The Heart of Business: Cultivating Culture through Corporate Volunteering with Aron Levinson
with Aron Levinson
In this enlightening episode, we delve into the world of corporate volunteering with Aron Levinson, a pioneer in integrating social responsibility into the corporate fabric. Aron shares his transformative journey from a high-flying executive to a champion of workplace culture through volunteering. Discover how his innovative approaches to corporate volunteering are not only benefiting communities but also reshaping the essence of workplace environments.
Why You Should Listen
- Gain insights into how corporate volunteering can enhance employee engagement and satisfaction.
- Learn about the tangible impacts of volunteering initiatives on both the community and corporate culture.
- Hear firsthand stories of transformation and growth from a leader in the field.
- Get inspired to implement or advocate for meaningful change in your own workplace.
Tune in to uncover the synergies between business success and social responsibility, as told by Aron Levinson.
About Aron Levinson
Aron is an accomplished startup to mid-cap executive with a proven Sales, Operations, and turnarounds track record. Aron recently founded b goodly, all-inclusive corporate volunteer field trips in Los Angeles. He created a turnkey service, as easy as just getting on the bus, for co-workers to build meaningful relationships with each other while positively impacting the community and getting more people to volunteer more often.
Aron resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Dr. Christine Levinson; they have two children: a freshman in college and a high school senior. He enjoys playing golf, humanitarian efforts in Cuba, serving on the Board of Directors for Creamos, a non-profit in Guatemala, guest lecturing at San Diego State University, mentoring college students in career path development, speaking Spanish, and positively impacting the world.
Connect with Aron Levinson
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aronlevinson/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bogey2putt/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letsbgoodly/
About Aleya Harris
Aleya Harris is the spark for your spark™. A trailblazer in purpose-driven story crafting, she is a former marketing executive and ex-Google Vendor Partner who brings her dynamic experience to her role as the CEO of The Evolution Collective Inc. Aleya is a StoryBrand Certified Guide, international award-winning speaker, and the host of the award-winning Flourishing Entrepreneur Podcast. Her unique approach as a Strategic Storytelling Consultant has revolutionized the way businesses communicate, transforming workplace cultures and market positioning. With her dynamic energy and proven methodologies, she guides clients to unlock their potential, articulate their radically authentic stories, and achieve unparalleled success.
Sign Up for a Free Workshop
Each month, Aleya hosts a free 90-minute, hands-on workshop to help you use the power of radically authentic strategic storytelling to improve your personal growth, career, and company.
Register at https://www.aleyaharris.com/workshop
Book Aleya to Speak
To book Aleya to edutain your audience at your next event as a keynote speaker, please visit www.aleyaharris.com/speaking to check out her speaking topics, reels, and why. Click "Schedule a Call" to secure the speaker with "that something new" you've been looking for.
If you are a Corporate Event Planner, Employee Experience Professional, Head of Marketing, Learning & Development Professional, Executive Assistant, Speakers Bureau Destination Management Company, or Destination Management Organization who is looking for a top-quality, energetic speaker, you should definitely hop on a call with Aleya.
Connect with Aleya Harris
Speaking & Media: https://www.aleyaharris.com
The Evolution Collective Inc.: https://www.evolutioncollective.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleyaharris/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleyaharris/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thealeyaharris
Links Mentioned on this Podcast
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Aleya Harris [00:00:00]:
When was the last time you actually stepped out of your own story and into the story of someone else without expecting anything in return? Ha ha. That's the catch. You didn't see that coming, did you? We're talking today about the power of volunteering to not only shape your own story, help others ofs, but to shape cultures and workplaces and between human beings. To me, it's amazing that our society has become one where if I'm not getting something for it, I'm not giving it. And that is just unfortunate. But my guest today, Aaron Levinson, has something that he would like to do about it with his company. Be goodly, which takes basically all of the friction out of corporate volunteering.
Aleya Harris [00:00:53]:
All you got to do is get on the bus. Aaron is a former corporate executive turned first time entrepreneur with a heart to make a positive impact in the community. He also is a budding and accidental golf influencer. And we're going to talk about golf influencing volunteering and corporate culture all today on this episode of the Flourishing Entrepreneur podcast. All right, let's go.
