Friday, September 30, 2011

The Power of One

96,783. This is not the number of calories in a box of Lucky Charms, miles on my truck or the number of times I have logged into Facebook. 96,783. This number represents exactly how many “Kurt’s” there are in the United States.

In my day-to-day life I will admit at times I simply want the day to end, not always looking towards the future and the impact I could be making. However one evening the number 96,783 appeared and the question arose, how was I going to make an impact and not just be part of the five-digit number in front of me. The first thought in my head was simple; I had a hard enough time getting through my own day how can I possibly stand out and make an impact. I became very discouraged but then two stories were told that changed my mindset.

The first was that of an un-respected woman with little rights. She worked long, hard days and had a hard time getting through her own day. She had a choice one-day, a choice to stay with the status quo, get pushed around and simply get through the situation or to stand up for herself and the others around her. She took the latter option. She got arrested and put in jail. But she sparked an entire movement, a movement that would change the entire world. You know her as Rosa Parks. Congress as identified her as “the mother of the freedom movement”. By choosing to violate laws and stay sitting that day on the bus, she stood out and made an impact by using her Power of One.





The second was that of a man named Schicklewuber. As a boy he never learned about character. His parents never taught him wrong from right. He was put down when he talked about becoming a priest and insulted when he spoke of becoming an artist. He was never valued or taught values. He put up an emotional wall and never let anyone inside. He grew up and became a leader and used his Power of One. You know him as Adolf Hilter and we also all know his terrible impact.

These two individuals both had something in common; they both used their Power of Ones. They both stood out of the crowd and made an impact but one for great things and one for terrible things. Currently there are 312,325,336 people in the United States and 6,965,275,004 in the world. Our population is ever changing and growing and great leaders are needed more and more each day.

I challenge you to go to the following link and find out how many people share your name:

http://howmanyofme.com/search/

Put this number on a note card and place it in somewhere where you will see it EVERYDAY. Mine is on my ceiling next to my goals, it’s the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing when I go to bed at night. It helps me to remember to make that impact and stand out from the multiple other “Kurt’s”. One more number to consider, 15. Every seven seconds someone is born, every 13 seconds someone dies. This amounts to a net gain of one person every 12 seconds. That means since the time you began reading this, 15 more people have entered the world population. How will you use your Power of One to impact the future?