So many people say they want the world to be vastly better than it is yet hardly anyone is willing to make the changes necessary for that happen. When someone does recognize that massive changes are required to make the world the way they want it to be, they think that they don’t have to make those changes; another person or a lot of other people have to make those changes, but not them. They think that they can’t do anything in their current position and that even if they made a huge change, it wouldn’t make any difference. And so what happens? Nobody makes any changes, not even small ones, because they think “Oh if I make a small change or even a big change, nothing’s going to happen.” So nobody does anything and nothing changes. Everybody’s waiting on everybody else to make things better.
What would happen if even a small number of people made a few small changes? There’d be lots of changes, big ones and small ones alike. And what would happen if a small number of people made some huge changes? Then other people would take notice of them because people take notice of anything that’s markedly different than what they’re used to seeing. A few observers would be inspired to make some huge changes as well, and they would inspire others to do the same, and so on. There’d be even more people who would be inspired to make big changes, and they’d also inspire others to make big changes of their own. And there would be many, many more people who would be inspired to make small changes, and they would inspire many, many more people to make their own small changes. So, whether somebody makes a huge change, a big change, or just a small change, they’re still going to make a big difference.
“The Star Thrower” illustrates this perfectly: a boy was picking up starfish on the beach and throwing them back into the ocean so they wouldn’t die when someone came up and chastised him for doing that and said he wouldn’t be able to make much of a difference. In response, the boy picked a starfish up, threw it into the ocean, and said “I made a difference to that one!” With that one action, he saved more starfish than the person who told him he was wasting his time and he’d still have been a hero even if he had stopped there. But he kept at it and others around him joined in, including the critic, and together they saved all the starfish.
What would happen if that boy had said “You’re right” and given up? Then nobody else would have joined in and those starfish would have died. His positive attitude and persistence made all the difference. So don’t wait around for other people to solve problems and save the world. Find problems you can solve and then solve them yourself. Look at your own life, your own talents, and your own resources and see what positive changes you can make, even if they’re small changes. If you do that, then regardless of what anybody else does, you will have made things better. And in the process, you will inspire others to join in, and they’ll inspire still others to join in, and so on. So don’t wait for the change; be the change.