How Do I Make a Difference?

I'm constantly asked by student leaders about how they can make a difference.

And so I share this well-known fable that timeless in our pursuit of making our world a better place.

"One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a figure in the distance. As he got closer, he realized the figure was that of a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.

Approaching the boy, he asked,

“What are you doing?”

The youth replied,

“Throwing a starfish into the ocean. The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

“Son,” the man said,

“don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t possibly make a difference?”

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it into the surf. Then smiling at the man, he said,

“I made a difference for that one.”"

Leadership has a bias for action, start doing, start helping, and start making a difference.