Thank you Kyle BroadAMERICANS ARE DISSATISFIED with the direction of morals and values in our country.

Thus proclaimed a recent study that I heard mentioned on the radio.

Here’s the problem, though:  This has been a common complaint, pretty much for the entirety of human history.  It has to do with the innate sense of striving that we have as humans, and frustration that things rarely go as we desire.

In my mind, the question is not whether things are going downhill.  Some things are getting better, some are getting worse, and the press is more inclined to report the latter.

No, the question is: What can I do to make the world better?

And the fact is that you have the potential for far more impact than you give yourself credit for.  Support, encouragement, solving problems, motivation — whatever your gifts are.

If you’re a leader of a company or organization, then you’ve been granted an even larger platform for making a positive difference.  It’s only a little about what you do for your customers and beneficiaries.  The big impact is with employees and partners of all kinds.

I had a opportunity to lead the creation and growth of two businesses back in the 90s, and ultimately both of them failed after I moved on to my next assignment.

I thought about that.  A lot.

And I’ve decided that there were a great number of positive aspects to this experience.

  • We learned a huge amount about how to create products and solve customer problems.
  • I provided great jobs for about 50 people.
  • The technology lived on to solve other problems even after the products failed.
  • This experience, in fact, ended up leading me to the coaching work that I do today.

So yes, our society has issues.  Issues that seem to be inherent to how humanity operates.

But what are you doing to improve things in your little corner of the world?

Have you uplifted someone today?