105. Uniting Athletes Around Purpose - Marcus Daniell

Marcus Daniell, High Impact Athletes, We Are For Good Podcast

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Overview

Meet Marcus. He may be a professional tennis pro who regularly rubs elbows with the likes of Federer and Nadal, but that's not how he wants to be remembered. As the founder of High Impact Athletes, he's challenging his fellow athletes to connect with their favorite missions and join him pledging 10% of their annual earnings to those causes. His life goal: to create a movement in the sporting world where athletes can maximize their position of power to influence good. Three cheers for this!

Today’s Guest

Marcus Daniell, founder of High Impact Atheletes

“I’m trying to create a movement in the sporting world of athletes giving back and giving back in a really meaningful way.”

— Marcus Daniell, Founder, High Impact Athletes

Episode Transcript

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Episode Highlights

Marcus’ background - 3:29
Powerful pledging - 7:05
Why Marcus is giving back - 11:33
Where Marcus is giving back - 14:36
How can we better talk about our impact? - 18:24
High Impact Athletes - 22:12
Dreams moving forward - 26:06
Marcus’ One Moment in Philanthropy - 29:12
Marcus’ One Good Thing - 34:18

Powerful Quotes:

“With that financial security came this overwhelming need to give back in some way because I'd spent 10 years just sort of focusing on myself and really not feeling like I was balancing the scales there.” - Marcus

“It's just an internal commitment that I'm going to live my life for the good of the world and for the good of others.” - Marcus

“I think that public accountability is actually a really good tool to keep with the pledge, and sticking with it, and hopefully eventually, furthering that pledge.” - Marcus

“Why couldn't anyone subscribe to this belief that if we gave a portion of what we earned away, we can equalize the world a bit?” - Becky

“(It) doesn't contribute to my underlying happiness, contentedness fulfillment, but sending a chunk of money at the end of the year to these organizations where I know it's going to do a huge amount of good, that really gives me happiness. That the feeling where every day that I go and do some tennis training every day, that I go and play a tennis match, the knowledge that I'm contributing to the world in a positive way, that gives me happiness.” - Marcus

“I think everyone living in a western country can say, there is room for me to do a little more good in my life.” - Marcus

“That's what I've personally done is just each year sort of got a little more uncomfortable and keep progressing.” - Marcus

“I think it's such a healthy conversation because you shouldn't give to your point until it hurts, you should really be giving until it feels good.” - Becky

“I love that you're focused on trying to find the most effective way to actually impact the goal that you're setting out to do, and you're not afraid to course-correct as you find more effective solutions.” - Jon

“I rely on the research done by effective altruism, charity evaluators, that's the likes of Give Well, in the extreme poverty area, founders pledge in the area of climate change, and then animal charity evaluators in the area of animal welfare. Those evaluators, I have a huge amount of trust and belief in they're continually updating their research.” - Marcus

“I just feel like that transparency and that constant, asking of oneself, can I do this better? I just feel like that's a really positive thing.” - Marcus

“I'm trying to create a movement in the sporting world of athletes giving back and giving back in a really meaningful way.” - Marcus

“I should get up and as a brand, symbol, and movement, to try and get as many people on board with this idea of effective giving as possible.” - Marcus

“I want to really grow this as much as I possibly can to get as many athletes on board, pledging a percentage of their income and spreading this message of giving effectively not just to other athletes, but ultimately to their audiences and followings. I think that's one of the real strengths of focusing on that athletic world is for better or worse, athletes do have huge followings and huge audiences so if through them, they can sort of be the first domino to have this big snowball effect of people giving and giving in the most effective places, then that's my dream.” - Marcus

“I really do want to create a movement, almost an expectation, that when athletes start earning a lot of money, it's just part of the role of being an athlete, that you commit a percentage of your income to something that you really strongly believe in.” - Marcus

“I think that the very first time I pledged that 1% and 2016 that was a real life-shifting moment for me. It was you know, it was a sort of a concrete acknowledgment of my desire to do good in the world and my commitment to doing good in the world.” - Marcus’ One Moment in Philanthropy

“I think this is the power of doing really incredible stewardship and accountability with money, and showing your donors how that connects to it because that's where the money is at, folks. So I love that's such a part of your story.” - Jon

“I think it's really just constantly repeatedly asking yourself the question, is this the most good that I can do? Is this the best that I can do?” - Marcus’ One Good Thing

“But really, you don't have to be an athlete to give through HIA or directly to whatever charity you believe in. The bottom line is to get as much funding as possible as we can to the organizations that do the most good with it doesn't matter if that dollar comes from LeBron or from Joe, it means the same edits in the destination. So please just jump on board. You don't have to be athletic at all.” - Marcus