Make a Difference Day?

Don’t get me wrong, Make a Difference Day is an incredible opportunity for people to consciously do great things, but really? A DAY? How about we shoot for creating a Make a Difference LIFE? Every one of us! Imagine what we could accomplish.

Each morning you have the opportunity to make a difference; do you take advantage of that opportunity? That’s the part that’s up to you. And it goes even deeper than that… The truth is you are making a difference every day, it’s just that some people have been choosing to make a negative difference. Is that you? I can guarantee you that you are definitely making a difference in the life of someone, I can guarantee it because you exist. Whether that difference is positive or negative, that’s up to you.

People use days like National Make a Difference Day to do large recognizable acts, but what if you were to also focus on the small acts that you do every day? Let me retell a story written by an American anthropologist, educator, philosopher, and natural science writer, who taught and published books from the 1950s through the 1970s, Loren Eisley (9/ 3/1907 – 7/ 9/1977.)

The Starfish Story
Original Story by: Loren Eisley

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.

Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”

The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean.

The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish?

You can’t make a difference!”

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said… “I made a difference for that one.”

Take a few minutes at the end of every day to think about how you impacted someone else’s life. What have you done to make a difference on this day?

Make a list of all the things you can do which would make a difference and then, each day start doing it! Really make a difference. And I’m not talking about the large, grandiose, make a large recognizable impact, I’m talking about the starfish. I’m talking about the people who mean the most to you. I’m talking about your children, your brother, your sister, your mom, and dad. Your husband, your wife, your best friend… are you doing everything you possibly can to let them know how important they are to you?

I’ll let you in a little secret… your actions are speaking so much louder than your words. How many times have you experienced someone telling you one thing and acting directly opposite of what they just said? Situations like this leave us questioning the person’s integrity. We’re confused when people’s actions and words are not aligned. This is so confusing to us because it challenges our integrity. Integrity is walking the talk and talking the walk.

Are there areas in your life where you’re not following your integrity? Where you’re telling someone you really love one thing but acting in a way that doesn’t line up with those words?

I challenge you to really think about this and to begin (right now!) to align your actions to your words, to choose to live IN your integrity… to really truly make a lasting difference, not only in others, but in your Self!

Are you ready to start my campaign called Make a Difference Life?