Daniel Gold

"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self-interest. We address ourselves not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities, but of their advantages." - Adam Smith

Selfishly, I'm raising money to run the Rotterdam Marathon. But self interest can and does benefit all of society. And what better cause to selfishly raise money for than something that scares the s@!# out of you and me both.

Cancer is something that has touched all of our lives. As many as 1 in 2 people in the Netherlands will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes. Those are very bad odds. Yet, because of selfish donations like yours, the odds of diagnosing cancer early and beating cancer are increasing every year, with new breakthroughs published constantly. And if you wonder as a non-Dutchie what the Dutch cancer society has to do with you, remember the Dutch invented the stock market and speed cameras. 

All this to say, wouldn't it feel good to cure cancer? Wouldn't you feel so very proud if your 10 or 100 or 500 or 1,000,000 euro donation was the one that saved humanity, namely you and me, from having to worry about this horrible disease? And even if it wasn't, wouldn't you be selfishly a little proud of me if I qualified for Boston?