I’m going public - I am now out of the closet. Yes I went to a casting call for a reality TV show No it wasn’t The Batchelor (I’m blissfully married to a wonderful woman and have been for over 15 years and she’s not going anywhere without me) and it’s not Survivor, The Amazing Race, The Apprentice, or The Big Loser. While America’s Got Talent, Tim doesn’t and my Real World doesn’t involve a Wife Swap. My Dancing With the Stars is limited to dancing with my little girls ages 3, 6, and 8. I have three Big Brothers and when I cook it’s usually Hell’s Kitchen…just ask my wife. The casting call I went to was Oprah’s new show called The Big Give. The show plus the incredible success of Bill Clinton’s new book Giving demonstrate a societal shift toward focusing on things that matter. When I heard about The Big Give, I made a trip to Nashville for the casting call. Sensing that there might be a big turnout, I got there early and took a seat in line behind ten other people who arrived before 6:00 am for a 9:00 call. While waiting for the doors to open people in line exchanged stories of why they were there and what they were doing to make a difference. I met a guy who worked with home owners to pay their mortgage after natural disasters. I met a man who was working on a documentary on the impact of hurricane Katrina. Through his efforts, he wanted to raise money for Katrina victims. There was the young medical student who was setting up a clinic with his father in Nigeria. Part of his motivation was to help his country overcome the negative perception due to the many Nigerian email scams. There were people of all ages, all ethic and religious backgrounds and all with the feeling that they could make a difference through their actions. It seems that there are many waiting for the opportunity to give big. When a celebrity or person of influence makes waves about the importance of giving, it seems to stir up others too.

While I didn’t make it on the show (heck, I didn’t even make it through round one), I was glad to meet some inspiring people and know that in the Reality crazed TV world we live in, there is finally a show that just might be worth watching.

Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, and national conventions. He is the founder of the The Worlds Biggest Blog Party an event which will connect bloggers from all over the world to raise money for charity. He is also founder and president of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund. For more information on Tim, go to www.TimRichardson.com

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