If your value in society is defined by your ability to control your fears and the impact you make on those around you, then comes the next phase of growth, which focuses on your ability to change society for the better. There is something to be said about people who push the boundaries of the norm to create the change they wish to see and who take risks to create change. Back in 2010, I discussed the importance of changing your perspective as it pertains to change and stop waiting for others to initiate something you can do today. So today, I pose the question: Are you a World Shifter?
What is a World Shifter?
A World Shifter is someone who impacts the course of someone else’s life as a result of going out of the norm through an act of kindness. For true change to occur in someone’s life, a certain event needs to occur that is powerful enough to create a change in their life’s direction. Such an event can be good or bad in nature; it could be a family member or close friend’s death opening their eyes to the path they’ve chosen, a medical scare that reminds them that change in their eating habits must take place or perhaps, my favorite, an act of selflessness or kindness that they never expected.
As a World Shifter, you identify where you can impact others to create positive changes in their lives. When people are losing their spirit of determination or their desire to keep going because of the hardships they endure or the constant battle they can’t win, you as a perfect stranger can identify how you can impact their life. You can choose to do so without expecting anything in return whatsoever, because it only takes one person doing something different than what everyone else does to make that powerful impact on others. While it is true that every act of kindness or every crime defines the world we live in and create, as we move forward each and everyday, it is also true that we help others see the power of these actions and as a result enable them to also impact others.
It’s much easier to help yourself and go on with your own life each and every day as though everything is fine. It’s very easy, and actually correct, to say that those who are less fortunate than us are that way as a result of their lack of work, laziness, or inability to adapt to the ways that society allows us to succeed. But it is those that stop making excuses about why others are how they are and instead worry about how their actions can help shape our new world that are the World Shifters and create the change we so much need in our society. Think about the last time you committed an act of kindness that just about everyone else would have not done, and if not, then perhaps you should start thinking about how you can help shape the world you wish to see tomorrow.
How does it all connect to entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship, as we define it here on Secret Entourage, is about innovation and the ability to create value for those around you. If that indeed holds true, then it is also true that creating innovation does mean stepping out of the box and doing what others are not willing to do in order to create change. Practicing that same mentality on a human level through daily acts of kindness is only a reminder of our ability to create change all around us at any given time, and is a testament that we as innovators do not have to live in a world shaped by others, but rather one defined by us and our very own actions.
We are after all human, and it is our humanity that has allowed us to get this far. If we are to follow course with the notion that we are all on our own, then perhaps we are indirectly hurting any chances we have to innovate the core of our very own existence. So now I pose the question again?
What have you done today to shape the world you wish to see tomorrow?
