Alice Chun: How to Transform Your Childhood Pain to Power With Social Entrepreneurship

  Are you passionate about the stuff you do to make a living? In this episode of The Darin Olien Show,  I chat with Alice Chun about her passion to help those who are in need around the world, through social entrepreneurship. While her passion to help others in need and reduce humanity’s carbon footprint didn’t work out in the non-profit world, it is tremendously successful as a socially responsible for-profit company. With 1.6 billion people who live without access to electricity around the world, her solar-powered lightbulbs are making a difference for people all around the world.  Alice also shares what ambitions and dreams she has for this purpose-driven company of hers and how her childhood helped her become the resilient entrepreneur she is today. Alice Chun is the cofounder and CEO of Solight Design and the inventor of the SolarPuff, the world’s only self-inflatable, portable solar light. She’s won numerous awards, including the U.S. Patent Award for Humanity. Her products have been exhibited at MOMA in New York City. Chun was previously a Professor of Architecture and Material Technology at Columbia University and a Professor of Design and Material Culture at Parsons the New School.   Key takeaways:   The sun is the most powerful source of energy on this Earth – but the biggest source of light in this Universe is the one within you. This light within you is the light that will give you the strength to get through obstacles, to fight for what you believe in, and make the change you want to see. And no matter how hard it may be to feel that light within you on some days, you have the comfort of knowing that the sun always comes back up the next day – the light will always come back.   When you are working towards creating something that is better than you, greater than you, and more important than you, it takes a lot of courage. Because of that, a lot of people wait until they find this courage before they start putting in the work to bring their ideas to life.  However, that’s the wrong way to do it. See, if you really believe in this idea you have and are really passionate about it, you will find that courage to take on this project will come naturally as you get started. At least, that’s the case for most social entrepreneurs. BREAKDOWN What we discuss: 14:09: To what degree are we all inner-connected?23:30: What is the issue with the big non-profit organizations?27:05: How did Hillary Clinton help Alice’s mission?33:34: What is the symbolic value of Alice’s product?37:46: What are some of the challenges that Alice faced in her life? 48:18: What was Alice’s process for building her product?57:42: What is Alice’s dream?59:51: Where can we learn more about Alice? links Find more from Alice: Website: https://solight-design.comInstagram:  Find more from Darin: Website: https://superlife.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Darinolien/Book: https://superlife.com/fatal-conveniences-book/Down to Earth: https://superlife.com/down-to-earth/ sponsors Shop Methodology at  https://www.gomethodology.com/ and use the code DARIN at checkout.  Learn more about The Dirt Locker® by visiting www.dirtlocker.com  I hope you enjoyed this episode of The Darin Olien Show! If you want to support or follow the podcast, here’s how:   Subscribe, rate or listen on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher  Follow my Instagram to keep updated on the podcast, weekly deep dives and other projects that I’m supporting (and the occasional Chaga appreciation post) Sign up for my Weekly Email to keep up with what I’m tuned into. For feedback or suggestions, email my team at [email protected]  Find the list of brands & products that get the big tick of approval from me here. Comment below to join the discussion!