Small Heroic Gestures

Mark Bezos dedicates his life to fighting poverty and fires, as the head of the Robin Hood Foundation in New York City and the captain of a volunteer fire-fighting squad. In this speech, Mark Bezos encourages the audience to seize any and every opportunity in life to give back and help someone, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant the gesture.

He shares the story from the first time he ever volunteered at the scene of a house fire where he retrieved a pair of shoes for a woman from her burning home. While this gesture may strike someone as not that heroic or grand, Mark Bezos explains how the woman's reaction of enormous appreciation made him realize how important even the smallest of kind acts can make a difference in someone's life. Mark Bezos encourages his audience to dismiss the notion of only being able to make a difference with thousands of dollars or a lifetime of volunteering, and to challenge themselves to make a small difference every day.