In Search of Sanuk » in search of sanuk

I’m not a Missionary, not a NGO or a Hero

Dwight Turner — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 03:43:56 +0000

I’m NOT a missionary.

On the contrary, I don’t have a fraction of the faith the people I’m helping possess.

I’m NOT a NGO.

There’s no staff, no backup plan, and without the support of a handful of personal friends—no budget.

And I’m definitely not a hero.

Showing up with food, water and help with rent doesn’t mean I have super powers or even make me particularly intuitive.

I’m a lot like you.

I don’t fit so easily into people’s boxes and grow tired of explaining why. I love wearing lots of hats, but I’m truthfully not as good at multitasking as I’d have people believe. And I make things complicated because I so highly value simplicity. Hence, why I’m so stubborn and hate asking for help.

Luckily for my endless limitations, my talented friend Tara Milutis has created a touching mini-documentary to help explain what In Search of Sanuk is all about and why I need your help share and give in support of my project to help at risk families.

Please watch below or access it here: In Search of Sanuk Documentary – Helping At Risk Families in Bangkok

-Dwight

Still Shedding

Dwight Turner — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:50:35 +0000

Thank all of you who have been supporting us. I want to let you know what’s going on now and what to expect from In Search of Sanuk in the future. Things are great, but there’s so much work to do. Join in!

The Community is Growing – Through the internet, travel, and your help spreading the word we’re gradually growing. Please get involved no matter where you are by joining us on facebook or by sharing great content on twitter. If you have written or done something that fits here please contact us so we can share.

Splintering Your Brand – The conclusion of this series is coming up, where I’ll give some simple, practical tips to help in your project management. As a bonus, I’ll be sharing an interview with Tom Potisit of the Global Expedition for the World’s Greatest King. After flying around the world Tom recently held an exhibition to sale his photographs. Hear how his project developed and how he’ll use the money he raised to reinvest into his country.

Microphilanthropy – Before the end of the month I plan to announce our own microphilanthropy project. This means we will be directly helping people and reporting the results here. Donations will be accepted on the website (tax-deductible for US residents). This project will be our own version of the 100 Friends project. This is a big step and we’ll need you to play a role.

The Urban Garden Project – This project is moving along. We have already raised about 6000b ($200 US) through our May charity tweetup event. The next big event is LUSH, a poolside dance party at the Fraser Suites Sukumvit on June 19th. We’ve had some obstacles overcoming the issue of limited space for making a garden accessible in community centers and slums. BUT we’re persistent and we’re engaging more people on this project to find a way to make it happen (If it was easy, someone would have already done it).

Washington Leadership Academy – I’m speaking next week in Bangkok to encourage students to get active helping people. In addition to my lecture they’ll visit the UN and some other ngo’s and non profits. After a few days they’ll have a chance to put what they’ve learned in action and I’ll tag along for their projects outside the city. Should be fun and I will report back more to let you know how it goes.

“Dream big, work smart, start local.”

~Dwight

Splintering Your Brand: How Too Little of You Hurts Your Message

Dwight Turner — Sun, 10 May 2009 07:14:59 +0000

A few people have made it clear that I’m really bad at introducing myself. Some of this feedback has been abrupt and disconcerting, such as people asking, “What is your site about?” or “Who is sanuk and when you find him–what next?” This was the world trying to tell me they have no idea who I am or what I’m doing. Other needy feedback has come as tips from star small business consultant Naomi Dunford (see IttyBiz and her free series of classes Marketing For Nice People) who reminds readers to come back to bonding with their customers. The point is unless you’re already retired and doing the things you want, you can’t afford to alienate people by not telling them about yourself.

So I wanted to take time out to introduce myself to readers and ask all of you to consider the way you unconsciously divide yourself trying to reach your goals. This is detrimental to your brand, especially if you’re trying to help people. In the next few posts, I plan to show you why and tell you how to avoid making the big mistakes I made.

FIRST let me introduce myself.

You may want to do this on your site too. We’re complex and it’s impossible to summarize someone (especially yourself) in a few sentences, but it’s crucial to select a few things everyone should know about you. Here’s the bare minimum of what you should know about me and this sanuk lifestyle I lead: