SFNYC - Day 4 - Changing the World is Easy

Changing the world is quite easy.
Don't believe me?
Pick an object near you. Move it to the left or right an inch. Observe. You've just changed the world.

You see, when most people say "changing the world," what they mean is: changing people's minds.
Changing someone's mind is extraordinarilly difficult.

I'm not joking when I say that it would be FAR EASIER to force a hydrogen atom to implode upon itself than it would be to change someone's mind.

So I've given up on changing people's minds.

Now, I'm far more interested in INFLUENCING people's choices. Far easier.

For example: everyday, someone buys fabric softener. They go to a store, buy a brand, take it home and use it.

Ah ha! But WHICH store? WHAT brand? HOW do they use it?

If, by talking on this blog about how much I adore Seventh Generation cleaning products, not just for their environmetal progressiveness, but for their clean packaging design and future-proof mission statement, and I post endlessly about how, by using Seventh Generation products, you are sending a message that your dollars will be spent on green-friendly goods, and by spending those dollars, showing the world that you care about the survival of your fellow human beings, then I have elicited change by using influence.

Influence is a small thing, but influence is the ring in the nose of the Bull that is Change.

Influence determines what is "cool." "Cool" then becomes what most strive to be. Influence equals change.

And so the game is: in every interaction you have, NO MATTER HOW (seemingly) INSIGNIFICANT, there is a golden opportunity to influence.

Tip your cabbie well, he smiles and remains smiling when the next fare gets in the cab. That fare, seeing the cabbie's friendly smile, tips him more. The future is going to be about focusing on the smaller things. Like the people around you.

If you woke up feeling bad, and you let that energy spill onto everyone you encounter for the duration of your foul mood, it is the equivalent of an oil tanker leaking sludge onto a beach. The effects of your bad mood will radiate outwards, influencing everything you interact with.

Here's the great thing: There is so much Bad Mood out there, that ANY Good Mood you put forth is far more powerful.
Like a match in the dark, positivity can illuminate and inspire, while negativity can only subdue and lessen.

Here's to the New Optimism - We can change the world, create a new Paradise, simply by radiating positivity at the people we see everyday.

-Jackson

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seventhgeneration.com