Courageous Conversations: Meet Alex Radelich

**Update: Congratulations to Janet B. for winning an ARK tshirt and KIND bars! Erik A. and Karen E. will receive our RAK wristband. Please email your address to receive your goodies!

I started this interview series because it was important to me to share what I know in my heart to be true: courage is not the opposite of fear. Courage is when we keep going, even when fear is present. It’s about showing up and letting our authentic selves be truly seen. Then, and only then, can we experience joy, love and all the other good stuff!

I am blessed to know so many wonderfully courageous people who spend their days doing amazing things. To me, it’s inspiring to know what they experience around their own courage and authenticity, and I hope that you will find something in their words to connect with that inspires you as well!

Today, meet Alex!

Alex has a huge heart. In 2012, while attending Purdue University, his life took a serendipitous turn. Alex stood toe to toe with fear and took a leap of faith that would change his life completely when he founded ARK Project Now (ARK stands for Acts of Random Kindness).

Today, Alex is traveling around the country in an RV promoting one simple idea that he believes has the power to change the world: Kindness is love in action. With a few friends, Alex's goal is to inspire an epidemic of kindness with the motto "Just do one"--just one simple act that leads to a ripple effect of kindness that spreads throughout the community.

Acts of kindness are close to my heart. In 2013, I started Random Act of Kindness Wednesdays with the same belief as Alex--that each of us, individually, has the power to change the world with one act of kindness at a time. It is an honor to know Alex and share his story!

To celebrate the beginning of the Courageous Conversations interview series, we'll be giving away one of Alex's ARK Project Now t-shirts and some KIND bars to one lucky winner! In addition, a few other lucky folks will receive our RAK Wednesday mindfulness wristbands as well! To be eligible for the drawing, comment below with your story of random kindness--something you've done, something someone has done for you, or an idea you'd love to try. For an extra entry, share this link on Facebook or Twitter, and inspire others while Alex inspires all of us...  

1. Courage is...being yourself and following your heart. Courage comes in a package, though--it's wrapped in devotion, sweat, optimism, all while staring your fears dead in the eyes. Courage is making the hard decisions when it seems like an impossibility at the time. Courage is telling your father, a Cornell Graduate, that you're quitting college. 

2. How does your work reflect your courage and authentic self? 

I used to be afraid to create. I struggled with this for many years; I'd have great ideas for videos or a series, but I wouldn't put any effort in actually creating it. When I had my "aha" moment in December of 2012, my passion overshadowed my fear, and I gained the necessary courage to put myself out there and be vulnerable. If you watch some of the videos we've created, you can get a bit of my authenticity when it comes to creating. 

I believe your work and effort reflect your courage in yourself. If you truly believe you can make the impossible possible, you'll find a way. YOU are usually the first and last thing standing in the way of accomplishing your dreams. You doubt, you let fear get to you, you put in minimal effort, and you call it quits. Therefore, if you have true unadulterated courage, your work will authenticate your courage. 

3. What's your biggest challenge when it comes to standing in your authenticity? 

I have two answers for this. My first biggest challenge when it comes to standing in authenticity is trying to be authentic. The idea I've adopted and dedicated the organization to is very much unoriginal ("Pay It Forward"). When I first started it as a project, I was constantly asked, “Doesn't it bug you that it's not an original idea?” And truthfully, no, it doesn't. I didn't start the Project (now a full 501(c)3 nonprofit) to claim originality or an authentic innovative idea. I started it to help people, to help strangers, to create happiness, and to feed my passion for helping people. 

My second biggest challenge when it comes to standing in authenticity is being vulnerable. Nobody likes being vulnerable. But if I have to practice what I preach, then I have to step out of my comfort zone. So I practice it daily. You truly learn a lot of new things when you finally decide to leave your comfort zone. An example for me would be live interviews for television--never thought I'd have to/want to do that. On some articles we've been featured in, there have been negative people leaving terrible comments, and it took me a little while to shake it off and realize those are the exact people I want to affect. The “Nay-sayers,” the one's who don't realize the power in Acts of Random Kindness.  

