Dream Big Think Smaller
[Music]
a lot of people have told me
this looks like a cape i’ve always
loved capes because you know who wears
capes
superheroes i remember when i was a
little girl i would jump
up and down and bounce all over my
grandparents mattress pretending like i
was
flying like i was the superhero in a
cave
i didn’t like superheroes because they
had capes or because they could fly
even though that is really cool i loved
superheroes because they were always out
there
helping people and making the world a
better
place i always wanted to be a superhero
but a big part of me knew i could never
do that
as a little kid i was too small
but the truth is we need superheroes now
more than ever because the world’s
problems
are worse than ever before
superheroes are known for solving
problems that are bigger than us and
bigger than life
as we know it at a young age
we are socialized through media to
believe that
we need superheroes to solve these big
grand insurmountable problems and
perhaps that
they are the only ones who could solve
them
the thing is we don’t live in a world
of superheroes but the closest thing we
have to superheroes are people like
bill gates who is eradicating poverty
and life-threatening diseases and also
happens to be able to read
over 50 books in a year or
people like greta thundberg who is
a 17 year old nobel peace prize winner
who can inspire over 7 million in a
single day to strike against climate
change
we think of people like them
and gandhi and mother teresa and ben
franklin and elon musk
we think of super humans
and the problem is most of us here
see ourselves as what society knows as
normal people the thing is
what we really need right now are heroes
who
will suck the excess of co2 out of thin
air
drop food from out of the sky onto food
deserts or create airborne cures
for lethal diseases really we have so
many reasons to believe
we need superheroes and superhumans to
solve these
big grand insurmountable problems and
perhaps are
that they’re the only ones who can the
truth is
you’re not bill gates or
greta thundberg or gandhi
but the truth is you don’t have to be
them
to make a difference because you can be
something better there’s a saying from
spider-man
where uncle ben tells peter parker with
great power
comes great responsibility but
even with little to no power also
comes with great responsibility
we have this preconception that we need
to have something so
big and so special about us to
make a difference and we learn to
believe
that any difference we choose to make
has to be big
and that takes these miraculously
capable people
but the fact is impact doesn’t always
have to be
big impact comes in all sorts
of shapes and sizes so
some background on myself besides liking
capes and superheroes
i teach high school students social
entrepreneurship through a non-profit
that i started
and social entrepreneurship for some
context is basically
starting businesses and startup ideas
that create
a kind of social impact on your local
community
and in every one of my first sessions
i ask my students the single question
what is the biggest craziest wildest
thing that you could do
to make an impact even if
it’s unattainable what is the biggest
thing
you could do i’ve gotten answers from
curing cancer to ending world hunger to
starting a non-profit the next question
i ask them is what is the smallest thing
that you could do to make a difference
something so small and even effortless
but still makes a positive difference
i’ve gotten answers from smiling at a
stranger
to helping a friend or community member
to
listening to people it really
makes you think it shows them that
impact doesn’t always have to be big
and in fact the smallest things
can make the biggest impact
so whether it’s smiling on a stranger or
helping a friend or a community member
or
listening to people what if you just
went out of your way
a little bit every day to do that
imagine what kind of world we would live
in
this collective impact is the most
powerful not just at the individual
level but
at the societal level
we live in an extremely unique time
because every single global crisis on
this planet
is a human generated problem
ice caps are melting animals are growing
closer to extinction
countries are becoming the world’s
dumping grounds for trash
discrimination is depriving over 66
million
women and girls from going to school and
that
same cause is depriving marginalized
communities
from equal pay and living opportunities
on a systemic
and structural level and we
are going through the world’s most
lethal pandemic
because people refuse to wear masks
imagine if everyone on this planet
for those who can just recycled one
thing a day
turned off our lights whenever we left
the room
composted even just one of our meals
shortened our showers
even by just a minute or
respected each other despite our
differences
imagine what kind of world we would live
in
if every single person on this planet
just went out of their ways to do this
the fact is we are greater than the sum
of our parts whether it be the problems
or the solutions
we may live in a world of big human
generated problems
but it is up to us to create small
human generated solutions
the problem is we have this problem
with big because when we think of
big problems we want big solutions
and we spend so much time and energy
thinking about the size of these
problems
that it’s easy to get stuck
and feel overwhelmed or daunted by the
size of these problems that it makes us
feel
small and overwhelmed wishing that
superheroes actually
did exist
one of my personal heroes is the founder
of this junk free
dog treat company called anubis it was
founded by
my student named freya who actually
created this idea
from the experience of
her dog being diagnosed with cancer and
only being able to eat so much
and the most memorable experience from
my work
was when she told me i felt like before
i couldn’t make an impact maybe i didn’t
have the resources
or is too small i’m a 12 year old
who’s a 12 year old who only knows so
much
because she’s a 12 year old but doing
this program
made me take on a new perspective to
learn that
i can make an impact on people and also
dogs
impact doesn’t always have to be big
really it is about creating a meaningful
impact
for someone at some level
even if it’s in the smallest way
when it comes to impact even if you
think it is small
there are people whether it’s one or
many who could benefit from what you can
offer
whether it’s small or big
that just and in fact that just empowers
us
even more because the people closest to
the problems
are closest to the solutions
we only know what we know our
experiences with these problems
equip us with the depth of knowledge and
familiarity
to be able to solve them and beyond that
our experiences give us the drive
to be able to have that passion to be
able to solve these problems
for people who are going through them
but beyond that our experiences give us
the drive
we embody meaning in our experiences
they give us the fuel to drive us to be
compassionate to make an impact
and to solve that problem that we care
so
deeply about freya created a junk free
dog treat company
from trying to feed her dog who could
only eat so much
because he was diagnosed with cancer
tiara created an all-natural hair care
brand
created to empower women of color to
embrace
their natural image and shia
created a gender non-conforming and
plus-sized clothing line
because he couldn’t help but encounter
that phrase
this looks so cute just not on me every
time
he went shopping
it’s what we make out of those
particular things and experiences
and the special meaning that we choose
to embody in them
it’s what allows us to care more to
develop this soft spot
we are more driven to solve the problems
we
care most about that are closest to us
the ones that are closest to our hearts
and the problems that
we feel the most pain points from so
that others don’t have to go through
them
or perhaps could have an easier time
overcoming them
that is what makes impact so
important and that’s what makes it so
special
so i’m not asking you to go start your
own clothing line or an app to go change
the world
but the most important thing
is to realize that to make a big
difference we have to think
smaller it begins with asking yourself
what is the smallest thing
you can do to make a difference
because that is what makes you the
person to get out there
and make your mark on the world
the smallest impact is the biggest
and the people closest to the problems
are closest to the solutions
that is what makes us all heroes
you are the world’s hero you are your
community’s hero
and most importantly you are someone’s
hero
it begins small one person at a time
and one step at a time impact
is ironic that way so
go put on your cape and wear it with
pride
you