Wednesday, 11 July 2007

Can you change the world?

Heres a question...
Can one person really change the world? I mean, sure it seems obvious that people like Gandhi, Bill Gates, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu and of course Madiba have clearly been leaders in the social/business/political sense and they have influenced and aided change. But did they really do it all alone? Didn't they have support teams? I know that sounds odd!
I have often been told by people that I can't change the world. My thought process around that has always been...'that may be your opinion but I would rather die trying'. Lately however, I have really started to wonder whether I actually can... is this really a one [wo]man job? Is it simply about leadership, taking risks, blind passion/ focus or being able to give selflessly without expectation OR is it more about providing the right 'thing' at the right time and place? What is the common denominator amongst 'world changers' in political, social and business environments? I would love to hear your views on this.... I just know that I would feel very unhappy if i stopped believing that somewhere, somehow, I could change the world even if it was one tiny step at a time....

2 comments:

Zani said...

I am not sure if I believe that one person can change the world... the question is what excactly is it that people/you want to change? Yes there are many things that needs a change... like constant battles between countries that are killing thousands of people everyday, hunger, poverty, violence, global warming (more peoples behaviour towards nature)... the list is endless. Obviously all these things can't be fixed in one go so somehow we need to decide which one is more important....can we really? The way I see it is all these problems fit into one massive chane reaction or cycle. If you think about it:
Poverty = hunger = violenc/crime. On the other hand. Global warming is a whole different issue.. there are so many things we can do to try an make it better.. but do people actually listen?

This sums it up for me:
'I have never been especially impressed by the heroics of people who are convinced they are about to change the world. I am more awed by those who struggle to make one small difference after another.'
-Ellen Goodman

Anonymous said...

One day we wake up and we realise that between the light and the dark there resides a perspective that all is as it should be at this time.
Given that this is then perfection at this time, why is it that we struggle to see the beauty of it.