Honoring Anita Roddick - Are You Passionate About What You Do?
By Larry Benet on Nov 27, 2007 in Business
Do you love what you do? Are you passionate about what you do? The most successful people I have ever met are passionate about what they do, and really do love their work.
It isn’t every day you have a chance to meet a business legend - one of the biggest activists of our generation.
Earlier this year I had the opportunity to spend an hour with Anita Roddick, the founder of the Body Shop. It was a powerful and memorable hour for me, one that I will not soon forget.
Only a few months before that I spoke with Jill Whitt on the phone, and she mentioned she worked for Anita Roddick doing PR and special projects for her. I mentioned to Jill I would love to meet Anita, and then one Saturday Jill calls me to say that Anita would like to meet while she is in Atlanta. I got up early that Sunday morning to spend some time with Anita, and I was very glad that I did.
She didn’t have to work, she had more then enough money, but she worked every day on the causes she cared about.
On that day she shared with me about the Angola 3, about 2 innocent men who have been in prison in Louisiana for over 35 years (one of the 3 was freed after 29 years). I said to myself I wish I knew the Governor of Louisiana so I could ask him to do something about it.
About 2 months ago, I was giving a speech in Ohio, and on the news was Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson and other activists in Louisiana marching to free some black high school children who ended up getting jail time when their white counterparts did not.
I was in the process of emailing Anita Roddick about what had happened to see if she couldn’t get in touch with Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson.
Later that day I found out that Anita had passed away.
In honor of her, please visit her website to learn about her, her life and the causes she cared about like freeing the Angola 3.
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2 Comment(s)
By Bonnie Cranmer on Jan 1, 2008 | Reply
Anita Roddick wrote “Body & Soul” about her creation of The Body Shop in the early 90s. It became my business “bible” as I began to develop my business philosphy & ethics following environmental themes. It was my goal to one day meet Anita but I’ll have to settle for knowing people who’s lives she touched. She will continue to live on in her work and I’m confident that much good will come from her life, lived to the fullest. Thank you for sharing her with your readers.
By Dawn Bournand on Jan 1, 2008 | Reply
Larry I am so thrilled to see that you are sharing the news of what Anita Roddick stood for even after she has left this earth. She has been an inspiration to me for over 20 years. I first learned about Anita in 1985 and admired her constant efforts to make a difference. As Bonnie commented before me, Body and Soul, Anita’s book, opened my eyes to how business could work to not only make money but more importantly, benefit others. It was a devastating moment when I learned of her death but I know thanks to people like you her message will live on and continue to positively impact people’s lives. Thank you for keeping her torch lit.
Dawn Bournand
http://www.fabulouslysuccessful.com