Yuliya Patsay [00:01:26]:
Welcome to the Flourishing Entrepreneur podcast with Aleya Harris. If you're looking for actionable ways to stand out from the crowd by standing in your power, you've come to the right place. Each week, we help you and your fellow empire building entrepreneurs become radically authentic and tap into your unique story to attract your ideal clients. Listen in and learn how to use energy alignment techniques and tried and true marketing strategies to transform from a leader to a legend. And now, your host, powerhouse story, brand certified guide, award winning marketer, bioenergetic business coach, and japanese whiskey lover, Aleya Harris.
Aleya Harris [00:02:20]:
Erin, thank you so much for joining us here today on the flourishing Entrepreneur podcast. How you doing?
Aron Levinson [00:02:27]:
I'm wonderful. Thank you so much for having me. I'm really looking forward to our time together.
Aleya Harris [00:02:31]:
Well, and, you know, this is a continuation of time we've already spent together thanks to the power of LinkedIn, actually, we were able to get connected. We had a great conversation. And as you were maybe like five minutes into the conversation, I was like, oh, no, this guy needs to share his story and tell everybody about it on a broader scale. So I invited you onto the podcast. So I'm already jazzed about what we're going to talk about, and I think that everybody who's listening should be so, me too.
Aron Levinson [00:03:03]:
I'm ready to get going and thank you for that.
Aleya Harris [00:03:06]:
Absolutely. Before we dive in, why don't you give the folks a couple of sentences about who you are and what you do?
Aron Levinson [00:03:16]:
Sure. My name is Aaron Levinson, born and raised southern California. My background from a professional perspective is startups into managing and growing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of food companies, and along the way, joining some nonprofits along the way and being as helpful as I can from a personal perspective, husband, father. And that's probably the best part of my day.
Aleya Harris [00:03:39]:
I know mine just. I spent two weeks in Florida. I came back in the middle. First week, I was speaking at an edtech conference at Walt Disney World. I came back. Then I flew back out to Florida to run a workshop for the lutheran church. I was doing all kinds of things, and in all of it, I couldn't wait to get home to my daughter. So the first week, though, I didn't facetime her.
Aleya Harris [00:04:09]:
I was only out for a couple of days. And when I came back home, the attitude. I didn't realize that a 14 month year old child could have that sheer level of attitude. Like, she swiveled her neck and everything. And I have no idea where she got that attitude from. It obviously was not from me. But then the next week, I facetimed her and she came back, or I came back and she had her arms open. Mama, mama, mama.
Aleya Harris [00:04:36]:
I said, okay, this is what we need to do. So she doesn't give me all the sass, but I agree.
Aron Levinson [00:04:41]:
Yeah, the kids will definitely keep you in check and keep you balanced for sure.
Aleya Harris [00:04:45]:
I don't know about balance or imbalance, but she'll definitely keep me in check. So you mentioned all of these wonderful things, and I know we have some lovely stories to get into, but the first story I want you to tell is a thing you didn't mention, which I think is very cool. Talk to me about becoming an accidental golf influencer.
Aron Levinson [00:05:09]:
Oh, my goodness. I didn't think we were going to start with this, but I'm so glad you are. Two years ago, after I decided to quit my job and take some time off and what I'm calling a sabbatical, I took nine months off to really just get physically, mentally healthy, more present at home, and purposely took this time off to do that. While I was doing that, I decided to teach myself how to play golf. So I started watching some YouTube videos, went to the driving range. I had some used clubs from a coworker that I bought and just started to try to figure out this thing called golf. And it's one of the most difficult sports I've ever played in my life. I'm a baseball player.
Aron Levinson [00:05:48]:
I can hit a curveball at a right center field and for the baseball players out there, you know exactly what I'm talking about, going the other way. But for a golf ball, sitting there staring at you, it's just really intimidating and really challenging. And so taught myself how to play golf. And while I started to play golf, I created an Instagram account called Bogey Two Putt, and I named it bogey two putt because I realized that if I could bogey and two putt each hole, I'm going to have a really good time playing this game. And anything better is a total bonus. So I started, bogey two putt, just started capturing things on the golf course that I saw with my lens and my creativity, and it's really just taken off in terms of followers and engagement in this golf community. And I absolutely love it. It's a creative outlet for me, and I'm a storyteller in general, so why not do something around golf?
