23 Ways To Start Changing The World (And Yourself)

“The changes in our life must come from the impossibility to live otherwise than according to the demands of our conscience not from our mental resolution to try a new form of life.”

-Leo Tolstoy

With the growing concerns of an unstable future, the call to unite has never been greater.

To confront the challenges of tomorrow, we must start today. This process starts in our homes. Solutions don’t give rise to themselves. They are created by putting aside differences and working together for the greater good. The work of tomorrow demands a higher calling: something bigger than yourself and the size of your wallet (and ego).

What use is money in a broken, deteriorating world that cannot be enjoyed?

The world needs your participation more than you know.

Over the coming months, I will be discussing some of the important global issues at hand that scientists, engineers, and the average Joe are trying solve.

Fixing this world is going to take everyone’s help.

Here’s how to start:

1.  Stop procrastinating.  Turn off the television, close your laptop, and get out of the house. Take a walk around the block and start thinking about how you can change the world. Ask yourself, “What can I do to make the world a better place? What do I have to offer the world? What can I improve?” Then, do it.
2. Act quickly, Think slowly. Be quick to take action. Take strategic steps towards progress. Each step matters. Before jumping the gun on a new problem, concentrate and focus on the problem at hand. Make sure you are asking and answering the right questions. Be patient. Deliberate on difficult issues with a group of respectable peers. Make sure to carefully consider proper actions and alternatives. When you do feel confident, act swiftly.
3. Start listening to the world’s needs. Everyone has needs: you and I both need a warm shower after exercising, a good bite to eat, and comfortable place to sleep. Everyone needs rest and replenishment. Unfortunately, we often ignore this crucial step in our lives. We need to listen to our bodies. The majority of the problems that we counter can be solved with some rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation. It grants the time for recovery. We need to listen to our minds. Too often, we are stuck in perpetual motion; our daily lives revolve around set schedules and places we need to be. We don’t have time for anyone else, let alone ourselves. Be silent and try to listen for a change.
4. Begin transforming. When you start hearing the needs of the world, you will find the answers. I guarantee it. Changing the world starts with changing yourself. Inner transformation leads to outer transformation: the willpower (inner desire) to get off the couch, hit the gym, and get an awesome physique (outer desire) follows this progression. The world works the same way. We can’t help anybody until we help ourselves.
5. Be responsible. The first step in the transformation process is taking personal responsibility. Be responsible for yourself: your actions, your reactions, and your responses. Be prepared to suffer the consequences of blaming others or enjoy the rewards of accepting personal responsibility. Focusing on responsibility is the first step up an amazing staircase towards a better world.
6. Learn to set goals. Goals give us direction. They are our attention’s GPS. A goal is a motivating purpose that helps us to organize our energy and effort to accomplish the change we desire. The best way to set a goal is to write it down.
7. Be happy. Your happiness has a direct affect on others. Scientists have evidence that mood plays a decisive factor in personal relationship. Are you happy? Want to be happier? Here are 39 ways to be happier.
8. Be consciously selfish. None of us can be truly selfless for that would mean to be without a sense of self. In other words, crazy. Instead, we should work toward an evolving, altruistic version of selfishness. In this instance, we choose to be consciously selfish. In this way we serve a higher purpose that is greater than ourselves: the choice to help others. During the time spent bettering others, the alignment of our selfishness changes from ignorance to consciousness. Try and think about more than just yourself. Convince others to do the same.
9. Give. When our mindset changes from the selfish wanting, gaining, me-me-me focus, it turns into something greater: the conscious self. Giving is one of the amazing powers of the conscious self. It knows that giving comes before receiving. It knows that so much has been given to it. It must give back to the community. So, give others a chance, give them a turn to try, give them the shirt off your back if they can use it more, give them an opportunity, give them some money, and most importantly, give people your full attention. We everyone gives, we all receive plenty.
10. Master your craft. Become an expert in something that will help the world. Specify how you what to change some part of the world and commit to mastering it. Find your niche and conquer it. Gandhi mastered non-violence. Leo Tolstoy mastered the art of writing fiction. Jiro mastered the art of sushi.
