Over the past few weeks, I’ve done a lot of thinking about how 1) we impact the world, and 2) what we’re doing (collectively and individually) to increase that impact.

I’ve come to the conclusion that as individuals, we each need to:

1) change the world, and
2) do it now

A few weeks back, I came across a great piece of art done about 2 years ago by Hugh McLeod (illustrator of Seth Godin’s The Dip):

Change the world, or go home. These are empowering (and scary) words that can apply to every individual in today’s society as well as every company or corporation. If you’re not doing something that truly impacts the world (even if that means YOUR world, or your tribe, or your community), then go home.

I also recently watched an old commencement address at Stanford by Steve Jobs, which is incidentally one of my favorite speeches of all time. The most influential quote for me was this:

“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose… Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life”

We are running out of time. The internet (and the world) is changing before our eyes at an astonishing rate. The things that we can create (and get away with) today may not be available for us to do tomorrow. Since the internet is so young, it is also very naive. Twitter, for instance, is a great marketing and networking platform, but for how long? Soon it will be drowned out by the noise of millions of many that may not understand the system or appreciate its mechanisms. Maybe it will be changed for the better, maybe for the worse, but only time will tell.

My point here is this: If we have the knowledge and ability to change the world based on today’s systems and mechanisms, what are we waiting for? The easy and safe choice of taking the path of least resistance (whether that’s staying at your current job, going to law school, or just sitting “waiting to make your move”) may be the very thing you regret 10 years from now. If you’re taking the path of least resistance that will get you to where you want to be in 10 years, what happens when the world changes in 4 and your years of experience are no longer relevant (think about the journalists and FM DJ’s who are being replaced by news feeds and iPods)? Those things that you think are permanent and long-lasting are really only temporary.* Especially in today’s era.
*As they say in Avenue Q: “except for death and paying taxes, everything in life is only for now.”

Stop putting off your plans until tomorrow. Because if there really is no tomorrow, think of all the time you have wasted. Change the world. And do it now.