This past weekend I had the oppurtunity to go to the Fourth Estate Leadership Summit, it was an incredible conference put on by Invisible Children, read more about it on their website.
I am in awe of the the amazing weekend I had, these are a few thoughts I had after.
I feel so empowered. Like I can actually change the world ya know?
I already knew I wanted to start a non-profit or a business that raises awareness and money to make a difference, so being able to hear from people who have done it successfully already was so amazing.
To know that they all started out like me, just someone who knew there was more. Someone who saw the injustice in the world and knew they needed to take a step to change it.
I know that there is more to this life than the American Dream, the 9-5 job, the six figure paycheck, the white picket fence, the big house and nice car. There is a WHOLE world out there, ready for us to go and discover it, shape and refine it, to chase after it, to change it, to make our mark on it.
We've all heard the cliché saying “If you want something done, do it your self.” Gandhi said “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
If you want something to change, CHANGE IT. If you want something to stop, STOP IT. If you want something to start, START IT. Don't wait for someone else to do it. What if all the greats we learn about in history class left it for someone else? George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks, etc. We don't study their lives because they were superhuman, but because they were humans that got it, they had the courage and strength to take the step that needed to be taken.
No, it wont be easy, and yes you'll have people say that you can't do it, but if you really believe in whatever it is, then work for it. Don't stop, until it's done and even then it's probably not over.
Gandhi didn't make a difference by thinking “Oh wow, I hope someone eventually does something about the lack of peace around here.”
We don't remember Martin Luther King Jr. because he had a dream, we remember him because he DID something about his dream.
If you have a dream, you have to go after it, what else are you living for?
If you aren't doing what you want, what are doing?
You have one chance to live this life you were given, do something with it.
