They say kindness makes the world go around. Well, Leon Logothetis made that a reality. He traded in his desk job to chase his dreams by traveling the world only on the generosity of strangers. He went to 40 different places, nearly 20 countries in five months with no money, food or places to stay. That journey is captured in his new book the Kindness Diaries. One man’s quest to ignite goodwill and transform lives around the world.
Welcome.
Thanks for having me.
You are working as a successful broker living in London. You give it up.
I did.
Why?
I felt disconnected. I didn’t feel any sense of purpose. I didn’t want to work from behind what I call a slab of wood and I wanted to go out and see the world. And be inspired by people.
In the book, you say that you were listening to your inner rebel. The inner rebel is the part of you that wants to go out and live your life fully and not live other peoples lives. And live your dream. We all have our own dreams.
Some peoples dreams could be traveling and spending their money if they’ve been working for it. Why did you decide to do it through the kindness of others?
As a kid, I felt disconnected. And I felt disempowered and I wanted to empower people. The magic of kindness is really what makes the world go around. And so many times we see bad things happening, but there’s so much kindness out there. So much good stuff. So you walk up to someone and you say, ‘Hi, I am Leon, may I stay with you tonight?’
Sometimes. And the reaction mostly is no, But sometimes you find that angel. And that Angel wants to help.
In the book you set up a set of rules. You were not allowed to except money, but I’m sure there were times when you thought that money would be the easiest thing solution here.
Absolutely, but the rules were there, no money just the generosity of others and it was a wave of generosity to get me across the world.
What is an example of generosity?
I met this homeless man call Tony who had nothing and he allowed me to stay the night with him on the sidewalk and he was such a wonderful man. He inspired me to know that true wealth is in our hearts it’s not in our wallets.
What do you think you will learn from this journey?
Truthfully I’ve learned the kindness is what makes the world go around and we all have so many negative things happening in the news, but really there is so much kindness out there.
They also say many of us are
With mobile phones and computers, most would think that we are more connected. You have a different view of that.
I definitely do. I actually don’t have a smart phone, I have a 1998 Nokia. I love the Nokia basically I feel like connection is what is going on here between us now talking. Connection isn’t an about Tweeting and Facebooking and these other things. It’s the human connection. It’s the power of I see you and you see me. That is what human connection is all about.
Any favorite spots?
My favorite spot was Butan.
They have gross national happiness to determine the happiness of the country. They are determine this by how happy the people are.
After seeing so much kindness you made some big promises basically paying it forward. When did you realize that you wanted to do something for all these people helping you?
You know. I’ve done some adventures before where it was about receiving kindness and this time I made sure it was about receiving and giving. For example Toni I was very fortunate to be able to put him up in an apartment, send him back to school. This was a homeless man who is not homeless anymore. And to me, that feels wonderful, for me and obviously Tony and it’s a wonderful thing.
You talk about the struggle with kindness and sometimes when someone is truly kind they shouldn’t be writing a book, they’re not expecting something back. Did you struggle with the idea of a book?
I did and a true act of kindness is when you don’t tell anyone what you’re doing. Obviously here I am telling people what I’m doing. But I felt it something so powerful in the stories and the people that I a met were so inspiring that I wanted to share it.
What’s next?
More ventures more giving back.
Author: Bliss
Dedicated to making a positive difference for people, animals, and this beautiful planet!
