When's the last time you made a difference in someone's life? It might be more recent than you think.
The past three days I was fortunate to witness the culmination of a season of robotics at a regional competition. For the past few months, I have been mentoring and helping a group of high school students build and program a robot. It has been awesome experiencing how they work together and the leaders that emerge.
Through this experience I have had now two years in a row, I know that I am having an impact on those kids lives. I hope that I am making a difference. But I also know that I make an impact almost every day in the smallest ways.
The other night, I watched a short talk by Mark Bezos, a volunteer firefighter. The talk is one of the many on TED.com. If you have never heard of that site, I encourage you to check it out. Below is a link to Mark's 5-minute talk. Watch it and the rest of this blog will make more sense:
TED talks - Mark Bezos
http://www.ted.com/talks/mark_bezos_a_life_lesson_from_a_volunteer_firefighter.html
We can make a difference everyday by looking up while running around and being busy. It can be the smile you give a stranger or the door you hold open for someone entering or leaving the place you are at. Sure, you might not ever see that person again or even know their name, but that act of kindness may make a difference in how they react the next moment.
Often though, we can make an even greater difference by choosing to 'teach' rather than 'tell'. I have been there; it is easier to tell someone to do something new and hope they get it right rather than show and teach them how to do it the first time. These others can be kids, co-workers, friends, acquaintances. The more we give of ourselves, the more impact we can make.
Thanks for reading and have fun making a difference,
~J^3