By Jack Perry
Rosa Parks was a small, seemingly powerless individual who defied a whole culture of domination with a single courageous act and ignited a fire of justice that swept our nation.
Jonas Salk’s determination to eradicate polio lead him to create a vaccine that literally saved millions of lives.
Runner Roger Bannister did the supposedly impossible when he broke the 4 minute mile in 1954. When he brought down that mythical barrier, he inspired many others, and suddenly the unachievable was achievable.
Teddy Roosevelt almost single-handedly created our unique system of national parks, a national treasure we enjoy today, and will for generations to come, through his belief in their importance and his personal grit.
These seemingly different heroes have a common quality: each of them exercised the Power of One to change a nation, a culture, or a community. Each of us has this same power within us, and we can choose to exercise it on a grand scale—stepping up to promote an important cause—or a small scale—exercising our personal power to make an important change within ourselves that serves as an example, a beacon, for others to follow.
The Power of One is not always positive and heroic; it can be negative, too. Many times in an sales , for example, you can see the destructive powers of one person who seeks to bring down the organization’s morale or to destroy a team with the persistent pursuit of his or her own agenda.
On the other hand, every day you can read in business journals about one man or woman who has stepped into an organization and changed the vision of the individuals within it, leading a reshaping of the culture into a successful one. Boards of Directors struggle with this all the time; they have a responsibility to their shareholders to find the one person with the power to inspire and lead the organization to accomplish great things.
One man, Thomas Watson, created IBM and an entire industry by buying a little company called Computing, Tabulating and Recording. His vision and tenacity turned a small cash register company into a corporate giant that has reshaped the world of business in many ways.
You might feel as if you don’t possess this Power of One, but you do—we all do. Even if you don’t want to change the whole world, you can change a little part of your world or someone else’s world. For example, when you join Big Brothers/Big Sisters and say, “I’m going to help someone on life’s journey. I want to make a difference, even to this one child,” you are exercising the Power of One and beginning a positive chain reaction.
The Power of One is often the power to inspire change in individuals, which then, like ripples in a pond, spreads outward to create change in communities, then nations, and then the world. When you use the Power of One to create positive results, the dynamic naturally expands throughout your family and social circle, your business, and your community. You might not see the impact it has on others immediately, but the example you set by the exercise of your personal power provides an example for others about how to do the right thing.
All of us have substantially more personal power than we think we do. How can you tap into your own Power of One?
You must believe that the odds don’t matter, that your personal power and determination override others’ resistance.
You must be able to determine what’s important to you and then be capable of following through to the end to put your beliefs into action.
You must believe in the power of an individual to make a difference and that you are that type of individual.
You must resolve to stand up to adversity, regardless of the circumstances.
While you understand that others might disagree with your position, you also must believe that your beliefs put you on higher ground.
The world needs more individuals who believe in their own Power of One to open our eyes to alternative directions, sometimes away from the flow of the mainstream. After all, just because everyone’s flowing that way, doesn’t mean it’s the right way. The need is ever-growing for those with vision and personal power to wake us up to important and meaningful issues in our families, our organizations, our communities, and our world.
All the power is within you to change anything you choose to, especially yourself, and you might find that those changes to your own little world change the whole world.
Power from The Respect Factor® Series
THE RESPECT FACTOR® is a trademark of Jack Perry in the United States and other countries. Used with permission. ©2009 Jack Perry. All rights reserved
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