Aleya Harris [00:06:38]:
I really love that. But the best part about the story for me is that you just followed something that felt good. So many of us are like, well, yes, I'm going to go make money, and it's going to be hard and difficult, and I'm going to hate it, but at least I'll have money in the bank and food on my plate. But you're getting golf clubs and all kinds of swag and cool stuff by doing something that you love. And the more that you grow in this influencer capacity, I just can only see this guy's the limit. How did you know to follow that direction? Rather than just saying, I like it, I'm just going to ignore it.
Aron Levinson [00:07:22]:
It's a really good question. I didn't know to follow it. I think what I did was I just took some chances. I took some risks. I followed my heart, I followed my creative lens, and I just went for it. A friend of mine looked at my content the other day, and he says, you know, I can tell when you post, you're not answering to anybody. You're not trying to tell a certain story for somebody. You're just being genuine, you're being authentic, and you're putting it out there.
Aron Levinson [00:07:46]:
And he said to me, I can tell that you don't care if it gets one view or a million. And he's exactly right. I create because I want to create, and it feels good for me. I created a piece of content this morning that it's a story I've been wanting to tell, so I just simply told it. And so I just don't feel any pressure to perform, and I just get to be the creative that I want to be. But I do find it really interesting when brands called me an influencer, I think it's hilarious. And my high school daughter is a little embarrassed by it.
Aleya Harris [00:08:19]:
It's okay. She'd be embarrassed by basically anything that you did. At least it's embarrassed by something cool.
Aron Levinson [00:08:26]:
I appreciate that.
Aleya Harris [00:08:27]:
Thank you. In the grand spectrum of the things that you could do to embarrass her, this is not even up there.
Aron Levinson [00:08:33]:
Well, I figure if I just stop telling dad jokes and I just make really good Instagram content, that I'm going to be in a better place with her. So we'll see.
Aleya Harris [00:08:40]:
Teenage daughters are a tricky one, ma'am. But one of the things that you said that I really liked was that it didn't matter. You post something, whether it's going to get a million likes and views or one, and it was the piece that I like to harp on about radically authentic storytelling. So how do you know if a story is a good story?
Aron Levinson [00:09:06]:
I don't know and I don't care. I literally create these things because I like to, and it makes me feel good. And I love to share and I love to create engagement with this place called the golf community on Instagram. And it is a warm, friendly golf community where people are helping each other with their swings. They're asking where they played this weekend. How was the weather? How did you putt? It's actually like a support group for golfers of all levels, by the way. And I also love how the professionals come in and the other influencers come in, and there's really no judgment either. It's very light on judgment.
Aron Levinson [00:09:41]:
And so I know I just simply create stories that I want to create. And I'll tell you that the ideation and the creativity comes to me when I'm on bike rides to the beach, and I live a mile from the beach, and I get on my bike and I head to the beach. No phone, no headphones, no nothing. And really, I'm just simply ideating. And then I stop halfway through the ride, take some notes on my app, and then I ride back, take some more notes, and then I go film at the golf course and piece it all together.
Aleya Harris [00:10:09]:
So how do you know if a story is a story you want to tell?
Aron Levinson [00:10:15]:
That's a really interesting question. And I think for me, I get this really warm sense of joy, like, in my chest. And it just makes me a little giddy and a little childlike, and I tend to kind of laugh or giggle about it. I'm like, oh, that's a good one. You should totally do that. And then I always think, well, what if it doesn't resonate? And then really quickly, I don't care if it doesn't resonate, because I'm simply creating for myself and telling some stories. On the flip side, there are things that I've created that have gotten millions of views that I just still don't really understand why or how I think.
Aleya Harris [00:10:48]:
It's interesting, though, because when I talk to people and I teach them, whether it's about speaking or telling a story, I tell them to do what you do naturally, get into your body, you know, what a yes feels like and what a no feels like. And when something is a story that needs to be told, for whatever reason, it feels like it does. Like you were saying that feeling in your chest. And it's amazing to me how divorced we are from our natural guidance systems, our bodies, our emotions, and we get so caught up on, well, I follow the framework and the formula, and you can follow a formula as much as you want to, but that doesn't make a story interesting. It doesn't make a story worth telling. It doesn't make it that the world will get something out of it or not, right? For me, you're like, oh, I don't care if anybody gets anything out of it. But for me, if you have that feeling, that means that someone out there is getting something out of it. That's why you have the feeling, right.
