Changing the World
Listed on September 12, 2014 in Blogs!You often hear that people want to make a difference. Whether in politics, working in the public service or by doing voluntary work, the term is genuinely expressed. But sometimes you come across individuals doing extraordinary and amazing things and they make a difference too. They change the whole understanding of an issue and change the way the way an organisation or, possibly, how the wider world works too. With so much conflict and unhappiness in the world I am sure we need many more of these people today. The computer giant, Apple, once used a branding tag entitled ‘Think Different’. It was very apt for a company that was designing beautifully engineered products and intuitive software. Their mission was to take on the giant Microsoft and beat them at their own game. Some would now say that Apple have changed the world. Certainly the ubiquitous iPhone, iPod and iPad are everywhere and are cloned by competitors. This week the iWatch has been launched. We’ll see if it catches on and changes what we put on our wrists.
This brings me to Chris Guillebeau. He’s an American author, traveller, entrepreneur and motivational speaker living in Portland, Oregon. Chris is interested in doing things differently and his latest book – The Happiness of Pursuit – describes his odyssey to visit every country on the planet. Note the book is not about the pursuit of happiness (a term taken from the U.S. Constitution) rather the happiness which comes from seeking understanding and knowledge by undertaking a quest of some sort. It sounds a bit individualistic but I think he is arguing that from home base you can create a different sort of world around you – you can make a difference. I’m off on my own quest today. Two weeks of isolation and solitude. Don’t worry, Dillington is in safe hands and I will come back rested and revitalised.
