How do you feel about the world right now? Are you happy with the global state of affairs or does international conflict, the threats to the environment or global injustice touch your conscience. On a more local scale would you have people be more polite, more thoughtful or more positive to each other?

If you are nodding as you read those lines with the thought that 'Yes; sometimes I wish for those things' then you have a simple challenge if you are genuinely serious about making a difference in the world. Your challenge is this - how do you turn the idea into action. More specifically; how can you influence other people to make a positive change in the world?

It might sound like a very big question yet the answer is remarkably easy and the really beautiful thing about the answer is that you personally have the power to put it into action. So what is the answer? Well it is this - whatever change you want to see in the world you need to first adopt that change for yourself. For example if you want people to be more polite then be more polite yourself. If you want people to be recycle more then make sure you recycle more.

As I said a very easy answer and one that you have the power to implement. Simple yet potent in it's potential. Another powerful aspect of this answer is that you can act on it immediately. Simply consider, right now, one way in which you would like the world to be a better place and resolve to do more of that yourself from this moment on.

This philosophy works on three levels. First by changing your own behaviour you have changed the behaviour of one person on the earth immediately.

Secondly, and this is where the big impact lies, you will start to influence those people around you. Humans are ultimately pack animals and we adopt the characteristics of those around us. When you start to act in a certain way people will see this and start, sometimes slowly sometimes quickly, to adopt your patterns and behaviours.

The third level that this works on is an internal level because if you genuinely apply this philosophy as you go through life you will realise how powerful you are. Rather than complaining about others you will evolve and grow into someone who sees something they want to change and then who does something directly about it. I don't know about you, but knowing that I have the power to change the world makes me feel pretty good!

Be the change you want to see in the world.