Pay it forward - Perhaps you have used this expression too? We have and we love the concept it stands for.

Before we talk about why it resonates so strongly with us, let’s give credit to the creative source of this phrase. There may well be others but my earliest and most resonant reference is from a movie with the same name, where a kid who had been inspired by a school assignment comes up with the idea that instead of returning a favour, he would pay it forward by doing good deeds and carrying out acts of kindness for others and in so doing he creates a movement!

We can also introduce a little romance here with a quote I found from Lily Hardy Hammond, from her novel ‘The Garden of Delight’, where she wrote: “You don't pay love back; you pay it forward. This is as far as we go on the romantic front with the Pay It Forward concept!

To us at Defy Expectations, we choose to Pay It Forward because we are driven by the desire to use our extensive experiences to help others get to where they want to be faster than they could do it themselves, by saving them from making mistakes that cost time and effort. 

We have a lot of these real-world experiences to share and for that reason, we chose to create an event to enable us to do this. Choosing to pay forward our time is a good thing to do, but we recognise that it matters that the time we give must also generate mutual value. That’s why we bring our latest thinking to these sessions, to use the forum to focus on topical, high-impact subjects that stimulate bigger thinking, encourage the sharing of ideas, and create accountability for action from key learnings.

Our recent Pay It Forward event was an inspiring and rewarding investment time for all involved, which generated all of the above, along with the creation of new and trusted relationships and friends of Defy Expectations, who all go forward taking with them a little slice of the Pay It Forward movement!