Dare To Make a Difference

“He who jumps into the void owes no explanation to those who stand and watch” – French-Swiss filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard.

Godard was referring to those individuals who decide to take the lead and transform something. He himself is a transformational leader who rejected the conventional way of film-making.

But this post is not about him. It’s about those who dare to make a difference. Maybe that’s you.

When I arrived in Canada from my native Ireland just over 25 years ago, my first boss challenged me to “dare to make a difference”. These weren’t empty words from him. I still remember that day in his office, like it was yesterday. Him and I had many a late evening talk on the meaning of our work.

These talks thought me that work has to have meaning, because without it we run the risk of becoming machine like – going through the motions just to get through each day. We spend more time at work than we do with our family and friends, so it better count for something meaningful.

Does your work have meaning? If the answer is yes, then I congratulate you. If the answer is no, then there is still some time, no matter what age you are, for you to inject meaning into it.

Here are some questions to get you started:

1. Who benefits from your work?
2. How do they benefit?
3. How can you increase those benefits?
4. How can you make it easier for more people to experience those same benefits?
5. What additional benefits can you introduce?

Dare to make a difference!