Aron Levinson [00:11:52]:
I agree with you. And I think the other thing that isn't happening is I have confidence in myself. I have confidence in my storytelling ability. But I also don't worry, like I said earlier, about how it's perceived or how it's received. I just don't care. And I think that freedom just allows me to create for creative sake. And I think the other thing, there's no shame if something doesn't quote unquote, perform, because there's no expectations either. And I think that as brands have started to engage and want me to help tell their stories, I make it really clear to them that I'm going to tell the story utilizing your product or service in the most genuine way possible.
Aron Levinson [00:12:33]:
And if that is not okay with you or on brand, then we should not do this together.
Aleya Harris [00:12:38]:
I really love that standing in your integrity and standing in the integrity of your authenticity, because that's what got you here in the first place. They came to you because of how you were telling a story from that perspective. And if they want to change that, they're going to ruin your magic. So I'm glad you don't let people ruin your magic.
Aron Levinson [00:12:58]:
I agree with you. And the other thing that's happening, too, is I think my background in sales, marketing, operations, and doing all this turnaround business that I've done from startups to large food companies, I think I'm really banking on that experience to tell the story, but to also sell through a strategy, a content schedule. Right? So it is like, as an influencer, I'm definitely influencing them to partner with me, to allow me to tell a story. And so there's definitely influences happening all throughout the chain of command and the communication with these brands. And then when I'm not creating content around a brand, I'm creating content because I want to. And I think one of the biggest compliments I've received thus far, and this is still a very new space for me. I was sitting at an indoor golf place called Golf Shack, and a guy that follows me on Instagram sat down on the couch with me and he know I'm seeing a lot of content. I love what you're doing and all this different stuff.
Aron Levinson [00:13:54]:
And he mentioned a brand, and he said to me, what's the relationship there? And I said, there is no relationship there. And then he asked me about another one. I said, oh, but there's a relationship there. And he said to me, I would have never known that you were producing content for them because it's coming off as so authentic, and it is 100% authentic. I'm just simply using a brand to tell a story. It's not like, oh, I love this drink, or I love this bag with that fake smile. Exactly. And here's the other thing about my content.
Aron Levinson [00:14:25]:
I am not on camera. I am not the face of bogey Tuput. My lens, what I capture is the star of the show, and everybody else is vlogging. Everybody else has come play golf hole with me. Let me teach you how to chip better or putt better. And I decided that I wanted to do something completely different.
Aleya Harris [00:14:43]:
Well, you use your skills as a storyteller to really lean into a new way of being an influencer, a new way of approaching a space. And it's your skills as a storyteller that got you here and that also got you to doing what your other thing is, which is be goodly. Tell me the story and me, and then all of the listeners that are listening the story of be goodly.
Aron Levinson [00:15:11]:
The story of be goodly really started in the very beginning days of, like, about two years ago. Where I found myself in the middle of corporate life. I was on the road a lot. I was traveling a ton. I wasn't home much. And I really started to question how I was as a father, as a husband, and I just wasn't present enough at home because I was on the road so much. And so when that all came to a stop and I took the time off and took the sabbatical. Last year at this time, I found myself in Cuba.
Aron Levinson [00:15:41]:
And I've been going to Cuba for about a dozen years now to play baseball. Humanitarian efforts, all kinds of fun stuff. Donating gear, partnering with other brands to then donate gear. And while I was there, the beauty of Cuba for me is your phone doesn't work. I don't know how else to say it, but there's no social media. There's no television, there's no YouTube. There's no distractions. And your phone is nothing more than an alarm clock and a camera.
Aron Levinson [00:16:06]:
The days are very slow. You genuinely connect with other human beings. There is no digital touch. And the next thing you know, you're on the back of a motorcycle headed to a baseball field to coach some kids or to pick up some coffee, tomatoes, or bananas at a local farm. And the day just organically flows. And while I was there and donating my time on a baseball field with kids and the coaches, I was walking home from practice with all the other families in Siem Fuegos, Cuba. And I remember just thinking how happy I was. And I started wondering, why don't more people volunteer more? And at that moment, I realized that I was happiest when I'm helping other people.
Aron Levinson [00:16:46]:
That was my aha moment. And I think it's because of all the distractions were gone. I was focused on just giving back and being a part of the community, and I realized that I wanted to do more of that. So while I was there, I would sit in cafes and I would write a business plan. And what does this look like? So, long story short, what I did was I came home and I started talking to companies and employees and asking them about volunteering. Do you volunteer? What's your company culture? Do you do this as part of an off site? Do you have a budget for this? Who plans this stuff? And I heard all sorts of problems and kinks in the hose. I really heard, we want to do this, but we don't know how. We don't know where to go.
