#25 – Scott Harrison: transformation, finding meaning, and taking on the global water crisis

In this episode, Scott Harrison, founder of charity: water, discusses his radical personal transformation from club promoter with substance abuse problems to a humanitarian, successful CEO, and one of the happiest people Peter knows.

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We discuss:

• How Scott and Peter met [3:45];
• Scott’s tragic family story that shaped his life and altered his trajectory [8:00];
• High school years, rebellion, and music [30:30];
• Life as a club promoter, drug use, soul-searching, and a change of heart [41:30];
• Mercy Ships [1:15:00];
• The amazing transformations of Mercy Ships and the parallels to his own transformation [1:28:00];
• Leveraging the art of storytelling to raise money and awareness while fighting temptations to fall into his previous life [1:33:30];
• Discovering the water crisis that led to charity: water [1:46:45];
• How the lack of trust in nonprofits can cripple charities [1:54:00];
• The four pillars of charity: water that helped it overcome the stigma of nonprofits and become successful [2:01:00];
• Where to learn more about Scott’s work and charity: water [2:12:30];
• Scott’s book recommendations [2:14:30]; and
• More.

Scott Harrison

Scott Harrison is the founder and CEO of charity: water, a non-profit that has mobilized over one million donors around the world to fund over 29,000 water projects in 26 countries that will serve more than 8.4 million people. Harrison has been recognized on Fortune’s 40 under 40 list, Forbes’ Impact 30 list, and was ranked #10 in Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business. He is currently a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and lives in New York City with his wife and two children. [charitywater.org]

Scott on Instagram: @scottharrison

Scott on Facebook: ScottHarrisonCharityWater

Scott on Twitter: @scottharrison

Scott on Wikipedia: Scott Harrison