Who in your mind is someone who really made a difference in
the world? Is it somebody like Jesus
Christ; Joan of Arc; Ferdinand Magellan; Abraham Lincoln; Karl Marx; Clara
Barton; or Albert Einstein?
I won’t go on with the list because it potentially could
number in the thousands. What’s
important is to consider some common threads running through the character of
people who in different ways made a difference to the world.
If you understand those threads of commonality, they become
more available for you to adapt and leverage in differentiating yourself. It’s your differentiation that can be your
unique contribution to the world around you.
It’s that unique contribution that makes a difference for everybody!
You can find your unique contribution! It’s there!
Don’t let it go to waste!
Here’s how to find it…
First among
all the characteristics of the above people, or anyone else you
could put on the list, is they had a vision of something much greater than themselves. They saw potential where it did not currently
exist.
Furthermore, they had a clear
idea of how they could apply their unique knowledge/skills to help the world
realize that potential.
It’s the application
of their unique knowledge/skills that can be the defeating challenge, however. The same is true for you in your effort.
The key to mustering the discipline to apply unique
knowledge/skills is in the depth of passion you feel for that knowledge and
skills.
Just for example…take Clara Barton. How is it she evolved from a school teacher
to founding the American Red Cross?
The answer would seem to lay in the dramatic needs for the
care of combatants in the American Civil War. Seeing the horrors of that war fired a vision
of something bigger.
They stoked her
passion to apply her unique knowledge and skills to ease the suffering of those
wounded and dying.
For you the
answer to finding your passion is in doing some soul searching. You must reach way down into who you uniquely
are so you can truly feel how you really want to make a difference.
Start by making a list of all the things of passionate
interest to you. Sift and winnow that
list down to three or four things that you feel the deepest emotion for.
Pick the one you feel is the biggest idea of them all and
that has the biggest potential to favorably impact other people. Again, you are looking for that totally
different idea that is much bigger than you…that can make a difference in the
world.
With the
vision and the passion, it is time to build your plan of action. Building a plan of action that will lead you
to truly making a difference in the world is a process.
ASSESS YOUR CURRENT SITUATION
First, having analyzed your list of passionate interests,
it’s time to assess your current situation relative to your one big idea.
This step requires you to honestly examine your needs,
desires, strengths and weaknesses to be clear what you must work with; what
needs improvement; and what it is going to take to keep you motivated.
ESTABLISH SPECIFIC GOALS
Next, establish the specific goals to be included in your
plan. Every goal must be written not held in some remote area of your mind.
Use the SMART system for developing your goals. Goals created using this system are Specific,
Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound.
Example:
Successfully finish running the Chicago Marathon (Specific) in 3 hours, 30 minutes (Measurable) which would be a 15 minute improvement over previous attempts (Attainable); the goal is important to my continued physical fitness (Relevant) and is to be accomplished by October 20, 2019 (Time-bound).
DEVELOP ACTION PLANS
Develop the action plans necessary to achieve each
goal. The action plans follow a similar
pattern to your written SMART goals. The
plans must include specific steps, responsibilities and deadlines for
completion.
Act on your plans.
REVIEW AND COMPARE
Review and compare your results to the plan on a frequent
basis to keep you on target. Adjust your
plans as emerging circumstances dictate.
STAY ORGANIZED AND TIMELY
Schedule time each week to
prioritize your weekly goals.
Concentrate your time on your most
important tasks.
Plan your following day’s activity
the day before and take 15 minutes to develop a related to-do list.
Do all tasks correctly the first
time…no shortcuts!
Leave room in each day’s schedule
to handle the unexpected.
Resist/remove any non-essential
interruptions.
Assess milestone check point
results.
Allocate appropriate time each day for
relationships, nutrition, sleep, spiritual renewal, exercise and recreation.
Vision, passion and a plan are how to be different and make
a difference in the world.
Each in their own way, Jesus Christ, Joan of Arc, Ferdinand
Magellan, Abraham Lincoln, Karl Marx, Clara Barton, Albert Einstein and
thousands of other difference makers did/do all those things. That should make them good enough for you,
too.
Make a difference!
Why would you want to make a difference
in the world? What will be your next
step?
Please share your thoughts by commenting below.
And…please forward this information to others by following the social
media share link at the top or bottom of this post.
Thank
you.
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