Aron Levinson [00:17:23]:
And we have a large group. I was like, all right, check. This is the sales guy in me, by the way. Identifying problems that I want to solve for. So then I go over and I start talking to nonprofits, community groups and the city and start asking about group volunteers. And I heard a few things over and over and over. It was, I don't have the staff to help plan, coordinate, or babysit a group of volunteers. And by the way, groups of volunteers sometimes come in here and make things worse.
Aron Levinson [00:17:52]:
I was like, okay, got it. So then I sat down with all the problems, and this is how I build strategy and execute strategy, and I decided to solve for all of it. And so be goodly is an all inclusive corporate volunteer field trip. And I'm calling them field trips because as a kid, everybody can think about a field trip they were on and smile. Brown bag at the aquarium, at the zoo, wherever you went, everybody has a good story.
Aleya Harris [00:18:18]:
Patch. Yes. As soon as you said it, I remember going to the pumpkin patch or the estuary trip because you could find little salamander things in the sand. But yes, took me back to childhood.
Aron Levinson [00:18:32]:
And the other thing I'll tell you about field trips is recently I was at San Diego State doing a guest lecture, and I was talking about be Goodley, and I asked all the students, and there were 65 students in there. I said, hey, just raise your hand and tell me a story about a field trip you went on as a kid. And the smiles, just the nonverbals and the smiles just illuminated the room. And they were talking about all the places they went. And one kid said to me, my favorite memory of my field trips in school was that there was no parental supervision and me and my friends could screw around as much as we wanted and like a warm turkey sandwich under the tree in the park or whatever it was. And so when I started realizing that I could create something that was as easy as just getting on the bus, I wanted to solve for the corporations that don't have to plan, they don't have to do anything other than just physically get on the bus. It's a hosted opportunity. We go, we volunteer.
Aron Levinson [00:19:21]:
We go have lunch at a local mom and pop restaurant on the way back to the office. We're capturing consumer employee insights and feedback and surveys and things like that. And I drop them off. It's really easy for them. And then for the nonprofit, they don't have to do anything because I come in ahead of time. I do a location scout. I plan the whole day, dot I's, crossed T's, and really try to make it easy for them as well. So I'm just trying to remove all of the muckiness and the kinks and the hose and this thing called corporate volunteering and just make it as easy as just getting on the bus.
Aron Levinson [00:19:54]:
And so far, so good.
Aleya Harris [00:19:55]:
So far, so good. And one of the things that you're also doing is you're connecting those new core memories as an adult, that adult field trip with the employee's employer. So the leader of the story is the employer, and all of a sudden, you're increasing employee retention, you're increasing employee satisfaction, all because this employer took the time to call you, and that's basically all they had to do. And you got to go and lead them on a field trip where they impacted the lives of others. They got to have a different experience, and they still got to have a little bit of fun outside of their daily lives. I think that that's amazing.
Aron Levinson [00:20:35]:
I appreciate that. And one thing that I'll share with you as well is a group that I took out, there were 18 of them, and they were from all over the United States, and they had never met before. So one thing that is happening is this return to office, hybrid model remote employees. How do you physically bring them back together post Covid and start bonding and creating team and trust and relationships and better communication? And the thing I naturally saw happen that day while they were pulling weeds and rolling compost out over an urban farm was they were genuinely getting to know each other. And one of the stories I heard, there were two young mothers whose babies were maybe seven or eight months old. The two of them had never met, and it was their first business trip away from their babies. And they bonded over that topic right there. And I just kind of listened to them talk and ask questions, how are you doing it? Who watches him or her? And how are you feeding and all this different stuff? And I'm like, man, I created an opportunity for these people to come together and build these real relationships.
Aron Levinson [00:21:36]:
And so that's the magic of what's happening. I can't plan that, by the way. All I can do is get them on the bus and get them there and create the situation. And I tell everybody I'm talking to that I create about 75% of the experience. The other 25% is organic and just going to happen, and it's really beautiful. The 25% is way more interesting than the planning and the blocking and tackling stuff.
