Shari Arison

Sustainability is the key to our survival on this planet and will also determine success on all levels.

Even a smile is a good deed.

Each one of us can do a good deed, every day and everywhere. In hospitals in desperate need of volunteers, in homes for the elderly where our parents and grandparents are longing for a smile, a listening ear, in the street, in our workplaces and especially at home.

Good Deeds Day is based on a simple idea that every person can do a good deed for the benefit of others and the planet. Even a smile that brightens someone else's day is a good deed. I initiated Good Deeds Day to spread the message that everyone can give of themselves, according to their heart's desire.

I believe we all want the same thing - it doesn't matter who you are or where you're living. We all want to be healthy, happy, to live in peace and prosper. That's what I connect to.

I have always wanted to be a catalyst for bringing about positive change, inspiring others to choose goodness.

Putting forward your positive energy connects you back to basic human values which we all share. Good Deeds Day shows that no matter the size of the gesture, a smile that brightens someone else's day or volunteering in your community, we can all take active part in making a difference.

I have recently been able to see the new world - the quiet, the tranquility and the freedom it will bring with it. This is very comforting knowledge for me because I already know that what I envision eventually becomes a reality.

The good inside of all of us is wrapped in a layer of apathy, and we forget how much potential we have within us, in each and every one of us, to change the world for the better for ourselves and our children, and thus to bring about oneness.

Doing good holds the power to transform us on the inside, and then ripple out in ever-expanding circles that positively impact the world at large.

Doing Good is a simple and universal vision. A vision to which each and every one of us can connect and contribute to its realisation. A vision based on the belief that by doing good deeds, positive thinking and affirmative choice of words, feelings and actions, we can enhance goodness in the world.

Many of us are experiencing a phase of change, shedding outdated patterns and liberating ourselves from the old by moving on to the new. The year 2012 is an important one for mankind, a pivotal year. The potential for this exists in the mere fact that the majority of us are yearning for change.

Doing good business - being ethical, being transparent, being caring, implementing values in your business - makes a difference, and you make money at the same time.

It's important to think good, speak good, and do good. If we want to see positive change in the world, then we need to connect to goodness. I try in everything I do, both in business and philanthropy, to make a positive change and do that by doing good.