Find Your Hero
Date: October 21. 2024
Written by: Michael & Marc
It’s easy to be discouraged in a world filled with angry politics, wars, and other sad news stories. However, the positive stories are often hidden or even forgotten, and it’s easy to forget that there are people doing good work.
Here are a few examples of people making great impacts in the world:
Daniel Lubetzky, CEO of Kind - He champions causes related to getting disparate groups working together.
Daryl Davis - As a Black blues musician, he has befriended members of the KKK and, through his kindness, has seen dozens of them renounce their white supremacy views.
Robert F. Smith - Paid off all tuition for a graduating class at Morehouse College.
Melinda French Gates - Has advanced the eradication of malaria and poured resources into supporting various educational efforts.
Lady Gaga - Created the organization “Born This Way” to improve the mental health and wellness of young people.
You can use this list to envision making your own progress in building the future you want to live in. If you don't have a particular project or financial capacity to help others, look to a hero of your choice. Invest time in volunteer efforts that they organize or suggest and make donations to their suggested charities. Broadcast the efforts you support to your friends and family so that you can build positive momentum together (working on charitable efforts with your circle of friends makes the experience more meaningful and the impacts more frequent as you decide to do them together more often)!
The ways in which the world is improving
When we read the negative stories, we often forget all the ways in which the world is improving. A couple of years ago, the Swedish researcher Hans Rosling showed us how our view of the world grows stale, not updating to reflect the reality of the current world[1]. 50 years ago, the poorest people of the world lived on 1 dollar per day, while the richest lived on more than 10 dollars a day. Now, fewer live on the poverty-stricken end of that scale, making 1 dollar a day. Additionally, the number of children born into poverty has also stopped increasing, most girls go to school, and 80% of the world’s population have electricity at home.
Foreign aid, charity, micro loans and more have made these gains possible. This reflects the initiatives driven by heroes acting behind the scenes.
Use the inspiration you feel when looking to these heroes, whether they are unknown groups of people or famous individuals, and keep in mind the progress that we have made so far. This inspiration will lift you so you can make even more of a difference in the world.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vr6Q77lUHE