How can you change the world if you can’t first change one person?
Sure, you can invent some widget that touches every person’s life, but is that really world-changing? I think world-changing is much more personal than writing some code, creating a typeface or inventing new technology.
I think world-changing is about looking someone in the eyes and understanding them. Pushing them to be better and supporting them on the journey. Enrolling them on a trip from which they emerge a better person. Changing one person in a way that they come back to you in five years and say “you changed my life.”
Changing the world isn’t about being a marketing whiz or a business development guru. It’s about seeing people and being generous. It’s showing up and saying “I see your problems, and I made this for you.”
The thing is, it’s way harder to change one person than it is to “change the world.” You can show up and build something big without ever facing the hard part of having empathy and taking a risk for one person.
So before we set out to change a million people, let’s pause for a second and think. How might I change one person?