Afdhel Aziz: The GPS Of Purpose & Why Good Is The New Cool

Welcome to today's bonus episode of the Decoding Purpose Podcast. I am releasing this BONUS episode to celebrate the launch of the GOOD IS THE NEW COOL Conference in Sydney this weekend and Melbourne next weekend.I always get excited when a guest comes to visit me in the studio and today was no exception. Infact my guest came all the way from Los Angeles on a mission to share inspirational stories of purpose with the world. That person is Afdhel Aziz, and he is an international keynote speaker, author and the creator of Good Is The New Cool, which is a book and a conference that amplifies optimistic, purpose driven and hopeful stories of world change.In meeting Af today, I honestly felt like I was hanging out with a very old friend. A kindred spirit who managed to match my obsession for decoding purpose in our personal and professional lives. Our conversation today went around the world as we dissected purpose as a driving force in the next economy, purpose in brand strategy, purpose in an organisation. Most significantly we looked at the connection between personal purpose and the pursuit of a deeper and more spiritually connected life. There was no stone left unturned.It is clear to me that Af is on a mission to solve one of the biggest problems facing companies and individuals in the 21st century: how to find purpose and meaning in the work they do, and unlock the power of business to do good in the world. Watch the video below to find out about his inspiring journey.Following a life-changing moment when he experienced the devastating effects of the South Asian tsunami in his native Sri Lanka, he embarked on a journey to explore inspiring work. This lead to his first book 'Good is the New Cool : Market Like You Give a Damn' (co-authored by Bobby Jones) which explored the link between purpose and success in companies like Warby Parker, Zappos and Citibank.He realized that he had a burning desire to be of service to companies looking to unleash the power of purpose, which led to him quitting his job in corporate life and touring the world as a professional speaker and consultant, and speaking to tens of thousands of people around the world from New York to Stockholm to Mexico.It also lead to him setting up a brand purpose consultancy, Conspiracy of Love, which has advised Fortune 500 companies like Adidas, Sonos, Bacardi, Mars and Coty on how use the power of purpose to connect with Millennial and Gen-Z audiences. Along with Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and disruptive technology, ‘purpose’ is one of the biggest challenges facing businesses today. In this age of disruption, the term “Corporate Social Responsibility” has quickly evolved into “Corporate Social OPPORTUNITY” and is vital to stay competitive.I hope you enjoy today's podcast, and if you would like to come and hang out with me, Afdhel and a group of world changing humans grab your ticket at www.goodisthenewcool/sydney and enter the discount code UP2GOOD.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.