Harry Luk
Bio
Participation4
I strive to make the biggest positive difference I can in our world, pushing the limits to help as many people as possible. I believe the low-hanging fruit to transforming the world rapidly is to redirect the existing large sums of donations from ineffective (sometimes even harmful) charities to implement high-impact and evidence-based interventions backed by rigorous research and science. My mission is to deploy my career capital to help co-found or scale up numerous effective charities to do the most good with limited resources.
Posts 7
Comments26
Topic contributions1
Here is the Boxing Day Giving update for those wondering: 507 nets to protect 913 people (https://www.againstmalaria.com/MyNets.aspx?DonationID=1187309).
We thought we had cleared our "tithing debt" to Jesus last time, but there were some filters in the spreadsheet that were overlooked.
All is good; hopefully, the year 2023 is settled after this :)
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!
Thank you for your comment.
I definitely agree that everyone, every family, has their own journey.
As I mentioned above:
Another example is how God sent an angel in the form of a financial planner out of nowhere. She volunteered numerous hours to help us navigate our transition from dual to single income because she knew of our desire to continue tithing despite our involvement in a nonprofit startup.
She has spent so many hours with us and continues to help (in fact, we have a call with her tonight).
Our financial picture and budget have been completely revamped to make this work.
There are things we have had to cut back on significantly. There are many things we would have said 'yes' to before that are now 'no' or 'maybe.'
But, in the end, the magic number isn't 10%.
What's more important is the shift in mindset.
The heart.
The change from the norm in our consumer culture of spending every last dollar made on ourselves to giving instead, even if it's just 1% or 0.5%.
Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.
- Vincent Van Gogh
Yes, it's definitely a delicate balance.
Back in July, I had the pleasure of meeting a passionate, upright, and caring role model of mine, Dr. Jim Burns, at a week-long family Christian summer conference (CBCC).
I asked him about his journey as a nonprofit entrepreneur, and one of the insights I journaled after our conversation was the importance of regularly asking Jesus to check our motives, motivations, and ego.
Since then, I have saved this prayer in my YouVersion app and have prayed it regularly because my ultimate desire and approval come from Jesus and nobody else. At the end of the day, I want to be called a 'good and faithful servant' when I see Him:
God, I ask for protection over my mind & heart. I want to be willing to let go of things that are not Your will for me so that I can make room for things that You do have prepared for me. Guard me from any thoughts, relationships or beliefs that are not from You. In Jesus' name, Amen.
All this is to say, I've shared this particular story about our family publicly.
In the future, I'm unsure if we will do so again.
If we are called to, and if, after checking our motivations through prayer, it seems okay, we might.
Sorry if that's a much more faith-based answer than what you were looking for.
Happy to share!
I graduated with an engineering degree at a time when digital marketing was just beginning to emerge. Recognizing its potential, I eagerly embarked on various business ventures in this new field. This path was not without its challenges, and I faced several failures in the initial years.
However, by the grace of God, I was able to establish a marketing company, which I led for 7.5 years.
Then, with a desire to prioritize my family, my wife and children, I transitioned to more stable roles, serving as a marketing manager in two different full-time positions for 6.5 years.
That's where the fortuitous layoff happened, that led to me to the EA community :)
I agree 100%. This is absolutely not for everybody.
In light of this comment, I want to reiterate the Final Thoughts section:
If you use the “go all out” strategy, your body might take a toll. This extreme strategy is not for everybody, and you have to listen to your body.
I felt under the weather after I flew back home, when all the adrenaline was gone.
I’ve taken a complete day off to recover, and am still coughing a bit as I’m typing this up.
Burnout is something I actively talk to my team about, and I'm also the person that keeps saying to slow down, take a break, leave work behind and enjoy your time-off.
In fact, I was just nagging my co-founder of this morning, about the importance of resting up and having downtime. There is simply too much to do, and it's important for all of us to take care of our mind and body so that we can jog/run at a sustainable pace, not overdoing it.
Thank you!
Yes, all valid points :)
Regarding point (1), yes, I would also try fit more pre-conference bookings on Friday, and leave more open slots for Saturday and Sunday for spontaneous or recommended reach-outs meetings during the conference.
For point (2) and (3), you are more of an extrovert than me. Meeting and talking to random people (unscheduled appointments) at the conference wasn't easy for me. Always learning, maybe this is an area of improvement for me
You are welcome!
"There's no better time than now" (seems like lots of people were credited with this quote, not sure who was the original)
EAGxVirtual 2023 is coming up in 10 days and I just got the "Get ready for EAGxVirtual" email 8 hours ago :)
The requirements and deadline to apply are as follows:
We welcome all who have a genuine interest in learning more or connecting, including those who are new to effective altruism. Admissions will not be based on prior EA engagement or EA background knowledge.
EAGxVirtual is free. The deadline for applications is 11:59 pm UTC on Thursday, 16 November.
Caveat: it will be a little different than the in person conference because "Admissions will not be based on prior EA engagement or EA background knowledge."
Regardless, I'm interested in seeing just how different it is (though I can only attend a couple days because of prior commitments that weekend).
Hope to connect with more of you all around the world :)
Thank you for your comment.
My beliefs are rooted in Christianity.
To be honest, I have not contemplated the possibility of digital humans and what that means.
I would have to talk to a lot more people, do a lot more research, and a lot more praying to even attempt to come up with an answer.
As of the current moment, the initiative is to protect biological humans born into this world from a human womb. What the future holds, I do not know.
I do apologize if my answer is basically "I don't know."