By Gregg Thompson

This season, as one whose pen is usually inclined to explore the weighty matters facing organization leaders such as strategy, alignment, innovation and engagement, I find myself drawn towards the haunting and timeless question: “Can the individual make a real difference in the world today?”

To fully comprehend the enormity of the challenge behind this question, one must examine the state of our world today. Some children starve while others eat pate. Some women are raped while others are manicured. Some families are separated forever while others hold hands and pray. Some live in garbage dumps while others live in Eden. Some are being tortured while others watch football. C.S. Lewis, the author of the Narnia Chronicles said “Enemy-occupied territory – that is what our world is.” It is quite apparent that there is wide-spread, pervasive evil in the world today. Does this mean we are destined to live with pain, brutalization and exploitation forever? Probably, but I’ll leave that question to the sociologists, philosophers and theologians to debate. I am a leadership coach and, as such, my prime area of interest is towards individual action. What can we, as individuals, do in the face of such pervasive malignant forces? If the definition of a leader is one who makes a difference for the better, how are we leading in our families, our communities and around the globe? Or are we, as John Mayer would sing, simply “Waiting on the world to change.”

We are afforded many opportunities to work toward peace and prosperity for all. Amnesty International, World Vision, The Peace Corps, the UN…are staffed and supported by wonderful men and women trying to make the world a better place. But if our focus is on these organizations alone, we are missing the most potent weapon in the fight against evil: ourselves. These well-meaning humanitarian organizations are on a noble mission to change others whether it be countries, corporations, governments or armies. What about changing you? The most potent thing we can do to change others is to change ourselves. And the formula, while personally demanding, is remarkably simple. I learned it from my mother.

She was a simple woman. Never went to college, studied political science or participated in world affairs. She never called for change from Grant Park nor wrote a book on the movement of cheese but I am convinced she had the antidote to many of our global ills. Her antidote was rooted in a life that started in abject poverty on the hard, dirt floor of a one-room home and fully developed as her hands were worked raw in the freezing prairie winds, all the while seeking out ways to serve her family, community and country.  When I was a boy, she once told me that I could have a taste of heaven right here on Earth. In a moment of what I now recognize as unfathomable wisdom, she shared three profound principles. She said “Life is not difficult, it’s just hard. There are just three things to practice each day…If it’s not yours, don’t take it. If it’s not true, don’t say it. And don’t hit anybody.” Naïve generalizations? Maybe. But think of it this way. I know it’s a stretch but what would happen if, for only one day, we all decided to not take it if it isn’t ours, not say it if it isn’t true and not hit anyone else? Our biggest problem would be to find a use for all those unspent bullets, empty jails and bags of excess rice. Can’t envision the whole world doing this, well what about just your country, maybe your city? What if it was just your family? What if it was just you? You can make a difference. Pick a day. You will change the world and have a little taste of heaven in the process.

All the best to you and your family from the entire Bluepoint community.