A friend thinks he can't influence a young person in his life, but the speaker argues that belief itself is the barrier. Taking responsibility and showing up consistently, even through a weekly call or visit, can reshape someone's trajectory. Stop blaming politicians and institutions. Start acting.
Chapters
So a friend of mine has a young person in his life, and he wants this young person to grow. My friend feels helpless because he feels like, what kind of impact can he have? Because he's not this person's parent, he's not this person's, you know, best friend. And he feels like, I can't do anything, you know. I really want to help, but I can't do anything because I'm not his dad. You know, I'm not his friend. I don't see him every day, and he feels hopeless. And here's the thing: the second that you think that you can't have an impact, that you can't make a difference, you've lost. As soon as you abdicate responsibility, you've lost. The minute that you accept responsibility, that's when things start to change. That's when impact starts to happen, because We've all had people in our lives where just a brief experience with them, a brief encounter with them, has changed who we are. Whether it's somebody at school, whether it's an advisor, whether it's somebody that we've just looked up to on YouTube or on TV, or we read a book, that person's thinking changed who we are. You could be that impact on somebody else's life. That could be you. And it's just accept the responsibility. But even if you can't, like, even if you can't reach his parents, you can't get through to them, even if you can't get through to his, his teachers or the people in his class, you can't make any kind of breakthrough to the people in his lives, you can still have an impact. You can still have an impact by being present in that person's life. You can have a 15-minute phone call with him daily or go see him once a week. In that brief encounter, that brief having somebody who believes in you, who sparks you, who challenges you, who makes you feel like you can do anything, that makes a difference. You could be that difference. As soon as you stop blaming other people and accept that responsibility, that's when you start to see growth. That's when you start to see momentum. And I'm tired of people complaining. I'm tired of people just placing the blame on other people. You know, you're tired of your country being the way it is? Don't blame the politicians. Blame yourself. Start making a change. What are you doing to make your nation better? What are you doing to make your city better? What are you doing to make your friends and family better? What are you doing to make your business better? What are you doing to build up the people around you? You can have an impact as long as you believe you can have an impact. So stop placing blame, start accepting responsibility, and start getting some momentum.
