennan, who was then the CFO(he later became CEO), talked about his idea and Midwestern values. It was a completely different point of view compared with what I had found in New York. I hoped that the Vanguard people would offer me the job, and they did.

When you accept a new job, timing can be everything. I’ve been the CEO since August last year. I’ve been part of the leadership team for almost 23 years. Before I took Jack’s place, I was the managing director. What has surprised me most about my present position is that time management skills are even more important than before.