11. Communicate effectively. Effective communication starts with understanding what both parties want. Discussing the needs of each individual and clearly setting out what needs to be achieved. Effective communication is deeply rooted in both parties coming to a consensus of understanding and being respectfully aware of the other’s needs. Start with being honest with yourself and communicate your needs clearly. Take ten minutes and give it a try. Write down what you want to accomplish today, tomorrow, and by the end of the week, month, and year. Communicating effectively is no joke; it takes serious practice.
12. Share your ideas. Bring your ideas into the sunlight and share them with the world. That is the only way to give them life. Make them transparent. It might be tough. You might be scared, nervous, or worried that someone will judge you. Too bad, we are all scared. You have to conquer your fear or risk being the source of your own destruction. If you don’t share your ideas, who will? Don’t condemn your art. Bring it to life by sharing with others.
13. Redefine success. The 21^st century requires a new definition for success in order to change the world. The success of the future will not be about how much money you have in the bank, the car you drive, or the gold Rolex on your arm. It’s not about diamonds and bling or wearing the hottest new clothes. The generation of tomorrow measures success on the weight of your ideas, the size of your courage, the strength of your change, and the life you given back to the world. Saving the world is about setting people free. Liberation requires integrity and honesty, not fabrication and corruption. Changing the world is no gimmick.
14. Become a creative genius . Anyone can be book smart. Anyone can be street smart. It takes a creative genius to unlock the potential of the world and set it free. Creative geniuses make learning fun, change exciting, and motivate others to start the process by staring in the mirror. Every creative genius has a different method to their madness. What’s yours?
15. Make today count. Changing the world starts today. Not tomorrow, today. If doesn’t start today, when will it?
16. Educate yourself, and then educate others. Social networks and the Internet are allowing information to spread around the world at lighting speeds. Google grants us the answers to practically all of our immediate questions. The questions Google cannot answer require deep critical thinking that stems from a solid education. Learning “how” to think comes first. Everything else follows.
17. Look at the bright side. Do you have problems in your life? Is the world filled with plenty of problems that need solutions? Yes and yes. The bright side is that there is plenty of work to be done and you can be a part of it. Opportunity presents itself at every angle. Admitting our problems is the first step, and then we can repair them.
18. Find balance. Find a balance in life. Find what works. Too often, we lose our balance. We eat too quickly and forget to savor the moment. We rush back to work. We forget to enjoy the drive. We procrastinate doing important projects. We eat unhealthy and don’t exercise. All these negatives don’t make a positive. Start trying to find a balance: find time to be alone and think about what you want out of life, eat at least one healthy meal a day, go to bed an hour earlier, help someone besides yourself, do the opposite of what’s not working and find out what happens. It could be amazing.
19. Commit to continuous improvement.  There is always something we can do better. The world is far from perfect. By taking small steps we reach big destinations. To enjoy life, get better at living it.
20. Look at the world through different perspectives. Maybe you know someone who is having the worst day ever. They got into a fight with their spouse before leaving for work. They spilled hot coffee on their new outfit at work and then the boss noticed. On the way home from the office they got into a car accident. We all have bad days. Believe it or not, life can always be worse. Changing our perspectives gives us a rare ability to see the world as an outsider. The power of perspective lies in realizing that our problems are not serious. Simply being alive and enjoying a breath of fresh air is more than enough reason to be happy. Don’t believe me, try going a day without it.
21. Inspire others. Inspire others by showing them what you can do. Talk is good, but action is better. Anyone can talk about inspiration. Anyone can be inspired, but few can demonstrate the power of it. Show others the results of your inspiration. Get inspired, inspire others, and watch difficulty melt under the hot hands of inspired work.
22. Don’t be scared of failure. Better yet, if you aren’t scared of failing than you are not trying hard enough to change the world. Try harder, be scared, and never surrender. With a philosophy of never giving up, failure is nothing more than an intense motivation to work harder. Now, that sounds like a way to change the world.
23. Believe. This is the most important step of all: Believe in yourself. Believe in others. Know you can do it. Be confident. Have hope and faith that you can change the world and you can. Believe change is possible, it is.

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What are your plans to change the world?

I would love to hear about it.

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