The other month, I wrote about choices. I wondered if we needed to commit to a certain cause if we truly want to make a difference. The answers were inspiring–motivating. It seems I’m not the only one who has asked this same question.

If you’ve been here, then you’ve also asked: How do you know what the right cause is (and how do you choose)? Larry Brilliant, former Executive Director of Google.org, has some answers–or better, some more questions for us to ponder:

What’s the single most important criteria?

–is it big enough?

–will it scale?

–is it different?

–is it sustainable?

–is it helpful?

Before you act…consider the face of the poorest person you will ever meet. Then ask yourself if what you are about to do will benefit that person–if not, think again.

Brilliant offered this advice in his presentation at Stanford, which was part of Stanford’s Entrepreneurial Thought Leader Lectures. You can view this video in full, as well as other videos from Brilliant (including the one where he shares the five areas Google.org decided to focus on in Jan. 2008) on Stanford’s Web site.

I think another important question is–does it get your heart pumping and blood moving? I think these questions are great, but if you choose one cause–you are about to get even more up close and personal, and you want to avoid cause-burnout. What about you? What are other good questions to ask yourself?

PS: Apparently, I’m on a question-spree with these last two posts. Hope you find it as helpful as I do–thank you all for your valuable input on the awareness fever post. 😉