4. How do you maintain your courage practice when it can, at times, be a struggle?

I maintain my courage by staying positive (one of the most important things to be) and finding inspiration and motivation throughout my day. The internet is a powerful tool. If I'm having an off/difficult day, I'll hop on YouTube and search “Suli Breaks” or “Eric Thomas” and find a video that fits my situation, and redefine my problems.  

Redefining my problems is critical when I have to accomplish something. Most of the time I have the problem with letting current problems seem like they're this colossal force that I can never overcome. It's stupid to just let your problems seem bigger then they actually are. So I redefine them; what are the steps I need to take in order to get past this? Is there something I could have done earlier to help? I create a task list of what needs to get done so it is no longer a problem.

5. What has been your greatest "a-ha" moment on your wholehearted journey? 

The greatest “a-ha” moment of my journey was probably in December 2012. “Alex what happened in December of 2012?” Oooh, solid question. In December of 2012, I finished my last exam for my very first semester at Purdue University, and I was chilling out on my dorm room couch waiting for my parents to pick me up. On that day, I was watching the absolute cheesiest movie to be inspired by, Evan Almighty. Morgan Freeman is playing God, and he answers the question, “How do we change the world?” with “With one Act of Random Kindness at a time.” And he draws “ARK” on the ground. Now I know that sounds lame, but at that moment in my life, the movie/line took hold of my heart. I can change the world. I can be the change I want to see.

Since then some incredible things have happened.  I took the next semester to decide (what every college student goes through) "is this really what I want, am I in this for the right reason?" The answer to both those questions was "no." So, after dropping out after my first year, came the scary parts. What's next for me? Can I really run The ARK? This, on top of all the negativity that comes to you when you don't have a college degree. This was the point I found my motivation. People like Suli Breaks and ET taught me that it's not about a college degree. Right now we're about halfway through this incredible road trip, and I'm still struggling to believe that we actually get the opportunity to do this--to inspire an epidemic of kindness. The people we've met along the way are truly inspiring, and the opportunities that are being presented are far beyond what I've ever dreamed.

And, now, some fun ones:

6. What is a favorite song when you feel like dancing? 
Gosh.... I'm a sucker for “Teach me how to Dougie”. I don't know why. It might be because that's the first song I learned the dance to, and I would do it at parties with confidence. Gosh that's such a terrible answer.... 

7. What is a movie you could watch over and over again? 
I LOOOOOOVE Limitless. The cinematography in the movie is genius! It's an easy watch and has great pace. Apart from that, Bradley Cooper. 'Nuff said. If I had two movie choices, I'd say Remember The Titans, 'cause yet again, 'nuff said. 

 8. Where is a place you would like to travel to, but haven't yet? 
If I answered this 5 minutes ago, I'd have said California. But we just crossed the border into Cali! So, I'm going to go with Croatia. My grandfather is from there, and my siblings got to go a couple years ago, but I had something come up. It's beautiful there. 

9. What's on your nightstand? 
I'm kind of a messy person, so A LOT. Mostly the usual stuff: Bible, alarm clock, lights, camera, laptop, phone, chapstick, etc. Sometimes food. 

As for what I'm currently reading (which isn't on my nightstand), it is an astounding book called Love Does by Bob Goff. I have to put a pin in it for now, but I'll most definitely pick up where I dropped it off. I also just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, which is where I fell in love with the word "epidemic."

10. What do you wish you could go back and tell your younger self? 
Dream bigger. I was lucky enough to be surrounded by people that helped me dream bigger than what I thought was possible. When I would think that what I was thinking wasn't possible, they'd have me dream bigger (aka “more impossible”), and we've accomplished it. For heaven's sake, we're on a 6,000-mile road trip in an RV spreading kindness!

Thank you to Alex for this amazing and inspiring interview! If you'd like to learn more about Alex's story, support ARK Project Now, or buy a t-shirt, you can visit their website at arkprojectnow.com. I'll update this post on Friday with the names of the drawing winners!

You can also connect with Alex and the Project on Facebook, Twitter (@ARKprojectnow) and Instagram. I love Alex's idea for the 6,000 Acts of Kindness pledge--you can sign up for it here!