Paterson, NJ was never going to be a part of Time To Impact. As I have learned, sometimes serendipity has a way of making things happen (look for a story about serendipity soon on this). As an afterthought to a conversation with a friend I met on LinkedIn, just before we hung up from our call, I asked whether she knew any people who might be good to interview for a documentary film I was doing. I told her that I was looking for ordinary people who had achieve extraordinary things in their life. “Do you know who Jack Healy is?”, she asked. “Hmmm, no I don’t”, I replied. Well he’s the guy who made Amnesty International into a household name. He’s a really inspiring guy and I’d be happy to introduce you she said. Would you like me to send him an email and see if I can arrange a conversation? “Ummm,  duh…yes!”, I thought. I was so surprised. All I did was ask. I was so shocked I was being introduced to someone of that caliber.

I had a conversation with Jack by phone and was inspired! Jack and I had lunch at a dive in NYC several months back and told him about my film project and that I wanted to use the film to inspire people to make a difference. At the conclusion of our lunch, Jack leaned over and hugged me. “Holy crap, Jack Healy just hugged me”, I thought to myself! I must be doing something right…

When you watch the video above, notice how shocked Jack was when he talks about his experience approaching Bruce Springsteen. That’s how I felt. I learned some valuable lessons from that encounter. First, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. Second, when you are doing something that is meant to help people, you are much more likely to get a positive response to an inquiry. When in doubt, refer to the first lesson. I used to say, “Wouldn’t it be great?” all the time. What that expression really meant was, “Wouldn’t it be great if I actually did something about my idea” (which you aren’t planning on taking action on). I don’t say “Wouldn’t it be great?” anymore. Instead, I have replaced it with “Why don’t we try”, or “What if we did…”. That was one of the things that Jack taught me.

The other thing I learned was where real power comes from. Pay close attention to when he talks about helping MLK march on Washington. It was a very powerful observation that I have come to recognize in the dream that Alexander Hamilton had at the Great Falls in Paterson. We need to return to those ideals. We can…And we should. There’s not excuse not to.

We launched the website and trailer for Time To Impact Today! Huge thanks to Producer, Dan Abrams, Director, Tom Cappello, as well as Jim Issa, Mike McReynolds, Chris Nalesnik, Taylor Gentry, and Ty Bertrand. Everyone has worked really hard to get things to this point. We are just at the beginning. I can’t wait to continue the project. We all make an impact and we are where we are because of everyone’s commitment to this project. I’m humbled by how people have stepped up to help! A big sloppy kiss to all of you! -Rich

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