Be the Pebble

Some days it’s good for us to remember that one person cannot solve the challenges of the world. Solving challenges is the work for each one of us, working together to maximize the effect of our individual strengths.

If you want to, you can find problems in every part of the globe. Set your mind to find them, and it won’t take you long to fill a very large piece of paper, perhaps an entire notebook. You see, if you look for trouble, you will find it. However, the reverse is also true. If we look for areas of opportunity and solutions, we will find them as well.

Some folks look for opportunities to change the way things “are” by asking the question, “What would it look like when it’s fixed?” Then they ask themselves, “What can I do to help?”

Lou Tice once noted, “When I was very young, I looked for ways to make ‘the big-time.’ How could I make the big splash and solve a problem, and I would wait to find the ‘big deal.’ It was more ego than anything else. As I matured – especially after I learned the information I teach – I learned that you can’t wait around for the big-splash opportunity. If you do, you will accomplish nothing.”

Each of us needs to look for solutions to the challenges around us, no matter how small. If we walk past the small things, we will never be in a position to make a bigger difference. We also deny the opportunity for the “ripple effect” to go to work. You know the ripple effect: drop a pebble in a pond and watch the ripples moving out from where you dropped the pebble. Eventually these ripples touch every part of the pond. Each of us has the potential to be that pebble, hopefully for the good of all.

So today, let’s start taking accountability for our little corners of the world. Be the pebble for positive change in what you see. And start looking for other pebbles with the same mindset and commitment to fixing the challenges around your corner. With enough pebbles, we’ll see a wave of positive change sweep around the globe.