The Million Cat Challenge

Two weeks ago I was in Los Angeles taking the Billions' Institute's Skid Row School for Large-scale Change. It was a 3-day extravaganza, bringing together 30+ leaders representing about 20 organizations including the Sandy Hook Promise, the Carnegie Foundation, Big Picture Learning, and others.

Our faculty presented several frameworks that helped us to understand how change takes place and identify those methods for scaling and spreading best suited for our projects. I, for example, want to help leaders start 100+ Grand Challenges by December 31, 2018. I learned that the best way for me to plan that is through a scaling process which works through exponential growth in fives: 5 this year. 25 next year. 125 the year after that. I already have five and will soon begin planning how I scale to 25 in the year ahead.

While in the school I made friends with Kate Hurley, an amazing veterinarian who founded and co-directs the Million Cat Challenge, saving the lives of 1,000,000 cats in North America over five years. Kate started out working at a shelter where she was confronted with the needless deaths of cats, due simply to colds. When cats get respiratory infections, even minor ones, most shelters are not able to treat them and euthanize them instead. Kate made an inner commitment to put her life on a trajectory that would change that forever. This included getting the first ever residency in shelter medicine as part of her veterinary degree.

Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life's deepest joy: true fulfillment.

- Tony Robbins

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