Tag: you make a difference

WHAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER

Which one of us are not guilty of feeling insignificant at some point in time? I am a published author of 3 books that are owned by rock stars, movie stars and billionaires. I have a blog that is followed in over 200 countries. I say this not to brag, but to say that I have reached many people. Still, there are days I look at my beautiful Margie and ask her if I am really making a difference. Side note of this would be that I love engagement, so feel free to comment. My point here is that anyone can feel that what they do does not matter.

There are 2 things that I would like to mention in this post. The first is that what you do absolutely matters! If you are a server at a restaurant, you can make or break someone’s meal and often a special occasion they are celebrating. Maybe you are the person who cleans the same restaurant, can you imagine how you feel when you walk in a place to eat and it is dirty? It absolutely makes a difference. Are you a stay at home parent? You are raising the next generation and that makes a huge difference. There is not a single person who does not make a difference. It is not just about your career either. We will get into that next. Just know that you do make a difference.

Here is the other point I wanted to make. If you do not feel that you are making enough of a difference, there is a way to fix that too! Add more things that are impactful. These do not have to be big or complex. Make a point to smile more or to give someone genuine compliments. Let someone know they are appreciated and express gratitude wherever and whenever you can. Not only will this make those around you feel good, but it will have you feeling happy and abundant as well.

Remember you do make a difference, and there is always room to make more of a difference! While we are on the subject, a great thing to do is to let others know that they make a difference. To think you are alone in your struggle to feel significant, couldn’t be further from the truth. So many of us often fail to realize the difference that we do make. I am reminded of the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. By some miracle if you have not seen the picture, I will give you the theme in a nutshell. A man feels that he has not made a difference and is thinking of ending his life. He is allowed to see what life would be like had he never been born. He then learns how many lives he has impacted. Sadly, the rest of us cannot see what the world would be like without us, but trust me when I say each one of us makes the world a brighter place. You do make a difference. When you feel like you don’t, follow the steps above. Do simple things that make other’s lives better. Express gratitude whenever and wherever you can. Let others know what a difference they make.

HOW TO FIX THE WORLD 🌎

There is a lot of apprehension in the hearts of many people. It seems there is a great deal of concern that people with little care or concern to treat others with dignity and respect have been put in positions of power. As someone who has made it their life mission to leave the world a little better place than I found it, I can totally understand this. We were taught as children to respect each other, including those we differ with. We were taught that it is right to disagree with someone in a respectful fashion. Even on the elementary school playground we were taught that it was not nice to call people names just because they were different or held different opinions than us. Hopefully, these are the same lessons that we taught our children.

It is therefore understandable to be concerned when those who are supposed to be examples do the very opposite of this. Will the world become less caring and callous? I would be lying if I would tell you that some less-informed souls may view this as permission to act that way in their own lives. What can we do about all of this? Surprisingly, quite a bit. It is easy to feel hopeless and despondent about the whole thing. The more constructive action would to be to intensify our acts of kindness and compassion. Recently, I wrote a letter to the Dalai Lama, who is a master at teaching compassion. If you want any lessons on how to stay compassionate in an often cruel world, I recommend listening to some of his talks. Many are available on YouTube.

Many people view this solution as ridiculous or think of themselves too small to make that big of a difference. Nothing could be further from the truth. Let me break this down for you. How many people on average to you interact with on a daily basis? If you work in retail, this could be close to 100. Even if you don’t, you probably run into at the very least 10. Let’s just say 20 as an average. If you do your best to treat everyone you contact with kindness and compassion, maybe even say a few empowering words to them, do you think that would make a difference? What difference would 20 people make in a world of 8 billion? Let us do the math. 20 people a day, on average, for every day of the year equals 7300 people. If we went for the person in retail who sees 100 people a day, that number goes up to 36,500! Can you see the power we hold? You could be a beacon of hope for so many people. An example of goodness in the world. A reason to believe.

If only 20 retail employees did what we are discussing, that would bring us close to a million people shown kindness and compassion. When you add words of empowerment, that could be a million lives you positively impact. What do you think those people would go on to do? You can see the power of the ripple effect here. It works in reverse too. If one person decides they are too insignificant to make a difference, that is between 7300 and 36,500 people who will be negatively affected. Do you see the power your one example can make? What if you are a teacher? A boss or a leader of some other fashion? The impact of everyone makes a huge difference. Do not let an election or a sometimes hard world make you believe otherwise.