If I told you that the fate of the world rested on your shoulders, how would you respond?
Would you take an action hero approach and confidently declare that you will handle it?
Would you shrink from the responsibility and pass it on to someone else?
Or would you simply shake your head, look me in the eye and say, “You’ve got the wrong person”?
The truth is, the fate of the world does rest on your shoulders. Your life is changing the world every day, whether you believe it or not.
If you choose to live positive values and be a good citizen of your community, you are changing the world for the better. If you choose to live negative values and take what you want from your community, then you are changing the world for the worse. No matter what you choose—to serve when needed, to give when asked, to ignore the pain of others, to take more than you give—every choice changes the world in some way.
There are four easy choices you can make daily that will change the world:
- Choose to Value People—this is a decision to see each human being you come in contact with, be it in real life or in the digital world, as someone with value who needs that value affirmed in some way. It’s a choice to connect with people and begin breaking down walls of distrust.
- Choose to Add Value to People—this is the decision to do something that helps another person in some way. It can be as extravagant as giving a gift or as simple as doing the dishes still piled in the sink, but it’s a choice to influence people through good deeds.
- Choose to Live Positive Values—this is the decision to live a life that builds rather than destroys. It’s the choice to be honest when the cashier gives you too much change, the choice to let someone else get the credit at work, the choice to treat other people with courtesy and respect. It’s also one of the most attractive ways to live your life.
- Choose to Share Positive Values—this is the decision to share with others the values that inspire and sustain your life. A life of positive values will inevitably lead someone to ask, “What’s your secret? How do you stay so positive, or generous, or kind?” And when they ask, you can choose to share with them the values that empower and enable you to live differently and make a difference.
That’s all it takes. You don’t have to be a superhero or a social media icon to influence people and make a difference in this world; you just have to have the courage to choose a life of values.
That’s the message of my new book, Change Your World, which will be in stores on January 26th. To launch the book, we’ve organized the first-ever Transformathon: a virtual marathon taking over the first twenty or so days of 2021. We’re enlisting people all over the world to join us in covering one mile every day between now and January 23rd. You can walk it, run it, or ride it; however you’re able to get out and get moving, we want you involved.
On January 23rd we’ll wrap up the marathon with a virtual 5K walk/run that will broadcast live over social media. I’ll be walking two different 5Ks that day near my home in Florida, but I want you to join me from wherever you might be as we celebrate our ability to change the world one day—one step—at a time.
I am personally inviting you to change your world by signing up for the Transformathon, which you can do at join.changeyourworld.com/en/. Just click on that link, then click on the Join the Cause! button beneath the Transformathon logo.
Registration for the virtual event is $49 and all of the money goes to our John Maxwell Leadership Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing transformation to the world. You’ll receive credit for a tax-deductible donation, a copy of Change Your World (you just pay shipping), a playlist of songs to inspire your daily walks, a runner’s bib to print out and wear on the day of the 5K, and a printable Certificate of Participation to commemorate your part in this transformational movement.
So far, hundreds of people have signed up, but we’re looking for more—we don’t want this to be some book promotion event, but the beginning of a human movement whose time has come.
This is the most important and powerful book I’ve ever written because it’s about literally changing the world. It’s the book that I’ve been working to write my entire life.
I believe in you, and I believe that you are essential for creating real change. That’s why I want you to join me for the Transformathon and for the exciting journey that comes after it. I need you. The world needs you.
Together we can make a difference that will outlast all of our lives; together, we can change the world.