Aleya Harris [00:21:57]:
Well, if you look at it this way and you kind of are writing the main storyline, but how all of the individual character stories interweave in and around that main storyline is part of the wonder of the experience. And then when they're weaving together their stories, you now have links that say these two women they've never met before, but maybe they're on a project later on down the road, that project goes smoother because their stories are now linked. And this is the beauty of using experiences like what you provide to build company culture people think, oh, it's so much work and energy and effort, and, oh, I know I'm the people and culture person, emphasis on the word culture, but I don't have the time. And you're taking away that excuse while letting that people and culture person shine, because now you're building a culture, one experience at a time. And I mean, imagine if this just became a regular part of what they did. And they had monthly or bimonthly or quarterly field trips with be goodly, where people had the opportunity to go out, experience something new, and bond. This is team bonding.
Aron Levinson [00:23:11]:
In addition to that, I'll just add a little bit is that it's really difficult to take a group of people out to volunteer, at least here in LA. And the stories I hear are, we have 15 people, we have 20, we have 130. And I always ask them, why are we talking right now? And they say to me, I've tried to do what you do on my own, and I can't find a place for us to go. And I said, I get it. And by the way, I did all of that curation of unique volunteer opportunities for groups before I launched the business because I wanted to make sure I had product right, a product or a service ready to go. And so when folks come to me and they say, hey, I got 15 people, I got 27 people, whatever the number is, I've got places to go within a 30 minutes drive of wherever we're picking them up. So if I'm picking you up in Long beach, or I'm picking you up in Marina del Rey or Venice beach or downtown LA, I got places for us to go. And I think it just takes the stress off to be able to provide solutions.
Aron Levinson [00:24:09]:
And I think that's really where I'm at, too. It's consultative, it's solution selling, if you want to call it that. But I'm really listening to their problems, and I'm really trying to make this as easy as possible for them.
Aleya Harris [00:24:19]:
So how do you see be goodly affecting cultural stories within these companies over the long run?
Aron Levinson [00:24:30]:
It's a really good question, and I don't know. I think that one thing I would like to start doing more of is follow up with the companies, with that head of HR, with the head of de I, the CEO, whoever plans this thing with me, and really follow up and see how long did the conversation, the energy, keep going right after that trip? And then what happened next? Because what I'm finding is that when folks are out volunteering with me, I hear them say, I wonder if I could bring my family here on a weekend, or could I bring my son or daughter to volunteer on the farm? Do they allow that? And really what I want is I want more people volunteering more often. So I love hearing they're trying to think about how to do this in their personal time. But I do. I need to follow up and figure out, is it a part of that regular cadence, like you just said? Is it quarterly, biannually, whatever. And I think the other thing too, that we can't be remiss about is budget. Right? This does cost money. There are some really hard costs.
Aron Levinson [00:25:29]:
And I'll tell you, just buses alone aren't cheap. They're not. So it's all of those things. And I need to figure out. And I think the other thing I've been thinking about too, Aleya, is how do I partner with a technology company in the HR space or CSR space, right? There are companies out there that have apps and employee platforms and all sorts of stuff. I'm doing the physical in community work, but they're definitely tracking volunteer hours and sentiment and all that other stuff using apps and technology. Maybe I need to partner with one of them.
Aleya Harris [00:26:02]:
Well, if anybody is listening and is in that space, be sure to look at the show notes for Anne's contact information and send him an email. I have a question. We're talking about storytelling and volunteerism, and we mentioned the individual. How do you think volunteering impacts the story that an individual tells about their own lives?
Aron Levinson [00:26:25]:
Oh my goodness. That is a really solid, loaded question. And the pure joy that comes from giving back could be for an hour, could be for 5 hours, when you go and volunteer and give back and keep your phone in your pocket and genuinely connect with people and be of service to somebody else while you're doing it. It can be a little rough in the beginning because you're somewhere new and there's a new process and you're learning something all of a sudden, whether it's how to cook or how to pack something or how to plant a tree or whatever it might be, but going through that process and then on the car ride home, that euphoric just, wow, what a day. It's contagious and really influential as well when you tell those stories. Because when somebody would say to me, hey, what did you do yesterday? I was like, oh, I went to such and such nonprofit, and I gave them 9 hours of my time, and I'd never been so sweaty in my life. And by the way, I cooked 400 pounds of tilapia, and I've never cooked tilapia for meals for people that can't leave their homes. And their response is usually, God, I need to get out there and do that.
