Mark Horvath

I Was that homeless guy

Mark is founder of Invisible People, a non-profit media company focused on storytelling through raw, unedited videos bringing awareness to homelessness and people living on the street.

Episode Description

Today on the show I bring you someone who is bound to put a smile on your face because of his positive attitude and terrific sense of humor, but he will also challenge you to consider your relationship to what is perhaps one of the most uncomfortable and perplexing problems we face across the globe.  Mark Horvath isn't just an advocate for homeless people, he was that homeless guy, and he's now well-known for starting a non-profit media company called Invisible People, which through video offerings on it's website, YouTube, and social media channels, gets up close and personal with people living on the street.   

His videos are raw and unedited, giving full transparency by focusing his lens, and our attention, on people who most of us will walk or drive past just about every day.  What he did for me with his videos was give me an opportunity to hear the answers to questions I'm basically too afraid to ask when I see a homeless person – what happened, how did you get here, and how can I help?  And he isn't trying to paint any pictures here or even make you feel bad or guilty for their situation.  He's bringing awareness to a condition that he believes can be solved, but unfortunately sees as getting much worse unless we take start taking action.

The first reason I wanted to talk to Mark was to understand what drives him to do this work.  He is someone who lives with a clear sense of purpose and in his own words he has never felt closer to a destiny in his life, than he does right now.  How many of us can say that?  And what would it take for us to find such an acute awareness of our purpose or meaning in life.   

 We kick off the conversation with Mark's take on mindfulness and meditation how pain can drive people to introspection.  You see, Mark doesn't believe he was called to do this work, but that he was forced.  And as uncomfortable as that might sound, it's what gets him out of bed each day to live a fulfilling life.    We talk about his life story, his personal experience with being homeless, some of the solutions and ideas he has for ending it, but also what worries him.  We get into how someone struggling with homelessness possibly finds purpose or meaning in life.  And you won't want to miss how he describes the meaning in his life.   

It won't take long for you to recognize how Mark is spilling over with passion for his work and the energy he brings to this interview just about obliterated the outline I had prepared in doing my research.  I had intended to start out right away with his backstory and become familiar with his life up until becoming homeless.  But in our pre-interview banter we started talking about his take on mindfulness and meditation.  And I'm glad I captured it because this provided a philosophical framework and baseline that shows up as we progress through his life and his life's work.  But a little randomness is what makes this conversation so good....he is genuine, honest, and very fun to talk to.  So please welcome Mark Horvath, founder of Invisible People.   

Thanks for listening,

Peter