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