Lose your cool, find your passion

By Gracie Bonds Staples

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

We first heard of Zach Hunter two years ago when he founded Loose Change to Loosen Chains.

He was a 15-year-old modern day abolitionist determined to help end human trafficking, the use of child soldiers, debt bondage and sexual and labor exploitation -- one penny, nickel and dime at a time.

Today the 17-year-old is a senior at Heritage Academy in Buford and author of his third book, Lose Your Cool: Discovering a Passion that Changes You and the World, now in bookstores.

We caught up with Hunter recently as he headed to Norway to talk to teens about his own passion- human trafficking.

Q: Tell me about your new book, Lose Your Cool.

A: As the subtitle suggests, Lose Your Cool is about discovering a passion that changes you and the world. I tell stories of people who were and are incredibly passionate about a variety of things. These are people who unearth a talent, a cause, an effort they were passionate about, and began investing their energy in that direction. A couple examples of the people in this book includes the fictional Don Quixote, Paul Newman, Billy Mills, B.B. King, Maya Angelou, Joan of Arc and more.

Q: Why did you feel the need to write a book challenging teens to expand their horizons and discover their passions?

A: I feel like my generation has massive potential for passion – and certainly we have easier access to information that could help us live out that passion for good. My generation is so plugged in – we have information at our fingertips. We text people who are right across the room. We can exchange messages and photos with people all over the world while we’re on the go. Yes, we can also be disconnected from the people in front of us and the hurting in the world.  My desire in Lose Your Cool was to help teens connect deeply with a constructive passion – begin to reach out and help others and improve the world. This isn’t just a message for my generation – I believe there’s even more potential if generations work together.

Q: You're featured in Half the Sky by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof. I understand this was a big surprise. Tell me about the moment you found out and what was your reaction?

A: Funny as it sounds, I actually found out about it through a friend on Facebook. It was a complete surprise – and a huge honor.  Mr. Kristof is such a respected journalist and great writer who has used his craft to bring to light problems people are facing around the world.

Q: I understand you're headed to Norway to talk to teens about human trafficking. What's the gist of your message?

A: I will be speaking on many subjects from the modern-day slave trade, to finding your specific passion, to the power of my generation. I’ll have the privilege of speaking to students in university and secondary schools as well as leaders in churches and communities.

Q: What's the secret to bringing your dreams and passion to life?

A: Action. In order to take the step between being simply interested in something to being passionate you must take action. I also believe that a constructive passion cannot come from within – you can’t just wake up and say “I’m going to be a more passionate person today.” It must be derived from something that draws your focus outside of yourself.