Use the Power of One to Make a Difference

In most cases, it only takes one willing person to make a huge difference in a community, a nation, or even in the world. It only took me one "YES!" to accept the call to what has become my life's adventure; one step to begin a journey around the world and beyond.Sir Nicholas George Winton MBE (born Wertheim; 19 May 1909 – 1 July 2015) was a British humanitarian who organized the rescue of 669 children, most of them Jewish, from Czechoslovakia on the eve of the Second World War in an operation later known as the Czech Kindertransport (German for "children's transport").Winton found homes for the children and arranged for their safe passage to Britain. The world found out about his work over 50 years later, in 1988. The British press dubbed him the "British Schindler".In 2003, Winton was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for "services to humanity, in saving Jewish children from Nazi Germany occupied Czechoslovakia". On 28 October 2014, he was awarded the highest honour of the Czech Republic, the Order of the White Lion (1st class), by Czech President Miloš Zeman.This incredible man single handedly saved the lives of hundreds of children whom otherwise would have most certainly perished along with their parents in the Auschwitz concentration camp. No one knew about his good deeds until one day 50 years later when his wife found a notebook in the attic. It contained the names and pictures of all the children he had saved. Nicolas Winton's story is a perfect example of "The Power of One".

One

It takes one life to make a difference in your community or in the world; one hope to brighten the lives of many.It takes one "YES!" to accept your call to life's adventure; one step to begin a journey around the world and beyond.It takes one path to lead you to your destiny.It takes one crack for light to go through darkness.It takes one word to begin the prayer that might unfold into a miracle; one voice to spread a wealth of wisdom and transform the lives of many; one person to speak the truth which frees nations from bondage and oppression; one actionable idea to save a community, a country or even the entire planet.It takes one smile to lift the spirits and lighten up the faces of many; one hug to brighten a person's day; one act of random kindness to ripple into a new world.It takes one entrepreneur to envision and build an aircraft, a new software, a book, a building, etc.; one leader to drive a team, a project, a country, a company, a movement.Related: 35 Ways of Thinking That Every Young Entrepreneur Needs to AdoptIt takes one vision to bring a community or country together; one person with the right attitude to influence the attitudes of all around them.Miracles occur when the world isn't watching, among random acts of kindness. Little things always make a big difference.There are moments when we might feel as if our contribution to the world is insignificant. To be frank, it is. But it's also very important that we make it; that we play our part in the big scheme of things.Referring to organizations and work systems, Stephen Covey, American educator, author, and businessman once said that "One person can be a change catalyst, a 'transformer' in any situation, any organization. Such an individual is the yeast that can leaven an entire loaf."So, then, what stops us from being that? When fear, temporary failure, or a series of setbacks pound away at our attitude we need to remember the Power of One; the power of one individual to change everything.You already mean the world to someone who admires you.That idea floating around in your head right now could change the world.

Whoever you are, whatever you do, wherever you go, you can harness The Power of One.

Your Potential Begins with Your Beliefs

Your beliefs can either limit or unleash your potential.If you start off with, "That's not me" or "I could never do that" or "I guess I'm just not meant for that", you limit what you are capable of. Worse, you might be right. Being right and telling the truth are two different things. A negative attitude, especially before trying, might not be true, but your mind will believe it, nonetheless.If instead, you lead with, "I'm learning" or "I think I can" or "I'll figure it out", or, "If it can be done, it can be done by me", you set the stage for realizing your potential. Your mind believes whatever you tell it to believe.What is one challenge in your life where if you chose a new belief, you would change your results? Use the Power of One to Make a DifferenceThe Power of One is the theory that one person's actions can have a huge impact and change the future for better. It wonderfully shows how each of us has all necessary resources to inspire and make a difference in the lives of those around us.

"The power of one man or one woman doing the right thing for the right reason, and at the right time, is the greatest influence in our society" – Jack Kemp, American politician, and professional gridiron football player.

As we modernly plunge into massive amounts of information delivered across multiple platforms, we become terribly skeptical. Because of so many ideas and data to sort through, facts don't easily move us anymore.Even in this case, though, it only takes one powerful message or image to spur people to act. When we combine what we know and believe with action, we make a difference. Those rare messages and experiences that strike an emotional chord can engage us in ways that transcend reason.It's the personal messages that resonate. It's the people who never considered speaking out, that now find a voice through social media. Online tools help amplify individual concerns, turning one person's mission into collective action. They put a new spin on old reformist techniques, such as civil disobedience, petitioning and protesting. "Knowledge without action is useless. It's those who KNOW and GO who end up changing the world." - Ben Kubassek