What if kindness went viral?
I know sounds naïve but imagine what would happen if all of us were focused on doing something kind for someone else every day. Tony D. Sampson author and academic who studies culture and media defines viral phenomena as spreadable accumulations of events, objects, and affects that are overall content built up by popular discourses surrounding network culture.
In Adam Grant's book "Give and Take," he exemplifies how strategic generosity can build networks, create goodwill, and ultimately benefit both the giver and receiver when he highlighted Adam Rifkin, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur. Adam popularized the concept of the “five minute” favor” as a powerful network and relationship-building philosophy.
The principle is simple: "You should be willing to do something that will take 5 minutes or less for anybody."
Grant demonstrates that giving isn't just the nice thing to do, it's often the most effective long-term strategy for building influence, creating innovation, and achieving sustainable success. The book challenges the assumption that nice guys finish last, showing instead that the most generous people often finish first, while also revealing how to give without being taken advantage of.
So what if we gave a bit of kindness every day? An introduction, a compliment, a helping had, not because we want something for ourselves but because we want to be part of making the world a better place?
Naïve? Maybe.
But it might be worth the risk.
