Change the world, because you're the only one who can.

I thought I'd bring something up I mentioned in my first post, this week; the fact that you're the only one who can change the world. Being unemployed has left me finding it very difficult to keep successful habits and attitudes up, but I reminded myself today why it is I continue to breathe. I want to change the world. It wasn't until I remembered why I'm doing what I'm doing that I was able to grab that motivation back and get to the things that needed doing.

I'm the only person who can see my vision of the future the way I see it. It's as simple as that. I have a view of what can heal and change the world, which I will share in due time, and only I can enact the steps to make that happen in an effective and meaningful way. I could wait for someone else to do it, but I'd never be satisfied with that, I will always look at what they've made or changed and see another change that needs to be made.

There are a lot of reasons it is important to always remember this, but I'll cover the major reasons.

1. A dream is a journey, not a destination.

Much like success, your dreams are a process, a journey, not a destination where you can kick back and ignore the world. Your dreams are an expression of you, of who you are and what you believe in, so even if someone makes or does something extremely close to what you'd dreamed of, it's not yours. That sounds obvious, right? To you, it's clearly not yours, but what would other people think of yours? If you know why you're the only one doing what you do, they will, too.

Don't muddle yourself down with thoughts that someone else could do it better, because they won't. Strengthen yourself, your ideals, and your beliefs by encouraging yourself to continue on grounds that if you don't, it won't get done. You have something special to give to the world and if you don't do it, no one will. Do this because even if your initial progress looks preconceived and overdone, as you continue to pour yourself into your dreams, the result is your dreams will reflect you and your beliefs more and more. That is what people latch onto, people who follow their passion and see it through no matter what is going on around them. That is how you start a movement.

2. As you change, so will your dream.

As you grow with your dream, as you fan the flames with your positive attitude and hard work, you will change for the better. As you change, so will your dream, so what then? Does that invalidate all the work you've put in? No, not at all. That validates your work in every conceivable way, and the fact that you are active in presenting your dreams to the world means you get to change them. You guide your dreams, and over time, you will develop, focus, and change them and that is beautiful.

3. Only you see from your perspective.

It's not difficult to explain yourself from your point of view. People, as a whole, are compassionate, empathetic beings who have the ability to put themselves in another person's shoes. The trick is that most won't unless presented with your point of view. Everyone has a unique perspective in the world, including you, but many of them could see what you see if you share it with them. Whether your strengths of communication lie in art, mathematics, computers, or science, you can share your perspective and like-minded people will join in the conversation, but you have to start the conversation.

Only you can use the unique perspective you have to change things, to better things, in your area, in your state or country, or even the world. Only you can use that perspective to change people, to change habits and minds for the better, so if that's what you want to do with your life, just go and do it. There are millions of people out there who are changing the world, but we need all the help we can get. The more perspectives, the more minds in on the global picture, the clearer it becomes what the real problems are and what we can do to change them. Not every part of the picture is right, but every part of the picture is essential in displaying the human condition.

Represent yourself and all that has shaped you by willing yourself to follow your dreams.

4. No one is born a leader or a follower.

Everyone is "naturally" good at leading. Leading doesn't take any particular skills, it only takes passion and confidence. If you believe in yourself and why you do what you do, you will inspire others to believe in you and your mission, as well. It is important not only to spread the word of your mission and what you have accomplished for it, but to reinforce you and your creativity. The trouble is often that when money gets involved, people forget that they were working for a purpose, for a goal they saw as bigger than themselves, and began to work for a paycheck. Don't be that person. Don't follow the bottom dollar, because you will end up at the bottom.

Follow your heart, your dreams, and your passion, because the more work you put into them, the brighter they will burn; the brighter your dreams burn, the more people will want to share your light.

A Letter to You, Whom I Love

I wish I knew how to tell you how beautiful you are in a way you would hear. You have the most incredible light hidden inside you that I am desperate to see freed, but you're afraid. Maybe you're afraid of rejection, or afraid of love. Maybe you're afraid of insincerity and fraud, that if just one bit of you got out and became real, became emulated, you'd lose a piece of your individuality. Maybe you're just scared to succeed.

I want you to know I'm right behind you. Don't listen to your fears, they cloud your light and hide it away. You could touch so many lives with your talent! You could set the world on fire in an instant if only you would speak to them. They're listening. Please start speaking. Please let the door to your heart fly open and express yourself unabashedly, thrash your individuality against the walls of your cage. You may believe that they built the cage you're in, but they put the lock on the inside and never told you. You have the power, only you can unlock it.

That's what gets me. That's what keeps me awake at night in tears, knowing that you're such a powerhouse of emotion and expression and I can't unlock the cage of fear you're locked in. I want to reach into your heart and let the joy explode out of it, I want to see the colors you have locked away in your mind splashed onto the canvas and the pieces of your heart reassembled and on display where everyone can see you, touch you and experience you.

