045 – Ending World Hunger with Humanitarian of the Year George Roundy

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Patrick is off on a trip to meet with logo designer Lindon Leader. The same designer that created the classic FedEx logo. In his place, I have the next best thing his childhood friend George Roundy who is here to talk about his career in technology, his struggles with weight and self-esteem, and how he got involved with The Hunger Project.

George is an entrepreneur and the recipient of the 2008 Humanitarian of the Year Award. He was an early adopter when it came to learning about and embracing technology. He even used his skills to become actively involved with The Hunger Project. The Hunger Project not only hopes to have world hunger eradicated by 2030, it gave George a higher purpose and even led to him meeting his future wife. Learn about this great man and his challenges and triumphs in this episode.

Topics Discussed Today
[01:56] Patrick is traveling this week, so one of his best friends is sitting in for him.
[02:04] George Roundy is one of our childhood friends. Michael old friends and family call him Mickey.
[02:30] Michael was the towheaded kid across the street.
[03:10] When George was a kid his family moved from Wisconsin to Arizona because of his dad’s health. George was traumatized by the move.
[05:29] When George moved to Benson, AZ his nickname was Goofy. He was overweight and with his last name he felt cursed.
[08:12] When George was 15 he lost a ton of weight. He lost 60 pounds in 6 weeks. The basketball coach told him to lose 50 pounds. He ran seven miles a day and ate one meal a day.
[10:06] He went to Scottsdale Junior College and Patrick went there to.
[11:27] George got a degree in computer systems in 1976.
[13:18] George became a dad when he was 21 and then he got divorced and became a single dad.
[14:06] The Hunger Project. George first found out about The Hunger Project in 1980.
[14:35] He received an invitation to join which meant filling out a card and declaring a goal to end hunger all over the world.
[14:55] How filling out a card could alter someone’s entire life. This was really impactful for George and he wan’t to contribute and make a difference in the world.
[16:23] He became The hunger Project community leader for the Phoenix area.
[16:58] They had the run to end hunger. George also ran a marathon. He hit the wall at mile 13. He finished in 4 hours and 59 minutes.
[19:06] As a working single dad, George wasn’t sure if he could sustain all of the things he had going on.
[19:34] He interned for two weeks in San Francisco for the hunger Project to work on their computer systems.
[20:22] He let his son stay in Phoenix with his son’s mom.
[20:48] He moved to San Francisco in 1982, and it helped him develop as a leader.
[23:27] The common belief was if we could end hunger we would’ve done it by now.
[24:17] 1990 the UN Summit for children. Every leader came together and made a commitment to take on the well-being of every child on the planet.
[24:48] They began working in Third World countries like India.
[26:07] George shares the story of how he met his wife.
[28:36] Georges had challenges with his weight off and on his entire life.
[29:36] Addictions come from a feeling of lack or a feeling that something is missing.
[31:35] Temporarily numbing pain with addictions.
[32:13] When George was 50 years old he realized that he was overweight and obese. It was his sentinel goal to release 150 pounds and to raise $150,000 for The Hunger Project.
[36:07] How The Hunger Project develops a partnership with people who are actually living in hunger. They are the ones that do a lot of the work.
[36:50] Various cultures have different challenges that prevent them from being sustainable.
[38:30] How child mortality in India was directly related to the way that women were treated.
[39:35] They created a women’s leadership training program to improve quality of life.
[41:28] George shared their methodologies with local groups to help end or lower the amount of homelessness.
[42:59] George organized a fundraiser that was a rim to rim hike across the Grand Canyon.
[43:16] Michael shares how his Grand Canyon hiking experience wasn’t a good experience.
[45:42] George shares how hiking the Grand Canyon was such a powerful event for everyone involved.
[47:53] In 2015, George was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his throat. This actually altered his life in a positive way.
[51:00] This connected him with the depth of his commitment for what life is really about.
[52:26] He made a point to refer all of his treatments in a positive way. He had trouble talking and eating. He also looked at what he had held onto that may have triggered the cancer, so he released his negative emotions.
[54:59] This cancer has an excellent prognosis, but the treatment is miserable.
[58:24] We are on the precipice of one of humanity’s greatest accomplishments and that is ending hunger.
[01:00:06] The year 2030 is targeted as the year that hunger is eradicated.
[01:01:29] George and his sons are planning another fundraiser hike. He wants it to be annual it’s going to be called The Climb.
[01:03:46] The impact of taking on a goal that is something bigger than yourself.
[01:07:23] The importance of never losing sight of your vision.

Links and Resources:
Uncle Michael @TheHollowTube on Twitter
Uncle Michael @TheHollowTube on Instagram
Michael Bays on Facebook
The Hollow Tube Facebook Page
Hidden Figures
John Denver
Werner Erhard
The Hunger Project
Landmark Education
Buckminster Fuller
George Roundy
2008 Humanitarian Award Winner
George Roundy on Facebook
Eckhart Tolle
Keith Richards
Gabor Mate
Grand Canyon
Federico García Lorca
Humphrey’s Peak
Basil Braveheart
Lindon Leader

Quotes:
“There is a connection between my lifetime challenge with obesity and my passion to end hunger on the planet.” George Roundy
“Realizing that I can make a difference in ending world hunger really made me think about my purpose in life.” George Roundy
“There is plenty of food to feed everyone even today.” Dr. Michael Bays

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