Ep 5. Cathy Burke on ending world hunger and empowering the world’s most Unlikely Leaders

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CEO of The Hunger Project Australia for over 17 years, Cathy has just recently become The Hunger Project’s Global Leader for Partnerships and Global Vice President. She was voted winner of the Australian Financial Review and Westpac 100 Women of Influence Awards, and frankly I’m not surprised, because she is making one hell of a dent in the universe.

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Her mission to end world hunger by 2030 is spreading like wildfire across the globe, and Cathy and The Hunger Project believe the hungry people in poverty are the biggest resources to reaching that goal. The Hunger Project unlocks the creativity, leadership and entrepreneurialism of the hungry so they can feed their families.

Having spent extensive time in villages across India, Bangladesh and Africa, Cathy has witnessed first-hand the shocking truths behind poverty stricken life, as well as the mind-blowing transformations that can stem from education, structure and leadership. Her book Unlikely Leaders present these transformations and the strong messages of courage, boldness and vision from the poorest of the poor.

From uncovering the catalyst that told Cathy she needed to do something bigger, smashing through the charity paradigm by committing 100% to solve the problem, to the ability of influence leading to profound world-changing movements, I dig into the heart, power, and intense truths behind the work of The Hunger Project.

This week, we’re diving really deep, into:

Cathy’s catalyst for knowing she wanted to do something bigger
How this haughty punk goth indie anarchist transformed to radicalised peace movement maker
The power of meditation and personal development
Smashing through the charity paradigm by diving in heart and soul to solve the problem
Cathy’s shocking first-hand experiences of a life of poverty that hundreds of millions of people endure every day
The profound perspective that those in poverty can teach us
The powerful work that can be done to make a real difference, rather than token gestures to assuage the horror of what we’ve seen and make ourselves feel better
The mind-blowing effect of seeing millions of people define who they are irrespective of their life circumstances
Busting the belief systems that we can’t all impact or make a difference
Calling the world into leadership and responsibility to shift a new global pathway
Cathy’s powerful answer to the question, ‘what do you do?’
Denying ourselves to take action and eradicating our ‘who me?’ attitude
The answer to the question: Why do people play small?
Our search for meaning and connection, and how to make our existence more than living and dying
Knowing that we’re always influencing someone, and understanding some of the distinctions that underline that
The non-literate subsistence farmers who are learning against a huge backdrop of violence to make big changes happen – and what we can learn from that
The tools that we can learn from villagers that can give us access to productivity and more engagement
Seeing everyone as a partner and the laws of exchange
How to go into partnership
Everyone has got something unique and powerful to bring, and part of our journeys is owning the power, resource and value you have and can bring
The tools that could be applied in a small or a billion dollar business learnt from some of the most impoverished countries in the world
The profound necessity to really creating personal and social change
The techniques for seeing through the story we’re telling ourselves and dealing with reality
Cathy’s advice for focusing your day to be more effective
Cathy’s tools to move from a level of struggle to improved performance
Cathy’s killer tips for delegation
Tips for creating an incredibly powerful cultural shift in your team
Overcoming the fear of standing out