I want this because I love you. I love you so much that it hurts to look on in helplessness, knowing that you could full well be the happiest person I know; if only you knew how. I've hugged you, I've held you, I've kissed you, I've stayed up long hours into the night getting to know you, and now I want to introduce you to yourself. We're really good friends, and I think you two would hit it off, if only you'd take the time to talk.

You're kind and generous, thoughtful and emotive. You're down to earth and human, yet you have the most fantastic imagination. You're shy and bold, quick and slow, careful and clumsy, irreverent and adorable and I can't get enough of you.

I just want you to know, if you could learn to get along with yourself, the world won't be able to get enough of you, either <3

So you want the world to change

You have a lofty and respectable goal. Where do you start, though? Where does it begin? How will you know when you've done it? Change isn't easy for anyone, but it can be done. The best part is you can do it; in fact, you're the ONLY one who can. We all want the world to change, but we're all at least a little afraid of doing it wrong. Don't be. You're not ready to change the world, just yet, and that's okay. We're all naive, and we all make mistakes, the trick is moving past them.

In the most simplified way I could, I've put together what makes change for me, and why I am driven to do what I am going to do with my life.

   1. Changing the world always starts with one.

You've heard the quote, "be the change you want to see in the world," but enacting this can be difficult. Start by writing out what is important to you. If it helps, think of it as if you were describing the perfect person with whom to be stuck on a desert island. As an example, this is what I have:

• Integrity: the strength and willpower to stay honest with oneself and others no matter the situation.
• Creativity: the fearlessness to let the sparks of your mind fly and follow the flames where they catch.
• Positivity: the ability to see a mistake as a learning experience and an accident as an opportunity.
• Focus: the work ethic and forward thinking to stick to what you believe in and follow your ideas through.
• Willpower: the power to overcome oneself and do what needs to be done no matter the obstacles.

Now you've built the engine that's going to drive you to your goals. Keep the list as a manual for that engine, because it will need tune-ups every now and again. I listed integrity first on mine, because in my life, I have found that to be the most important. It is literally the best way to dodge worries. When you know that people expect your words to be exactly what they are, you are no longer chained up to the fear of what they are thinking of you.

   2. For what will the world have you to thank?

Now that you've changed your actions and felt the change in yourself, you're most of the way there. Your engine is built, and that's probably the hardest part of all of this. Now what you have to do is find what makes you passionate. What makes you go? What makes you forget the world around you and time itself when you're thinking about it? For myself, that ended up being change in and of itself. Finding ways to better myself and live a happy, successful life. For you, it could be as foreign a concept as the death of Betelgeuse, or you may already know what that is. Now you pour your soul into it.

Let the fear of failure go, let the fear of debt and poverty go, let the fear of ridicule go. Just go do it. If you're posting on the internet for all to see, let the fear of trolls' and aggravators' comments go. No matter what you do, you're going to get those people, they don't matter. In the immortal words of Dr. Seuss "Those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." No matter what your passion, even if it's taking pictures of dogs taking baths in treetops, there are people out there that will get excited and want to help you.

All you have to do is find out what the rest of your life will be best spent doing and do it. That's your fuel, that's what you're putting in your engine to reach more people and ultimately, the height of your goals.

   3. You're doing what you love, but what now?

Just keep doing it. No matter how much crap gets flung at you, no matter how hurt you get sometimes, just keep doing it. Never let others take your joy from you. At the very least, right now, you have followers and you have happiness. Enjoy the ride! It could go anywhere from here, so drop your expectations and stay ready for anything. If things start looking bad, don't fight it, just go with the flow until you see the light again. I can assure you, as long as you are alive, things can and will get better. Especially if you're counting on them to.

I'm not sure if I heard this somewhere or came up with it, myself, but the quote I live by is, "Don't chase money as if it would bring you happiness, chase happiness as if it would bring you money." You won't always end up with money at the end, but if you are focused on the happiness, you've won either way. Keep showing people what makes you happy, keep sharing the most important parts of yourself, keep putting fuel in your engine and driving forward, and you will find the change in the world you were looking for, in the first place, which brings us to the last point.

   4. How will you know when you've done it?

For most of us, there will never be a "defining moment" to know where we have changed the world. Unless you've made billions doing it, it's unlikely someone's going to kiss your behind and thank you for changing the world. That's okay, though. When you've made it to this point, you won't be looking for thanks. You won't expect gratitude from the world, because you don't need it. You have built a life around yourself with good people who share your ideals, you've sought and found what makes you happy, and you're doing it. So, again, just keep doing it.

Just keep being the best you that you can be, because you're awesome, so take credit for it.