How To Make A Positive Difference Right Now

Generate game-changing results through ministering, mentoring and multiplying

People talk a lot about making a difference but seldom do anything to make positive change happen. The trite excuse is usually that they don’t feel that what they can do as one person would make a difference.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact that we all are different is enough. One person can change the world. Witness the likes of Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., and countless others that have sparked change around the world to eradicate racism, root out oppression, and establish a reign of fairness, equity, and inclusion.

Making a positive difference is a matter of mindset. Everyone who wants to can make a change.

Society shapes and molds people into believing they should be like other people. Blend in and be part of the so-called “in crowd.”

Psychology books have been written on the subject of how people are influenced and pressured by social acceptance standards to “go along to get along.”

This concept has been made famous by Dr. Robert Cialdini in his bestselling book, Influence. In his book, he talks and teaches about “weapons of influence” the concepts and realities that make people do what they do. Of the six weapons of influence, one of them is the principle of social proof. He says:

“This principle states that we determine what is correct by finding out what other people think is correct. The principle applies especially to the way we decide what constitutes correct behavior. We view a behavior as correct in a given situation to the degree that we see others performing it. Whether the question of what to do with an empty popcorn box in a movie theater, how fast to drive on a certain stretch of highway, or how to eat the chicken at the dinner party, the actions of those around us will be important guides in defining the answer.”

A quote within the book states: “Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.” — Walter Lippman.

Therein lie the problem and the challenge. People do what others do and act according to what they think others will think about them if they do something different or outside of what is considered “normal and okay.”

To be different often generates stigma and ridicule when instead it should be celebrated.

Here’s a dose of reality

Think about this. Did you know that every snowflake that falls has a different pattern?

You’re like a snowflake. You’re different whether you want to be or not. Why not live like it?

Nobody else has the same fingerprints that you have. Is it reasonable to think that your feel and touch should always be the same as the other 7.2 billion people in the world?

Your DNA is different and identifies you as distinct and unique from every other person living on earth. DNA is so powerful that it is used to convict persons of crimes and also free them from false accusations. Just like DNA, you have the power to influence outcomes.

The human iris of the eye is so different it can be used to identify a person with a high degree of accuracy. Wouldn’t it be great if more concentration was placed on seeing things from a different perspective (metaphorically speaking) and then standing up to make a difference from your point of view?

The problem that America and the rest of the world face right now

America and the rest of the world are in the grip of a two-headed monster. A glutinous global pandemic virus and a lethal dose of divisiveness between cultures and races. Either of them alone can destroy a nation and permanently cripple our global existence unless a massive positive difference takes place starting right now.

I’ve lived in the world long enough to learn that no matter what the challenge or problem a person or people face in society, there is always a way or ways to address it and make it better for all concerned.

The resolution always starts with a mindset to do it. It always begins with one person or a collective effort of many.

How you can make a positive difference

One methodology for making a positive difference and designed to give an individual the power to make a difference is the use of the concepts of ministering, mentoring, and multiplying.

A concentrated effort using this system is extremely powerful and has a continuing effect. Carefully study these concepts and put them into practice.

Minister

If you’re like most people, the word “minster” conjures up the image of someone in the clergy. A Pastor, Priest, or another religious leader. See how social proof works? (pun intended).

However, the word minister, regarding this article, means “ to give aid or service”. The term minister also is used in diplomacy, for a diplomat or political figure as in “The Prime Minister.”

To minister requires a mindset of service for the betterment of society and humanity. This is what is required to make a positive difference. It must be part of a strategy with long term goals.

It is not something to take up for a time and then drop it when it becomes burdensome or boring, and the obstacles faced no longer make it a shining object and good feelings.

It requires one to make up his or her mind to serve daily to provide game-changing values to valueless circumstances. Help someone see the good in treating others decently. Show someone else how to serve and help relieve the pain and struggle of poverty, isolation, and the despair of homelessness.

Encourage another person or group of people to give or do something every day that improves the relationship between black and white people and other cultures.

Even the Bible supports the concept of ministering or service as being of the highest order. Jesus made the declaration about himself being a minister. “The Son of man came not to ministered to but to minister. “ — Matthew 20:28. Biblical accounts of women being great ministers also abound. Luke 8:2–3

In the best seller book “Go-Giver” by Bob Burg and Joe David Mann, the concept of service and ministry is amplified through the telling of a story about how one person began with a hotdog stand and built it into a restaurant chain.

It’s the small things that count. Start ministering a little and make it grow into gigantic proportions. Give hope to one person a day and see what happens. It will start a chain reaction to make a positive difference.

Mentor

The next step in making a positive difference is to mentor someone. Ministering is the planting of the seed. Mentoring is watering and tilling the soil to make the ministering idea grow.

Mentorship is leadership. There is not enough of that in the world. It requires character, discipline, vision, courage, and most importantly, it must be done with humility.

Mentoring requires leading by example. For example, if your ministering involves encouragement and suggestion to feed the hungry once a week along with teaching them how they can better themselves that’s great. However, if you teach it you must also do it.

Don’t just tell. You must also show. Mentor one person or more to do what you are doing to make a positive difference. You must walk the talk, not stumble the mumble.

Mentor one person or a group, if you have such influence, and then monitor them. Have the requirement that they produce and bear fruit. If you influence them some will follow your lead and be responsible enough to account for their actions to you and will understand that you are doing it for the greater good.

Lead with consistency. Guide with tolerance and integrity. Teach them to watch the company that they keep and stay away from caustic people and relationships.

Start from where you are right now. It can be a family member, a friend, or a fellow employee. If you are a teacher or counselor mentor from your strength. If you are a corporate executive mentor from the top of your business to the bottom.

If you are a politician, minister, and mentor to those around you. They are watching you and looking for leadership.

Multiply

The final step in making a positive difference is to multiply your ministering and mentoring efforts. Take the one person or group of persons that you mentor and encourage them to duplicate what they have been taught.

Send them out in every direction to duplicate and replicate what they have been mentored to do. This is the magnifier effect that will make lasting change.

This is where the borne fruit should multiply two, three, tenfold, and more.

Don’t be afraid to dare to be different. The rewards are greater than the sacrifice. The multiplier effect is the result you ultimately want.

To make a change make disciples one by one of what you do and then dispatch them. Whether you believe in God and His Word in the Bible, there is a lesson in it that has stood the test of time and can be followed to make a positive difference.

The disciples of Jesus Christ had been taught by him individually and as a group. Then one day, as recorded in the Book of Acts, the disciples replicated what Jesus had taught them. “ …and the word of God spread, and the number of the disciplines multiplied greatly in Jerusalem.” ACTS: 6:7

What other great leaders say about making a positive difference

“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.- Albert Einstein

“We must become the change we want to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi

“Great leaders don’t set out to be a leader…they set out to make a difference. Its never about the role-its always about the goal.”- Lisa Haisha

Are you a difference-maker? Or are you satisfied to just sit on the sideline?

Differences should be celebrated. Blending in is a copout. What do you want your legacy to be?