Aron Levinson [00:27:36]:
And I usually respond now with, I'll send you three ideas tomorrow, whether it's for the weekend or Wednesday afternoon or whatever. I just think that that joy needs to be captured and the happiness of serving somebody else. It needs to be captured. It needs to be told. And I don't know if it's an Instagram thing, a TikTok thing, a YouTube.
Aleya Harris [00:27:54]:
Short thing tells me you have a new influencer idea brewing here. Because if you think about it, people think of volunteering as like, I got to go do a thing before they do it. Then afterwards, they feel like what you're feeling, because people aren't telling the story of the joy on the front end, right. To get them more enticed to do it. So I'm just saying, if you do start that account, I'll send you my paypal for any.
Aron Levinson [00:28:20]:
It. I love it. It's really interesting because that joy that comes out of it. The thing is, though, is like, going into volunteering, it's a little stressful. And I'll share with you a quick story is I volunteered on skid row to make meals, produce meals, and deliver meals to the unhoused men, women, children, everybody. And I remember asking the question, so where do I park? This was in downtown LA. And the woman said to me, she's like, listen, I coordinate all these volunteer opportunities, but there's no parking here. I'm sorry.
Aron Levinson [00:28:52]:
And I said, oh, well, I'm coming from the south bay. Where should I park? And she goes, you need to park at Joe's, a one auto parking downtown la. Pay the $8 for the day, and then you need to uber six blocks to our office because it's not safe to walk. I was like, oh, okay. So did all that. Got to the front door, went through security, and had an amazing day of volunteering. But now I leave, and I don't really know how to get back to my car. And I'm in the middle of skid row, where I was told not to walk because it's not safe.
Aron Levinson [00:29:25]:
A lot of stress, a lot of anxiety, a lot of fear. Obviously got through it and I was fine. But I think that I'm trying to eliminate all of that stuff and just drop people off right in the front door so they don't have to stress because I was a little nervous the night before on where I was going to park and how I was going to get there.
Aleya Harris [00:29:42]:
And those are real concerns. You're not trying to sacrifice your own personal well being to help other people. That should not be what volunteerism is about. And that's one of the, I'm sure, many reasons why people don't do it. Erin, it's been a wonderful conversation. I have one last question for you. When you are back up into that pearly wink in the sky, what do you want people to remember most about the story you are telling with your life?
Aron Levinson [00:30:17]:
That my focus is really on the health and happiness of my family. I think for so many years, doing the corporate grind, that's what it was. It was a grind to support my family, to make money, to get a home, to do all this stuff. And all of that stuff is now there and in place. And I think right now, my takeaway from all of this is to genuinely connect with people, be authentic, practice what you preach, don't over promise and under deliver, and really just make some genuine friendships out there and see where things go and be comfortable with where the universe takes you, because you never know.
Aleya Harris [00:30:59]:
That is wonderful. It's been amazing.
Aron Levinson [00:31:04]:
Speaking with you here.
Aleya Harris [00:31:06]:
On the flourishing entrepreneur podcast. Tell the people where they can find you when they want to connect with you and volunteer or watch content about golf.
Aron Levinson [00:31:15]:
You can go to begoodly.com, the letter bgoodly.com. You can find my contact information there, or you can find me on Instagram at bogey two putt. Bogey the number two putt. P-U-T-T. Amazing.
Aleya Harris [00:31:29]:
Thank you so much for joining us here today, Aaron. It's been awesome.
Aron Levinson [00:31:33]:
Thank you so much for having me. I loved it.
Aleya Harris [00:31:37]:
I love thinking about how the stories we have and weave together with other people can have such amazing impact, not only on our own lives, but the lives of the people and the organizations that we surround ourselves with. The next time you're thinking about something to do for a corporate event or for a team bonding experience, I would encourage you to maybe not call the escape room or not just go to another dinner, but think about how volunteering could have far reaching impact into the life of you, your people, your culture, and those you are serving. Until next time. My name is Aleya Harris. This is the flourishing entrepreneur podcast, and I'm sending you lots and lots and lots. I mean, oodles of love, light, and abundance. Bye for now.
Yuliya Patsay [00:32:35]:
Thank you for listening to this episode of the Flourishing Entrepreneur podcast with Aleya Harris. Vibing with what you hear, leave a five star review to spread the love, and be sure to click subscribe. We wish you love, light, and abundance. See you next time.
Aleya Harris [00:32:55]:
That's the dance.
