Wanna Change the World? Start Here.

Jon Acuff wrote this, and it’s simply too good not to share. I hear SO many echoes of Scripture in general and Christ Jesus in particular —

Try This: Change You First, Then Change the World

My friend can’t be happy until the supply chain is fixed. 

I don’t know what that means, but that’s OK because neither does he. 

When I encouraged him to be hopeful about the future, he told me that was tone deaf advice because the economy is so bad, the tariffs are so terrible, and the supply chain is so broken. 

Which parts of the supply chain need to be fixed before you’re allowed to be happy? He didn’t know because he doesn’t actually work in the supply chain but has heard a lot about it online. 

Which economic numbers will allow you to be hopeful? Is it the jobs report? Is it the number of new home starts? Is it the growth rate of the real GDP? Is that the number that will allow you to have a better day? 

It’s always interesting when we as individuals tie our lives to global numbers we don’t control.

I lived that way from about 16 years old to 34 years old. If you asked me if I wanted to improve my life I was quick to tell you all the reasons I couldn’t. I blamed my parents. I blamed my boss. I blamed the economy. I blamed my background. I blamed my fears. I was an excuse factory. 

I tried that approach for close to 20 years and it wasn’t very productive. 

Fifteen years ago, having come to the dead end of every possible dead end, I tried a different approach called, “Personal responsibility.” I don’t know if you’ve heard of this concept, but it sure seems that everyone successful has. I’ve still never met someone who is very accomplished who says the secret to their success was, “Blame.” 

I was late to this party, but I’ve spent the last decade and a half trying my best to catch up. My philosophy is simple:

I believe in big hope and big work. 

That’s about it. I practice optimism and I then I put that optimism into practice. I turn my positive thoughts into positive actions. I get mentally up and then get physically busy. 

When I post that approach online someone inevitably tells me that’s very close minded because not everyone in the world has access to the same opportunities. I agree. There’s never been a single time in the history of the world where everyone had the same opportunities. 

But let’s pull the thread on that thought. 

Are you saying that until everyone has equal access to the same opportunities, you can’t personally lean into hope and hard work in your own life? How will you know when it’s been officially achieved? Will you get an email from the government that says, “We did it. Everyone in the world, all 8 billion people, now have the same exact opportunities, you are therefore now allowed to make small changes in your own life.”

It’s also a wild move to shift the conversation from “you” to “everyone.” 

When I say, “I think you can improve your job” and someone responds with, “Not everyone can do that” I always think, “Wait, who said ‘everyone?’” I’m not talking about everyone. I’m talking about you. 

The faceless, nameless everyone is a wonderful hiding place because then we don’t have to do the hard work in our own lives. 

The economy might be a mess, the housing market might be broken, everyone might not have the same opportunities, but what about you?

Can you walk a mile in your neighborhood today?

Can you go to bed 15 minutes early and get up 15 minutes early to journal a little?

Can you ask your boss for an extra assignment?

Can you drink more water today than you did yesterday?

Can you be kinder to a coworker no one likes today?

Can you make a list of the 10 smartest people you know and then ask them for some advice?

Can you cut down on your screentime this week?

Can you go to the library and read a few personal development books? 

Can you get a part time job on top of your full-time job because the debt demands it? 

I think you can. I don’t think everyone can but then there’s never advice that’s for everyone. 

Will you changing your life change the world? Not at first. The supply chain will still be broken. The economy will still be difficult. There will still be billions of people who don’t have the same opportunities you do. But when you change your life, you can change your family, you can change your community, you can change your city and maybe, just maybe, you can change the whole world too. 

There are two kindergartens in Vietnam because you, me and thousands of other people put that principle into practice. 

I didn’t intend to open two kindergartens in the rural highlands of north Vietnam. 

I just started getting up early so that I could freelance and pay off our car loan. My family changed in the process. I then took personal responsibility for something as small as how much TV I watch. I cut back. That allowed me to write more. Instead of binge watching, I decided to start a blog which allowed me to encourage more people. My community changed. Then I asked readers to help me build two kindergartens in Vietnam. The world changed. 

Is the world broken in many ways? Yes. Fight for that. Stand up for people who don’t have opportunities. Use your time, energy and financial resources to change that. But don’t wait until the world is perfect to change your own life. 

The only way to change the world is to change you first.

Hope hard, work hard.

Start right now, where you are, with what you have.