making a difference in the world

Your Good Deeds Will Eventually Go Public

When I help others,
I do it
as quietly as possible.

I don’t want the recognition.
That’s not why
I’m helping others.

But I know
my good deeds
will eventually go public.

There’s always a trail.
And we live in a world
where everyone has a recording device
and is constantly using it.

Someone WILL say something
or post something
or tell someone.

When I help others,
I accept that will happen.

You don’t have to tell others
about your good deeds.

Someone else
will eventually share
that news.

And it will be more powerful
because it is being shared
by that someone else.

There is no need
to broadcast your good deeds.

Your Content Is Immortal

One of my favorite YouTube channels
features a 94 year old woman
who lived through the depression
sharing depression recipes
and stories.

The footage was recorded
14 or more years ago.
The woman has long passed.

Her videos remain.
They are immortal
and so is she,
in a virtual version.

Remember that
when you release content.

Your content could live
forever.

It could be the way
others know of you
long after you’re gone.

Ensure they view you
the way YOU
want to be viewed.

Big Problems Require Numerous Solutions

I was posting
on social media about
how I direct some of my donations
toward planting trees.

An angry guy
commented
that I was a f*ckin’ idiot.
Planting trees
won’t solve climate change.

Of course, it won’t
‘solve’ climate change
on its own,
dumb a$$.
Climate change
is a HUGE problem.
Huge problems
often require
multiple solutions.

If you want to tackle
a huge problem
with the business
you’re building,
consider
tackling a small slice
of that problem
first.

Then build out
from there.

That’s manageable.
That’s doable.

Money Isn’t Lost

It is the reality
of business building
that some businesses
won’t survive.

I once worked
for one of the largest
beverage companies in the world.
The company had over a century
of history
in developing products.
We spent millions of dollars
testing if a product
would work or not.

And fewer than
1 in 10 products
survived.

Business failure is tough
but it isn’t a failure of YOU.
It is just part of building businesses.

And it isn’t completely wasted
time or money or other resources.

One of the (many) things
that gives me peace
when products and companies fail
is…
the money invested
isn’t ever lost.
It is transferred.

It paid salaries, for example.
Someone put food
on their table
because we started that company.

It built other businesses,
as another example.
Suppliers were paid
and those funds
might have made a difference
in THOSE companies.

Even failed companies
contribute to the world.

Remember that.

Long-Running Charities

Yesterday, I talked about
how I keep a tally
of my contributions to charities
and their associated impacts.

Any long-running charity
should be able to provide us
with the impacts
they have made
over the years.

On the website
for #TeamTrees ,
for example,
they announce
how many trees
they’ve helped plant
thus far.

They show you
the locations
they’ve planted those trees.

They also know
how much it costs them
to plant a tree
(which is an easy calculation
– the amount spent
divided by the number of trees).

We should be able
to see the impact
of a charity
on the cause
we’re supporting.

If you’re in a leadership position
at a charity,
ensure you supply this information.

If you are a donor,
expect to see it.

Keep Track Of The Changes You’ve Helped Make

Yesterday,
I talked about finding
the right charity for you.

One of the things
that increases my joy
around giving to charity
is
keeping a tally
of my donations
and their projected impact.

For example,
I donate to
#TeamTrees .
$1 US helps to plant
1 tree.

Planting 1 tree
might not seem
like it would make
a huge difference
but planting 1 tree
a day
for 10 years
creates a mini forest
the size of a nearby park.

THAT is impressive.
THAT would make
any tree-lover happy.

Track the differences
you make
in this wonderful world.

The Little Actions Count

“Masks only make a tiny difference,”
a friend told me yesterday.

They might only make a tiny difference
but that tiny difference
taken every day
multiplied by three years
has resulted in me
only having had COVID once
while my friend, a non-mask-wearer,
has had it three times.

Those multiple infections
means he can no longer walk
around the block
without needing a rest.

(And yet he still mocks people
who wear masks.)

Small actions make a difference
over time.

I pick up a bit of garbage
every day.
Our neighborhood,
years later,
is now quite a bit cleaner
than neighborhoods located
close to ours.

I post an extra promo
on social media
every day.
My sales have stayed level
while the sales
of many writing buddies
have dropped.

Little actions matter.

Conference Swag

A loved one works
for a big technology company.
He attends a gazillion conferences
every year
and,
at every conference,
he is given swag,
promotional items,
Sh*t We All Get.

Every September,
he donates
the fancy notebooks.
the fancy pens,
the backpacks,
and other school-like supplies
he has collected
to the Little Free Library
located close to
the neighborhood primary school.

I’ve seen a little boy
pick up
one of the backpacks.
Microsoft was splashed
across the front of it
but that seemed to make
the little boy even happier.

And he was happy.
He was the happiest
I’ve ever seen a kid be.

To us,
it is just another
piece of swag.

To a kid,
it could be life-changing.

Donate your excess
kid-appropriate swag.

Should You Start A New Organization?

A well known marketing guru
is setting up an organization
to help fight climate change
(and, I suspect,
to sell more books).

The thing is…
similar organizations
already exist.
Their structures are in place.
They are ready to go,
are getting to work,
are making a difference in the world.
Today.
They merely need more support
and more people involved.

In contrast,
when the founders started #TeamTrees ,
they set it up
as a conduit for Arbor Day Foundation,
an existing organization
that plants local trees by local people
worldwide.

#TeamTrees could focus
on the huge task
of driving awareness and support.

They’ve helped plant
over 19 million trees thus far.

If your goal
is to make a difference
in the world,
ask yourself
if you can make a bigger difference
by supporting an existing organization
rather than starting a new one.

Make Today Count

The past few years
have shown many of us
that every day is precious.

TODAY is precious.
Today, we have the opportunity
to create something marvelous,
to cause someone’s world
to be a bit nicer,
to make a small difference.

This could be as easy
as waving to a neighbor,
as choosing the colors
for your new product,
as telling the tired cashier
at the grocery store
she’s doing a good job.

Do something wonderful.
Make today count.