The question isn't if...

The question isn't if you can make a difference. The question is if and when you will acknowledge and embrace the difference only you can make.

Maybe you're ready to start. Perhaps you've already started. Either way, you're likely complicit in impeding your own progress.

It's not your fault.

Biology and evolution have programmed all of us to be content with what is. We find comfort in knowing where we stand and what's expected of us. Institutions and cultural forces conspire to amplify and leverage this instinct to settle for sufficiency.

And yet...

There's a wee small voice in your head whispering, "What if?" "What if things could be better?" "What if I could be and do better?" Are you listening?

To ignore this inner voice of aspiration and not heed its call obstructs your ability to live fully and well doing work that matters. And if you are leaning in and leveling up as a difference-maker, it's likely your experience is fraught and frustrating.

What to do?

First, it's probably time to stop doing some things. Stop hiding in waiting, researching, and learning. Stop hanging around people who hold you back. Stop wasting your time and attention on distractions like screen scrolling. Stop going it alone.

And most of all, stop telling yourself stories about how life is happening to you. Life happens through you. When you do more of the right things with and for more of the right people things get better.

Fellow travelers, trusted guides, and intentional routines are the three most powerful levers available to ratchet forward progress in meaningful endeavors. The daily discipline of connecting with others in common purpose is the best way to get out of your way.

Are you ready to get real and get going leveling up and leaning into making a real difference? The real work begins when you get real about who you are, why you're here, what you do, how you do it and start where you are now. 

Scott Perry, Difference-Maker Coach at Creative on Purpose.

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