Everybody Wants to Change the World

Everybody wants to change the world, everybody wants to be remembered, everybody wants to leave their mark, achieve greatness, do great things, and be a great person.

They want people to listen when they talk as they stand before the masses delivering an inspirational or educational speech, as they announce their new product that will change the world forever, as they speak of their great accomplishments — expecting the world to lend them their ears.

Everybody wants to be special, everybody wants to be unique, everybody thinks they have a special divine purpose here, a special mission on this earth, and someday they’ll fulfill it as they picture themselves standing at the golden podium of heaven boasting their worldly accomplishments on the physical plane with those that came before them, each spirit speaker trying to top each other.

Meanwhile, in a place called reality, where I don’t doubt that every person is special and has a life purpose, our ego allows us to miss our calling, to ignore our divine purpose — because it is either too small or too big for us to recognize, and we are too small or too big to pick up on it, our ego that is; sometimes lifes plan for you isn’t what you thought it would be.

A passerby, one seeking the answer to life, one seeking fulfillment and eternal happiness, once had a chance to ask the great Buddha a question. He said, “Oh Perfect One, I want happiness, please tell me what I can do to get it.”

The Buddha replied, “First get rid of I, that is the ego speaking, next get rid of want, that is desire, and then you are left with just happiness.”

You see ego is that little ungrateful person inside each of us that always thinks they deserve more, always exaggerates our accomplishments, and is always in an eternal struggle to be better than others, to have more, to be more, and to be superior. You can never please ego and enough will never be enough.

Desire is no better, it’s the voice inside of our head that confuses wants and needs. It can look at the possessions of others and say I want that while your ego chimes in and says you deserve that. Desire puts you in an endless pursuit of chasing all the wrong things through envy and jealousy. Instead of searching deep within yourself for the things you need, you look outside of yourself for things that you might want, while ignoring that others probably also want what you already have, but you overlook those things and treat them like nothing — forever unsatisfied.

In combination with each other you have a voice inside of your head that has a sense of entitlement to have more and be better than everyone else mixed with a desire so strong that it can send you chasing after those things, forever unhappy, forever ungrateful, and forever astray.

If you want to change the world and your destiny is to change the world, start by changing yourself first. Stop seeking greatness, stop following desire, stop listening to your ego, and start doing what comes natural to you. Stop talking, start listening, and start doing.

You don’t have to be the center of attention or the spotlight to change the world. Be an example for those around you, having an influence on one person can set things in motion that can change the world for the better.

Simple things like being a good mother or father, can teach your children to be a good mother or father, and they’ll teach their spouse, then their children, and maybe their friends, a simple action turns into a compounded positive effect over time.

All of the greatest people in the world didn’t become great by themselves, they all had teachers, mentors, or people that influenced them, people that taught them what to do and what not to do, we all have that, we are all being influenced for better or worse just by the act of living, just by being around others.

Once you change yourself, your social interaction with others will start to influence them, they will aspire to be more like you, you will gain support and a following, maybe you’ll become a teacher, maybe you’ll give great lectures, maybe you’ll invent a new product, maybe you’ll change the world in a big way, but remember, everyone changes the world in a small way everyday.

As long as you blindly pursue your chance to get up in front of everyone to tell them about your ideas to make the world a better place, you’ll miss out on all the little things, the individuals, the individual things, those tiny little things, the ones that make all the difference — that can help you get there.

Be the silent leader the world needs, not the egotistical loud mouth that thinks he’s better than everyone else, more special than others, and the person everyone grows to despise.

Actions will always be louder than words, self-proclamation never got anyone very far, both Jesus and Buddha started alone and small. Consistency was key as they grew just a few supporters into many believers that would die for them, not even for these great leaders did success happen over night.

Real Life Action Steps:

• Stop posting your concerns on social media
• Join a group that is action orientated to solve the problem
• Start your own group if there isn’t one
• Instead of talking about the problem, talk about the solutions to the right people, those that can actually do something about it (ie, write your politicians or board members)
• Whether you join a church, a political group, run for local office, or campaign, do something with like minded people that share your interests and goals
• Whether you fundraise, volunteer, become a teacher, or go back to school, take the steps required to solve the problem you’re having
• Remember, there are a lot of people that can talk about the problem, but a real leader, a real person fulfilling their life purpose, takes action to do something about it, Never make an excuse as to why you can’t do something, every excuse has its own solution, solve it