A thought by John C. Maxwell & Rob Hoskins in their book, Change Your World (p. 30). HarperCollins Leadership. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)
Yes we do.
John says, "Those are called excuses. A wise coach once told me, 'Excuses are like armpits. Everyone has them and they all stink.' The reality is that we can make excuses or we can make changes, but we can’t do both."
He continues, "When I was a kid, one of the cartoons I used to watch was Popeye the Sailor. The main character, Popeye, wore a sailor suit and had huge forearms with anchors tattooed on them. The mild-mannered Popeye always seemed to be trying to stop Bluto, a big bully, from stealing his girlfriend, Olive Oyl. At some point in every cartoon, Popeye would reach a point of frustration and say, 'That’s all I can stands, and I can’t stands no more.' He’d open a can of spinach, suck down the contents to gain superhuman strength, pummel the bully, and rescue his girl.
"Popeye’s solution was eating a can of spinach. Our solution is making a commitment to change. Do you see a need for positive change somewhere around you? Are you willing to learn and live good values? Are you willing to value people? Are you willing to help others, add value to them, and invite them to experience the positive impact of good values and good choices? If you answer yes to those simple questions, then you can change your world. Hope is not far away. Change is in your hands. Don’t allow anything to deter you. You can become a catalyst for change."
John goes on to say, "What does it mean to be a catalyst for change? The most common definition of the word comes from chemistry, where a catalyst is a substance that causes or speeds up a chemical reaction. But when Rob and I use the word catalyst, we’re describing a person who creates positive change in their world through their ideas, actions, and influence.
"When it comes to making a positive difference in the world, change occurs only when someone, somewhere takes responsibility for changing himself or herself and takes action to help others change too. Without the actions of some person, change doesn’t happen."
We often think of changing the world as something big that takes big plans, large teams, and huge resources. We overestimate the importance of big events and underestimate the value of small actions taken to help others. Some of the greatest catalysts for change in the world took small steps that seemed insignificant at the time—without fanfare, recognition, or reward—and simply allowed one step to lead to the next, ultimately leading to great change.
"We often think of changing the world as something big that takes big plans, large teams, and huge resources. We overestimate the importance of big events and underestimate the value of small actions taken to help others. Some of the greatest catalysts for change in the world took small steps that seemed insignificant at the time—without fanfare, recognition, or reward—and simply allowed one step to lead to the next, ultimately leading to great change."
So let's find those small steps and get started. Yes, yes! #continuethought
Comments
Post a Comment