Change- 1

I'd love to change the world, wouldn't you? I'd love to know that at the end of my life, something I did made a difference. I'm sure you've had that thought. Truth is, I think we can! Over the next few days, I want to offer a few thoughts on how you can make change happen right where you are.

I had the chance to watch a live interview with Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS shoes. There principle is simple: for every pair of TOMS shoes that someone buys, they give one pair of shoes to a child in a third world country who needs shoes and who otherwise wouldn't be able to get them. 1 for 1. Check them out at TOMS.com.

Blake captivated the audience with one insight after another. He admitted that his company only focused on giving and let his customers take care of the rest. He explained that every employee at TOMS shoes had regular opportunities to GIVE and to SERVE above and beyond their employee obligations.

Near the end of the interview, Blake offered these words on change, "To create change, you must ask people to join you." It sounds so simple really, but the way his company played it out is genius. You might have heard of the all day barefoot day last April where TOMS shoes challenged the world to spend one day without shoes to raise awareness for the millions of people in the world without shoes. Blake was able to get AT&T to sponsor their company with a simple phone call and meeting. TOMS needed advertisement, AT&T needed an authentic story to promote their products. Blake wanted to create change, and he simply asked people to join him.

Jesus knew this well. He didn't simply try to change the world himself, he asked twelve guys and a whole bunch of other people to follow him. He demonstrated what he was willing to give up by offering his life on the cross. Inspired by his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus' followers went out empowered by the Holy Spirit to change the world in a way that has impacted billions of people to this day.

So what in your world are you trying to change? Are you living for a cause that matters? Stop doing it alone! Find people who share your dreams and your passions, and get connected. If you want to create change, ask people to join you!