How to Make A Difference
Written by: Renate Prandl, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” Dalai Lama
How often have you told yourself that you are too small and insignificant, that your opinion doesn’t matter, that your company is too small to have an impact, that you are not good enough, that you are of a certain age/gender/nationality (add whatever comes to mind) and therefore not important?
Well, I was there before when I grew up. I was told I was small and that neither my words nor actions would matter. Even later, when I was already teaching as a Professor at a renowned business school I initially felt too small, powerless, and insignificant. What eventually shifted in me was the realization that I needed to believe in myself if I wanted to instill self-belief in my students. See, you cannot give what you don’t have. You can only give love if you have love inside you. You can only teach about courage and empowerment if you know how to deal with fear. Showing up with more confidence taking one step at a time is a good way to get going.
When you start to stand up for what you believe in when you start to ask the “right” (meaning more meaningful) questions people will start to take notice. People will start to listen to what you have to say. People will look at you as a person of influence, a leader. People will start to reach out asking how they can support you, potentially.
Start small and help a friend, family member, someone in your community. Come from a sense of service and don’t expect anything back in return. You may be surprised if years later the person you helped comes back to you telling you how you made a difference in their life.
What do I mean by “start small”? You may have watched some of the beauty pageants when the beautiful and stunning contestants say “I want World Peace” or “I want to fight world hunger”. I am not diminishing them at all. We all know that these pageants are a business, a show, and many of the questions and answers are staged. They do the same on many TV shows or Award Ceremonies, just to be clear.
IF you want to fight the HUNGER crisis in parts of the world, start in your community. Feed some homeless, buy groceries for low income families. Get your hands dirty in the sense that you take real action. Repeat. Do it consistently like a mosquito.
IF you want World PEACE, look at your close environment. Are there people in your family, former friends, colleagues, you had a fallout with? Unless there are life-threatening reasons reach out to them and offer them the proverbial olive branch. Start small and make a difference not only in their, but also in your life. Bury the negative energy and start focusing on positive energy and growth.
Let’s get back to the mosquito, shall we? I think we shall. It’s small, and yes, it’s annoying, and often very dangerous if we think Dengue, West Nile, Zika, or Chikungunya. It doesn’t matter which one as they all have something in common – DETERMINATION. They just wouldn’t stop going for you, would they?
What IF, what IF being a person (or a company) of small size is not the real challenge, but rather an excuse?
What IF the real game-changer is a focus, determination, and CONSISTENCY.
A mosquito would not give up easily, it would go for its prey, and then the adult females lay their eggs in stagnant water… the cycle continues … over and over again. Size. Small. Impact. Huge.
Why don’t you become the human version of a mosquito J? I know this sounds silly, but play along with me for a bit as I share some more ways to get from NO impact to making a huge DIFFERENCE:
Show up relentlessly, with clarity and CONSISTENCY
Have a PLAN mapped out like the life cycle of a mosquito. Be strategic.
Partner with other like-minded people and create a MOVEMENT. Ask for help and combine forces.
Shift your MINDSET from “not possible” to “possible”. So powerful. If this is something you need help with, shifting from seeing all the reasons why it may not work to seeing opportunities, reach out for a free Success Activation Call. I offer a limited amount of pro bono sessions, because I know how powerful and life-changing they are.
Apply to work with a coach or MENTOR who has done what you are about to do. Who do you listen to? Someone who knows about pitfalls, roadblocks and HOW to proceed OR someone who talks theory, has no proven track record and who gets derailed by every single obstacle.
Get clear on your MISSION, why the difference you want to make is important to you. Read that again. Important to YOU, not your parents, your partner, friends, etc. It MUST be important for and to you so that you can eventually support your friends and their mission, too.
I have got a few mission-critical questions for you, questions I work through with my elite students.
What is your Mission and why is it important?
What’s not working yet?
What would you need to move forward and make a difference?
These questions may sound simple, yet they go very deep. Very deep and profound. And yes, many of you may brush them off as “too simple and small”.
I am gifting you these 3, for free, and most of you will not even bother to take time to work through them. It’s a fact that people don’t value something or someone which is offered for free. If they have invested neither time nor money they don’t take things, programs, questions, seriously, even if you present them on a silver platter in a way they can be easily digested and implemented. Speaking from several decades of experience as a teacher, high performance coach and mentor.
Making a difference has NOTHING to do with being small.
Making a difference has EVERYTHING to do with the Power of Three – MINDSET MISSION MOVES.
Hope this serves YOU on your quest to grow as a person and/or business and MAKE A DIFFERENCE in your life, the life of people you care about and love, and the world.
It all starts with you. Be that mosquito.
“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” Dalai Lama
Renate Prandl, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Renate Prandl is Asia's Premier Sustainable Life Mastery Strategist, Certified Feldenkrais® Expert, sports coach, mentor, and Certified High Performance(™) coach. With over 40 years of combined experience as a Professor in a business school and entrepreneur, Renate uses a variety of proven techniques and applications to help you reach your highest potential, get to the Next Level, and potentially live your Life by Design – in a holistic, doable and sustainable way. Her "Power of 3" systems help you turn obstacles into stepping stones and build Physical, Emotional, Financial Resilience. Renate is the CEO of Body & Brain, Founder of Body And Brain Mastery, International Bestselling Author of 3 books, and has lived on 3 continents. Her mission: Anything is possible.
