How do you change the world in one step?

Take it. Take the step; just one. Then repeat the process.

The most important rule of brainstorming is to shut down the voice that says "that won't work". It allows for crazy ideas to flow because the self-doubt valve is released. The idea behind brainstorming is that things happen when we shut off self critique. Behind every accomplished impossibility is a mind that dared to imagine it could happen.

Impossible is comfortable because its predictable and the person who accepts impossibility is never disappointed.

I have been faced with two options in life.

1) To accept impossibility, live in a state of general contentedness (or numbness) with little conflict, and occasionally be pleasantly surprised when my expectations were surpassed.

or,

2) To expect all things are possible, fail miserably at times, succeed unimaginably at others, and constantly be in a state of learning and growth.

Pond versus river.

Stagnant versus motion.

Safe versus uncertain.

Survive versus thrive.

I'd like you to think I take the second option; I'm a wild soul with big dreams and a plan to change the world. My Instagram deceives you into thinking I'm super adventurous and my fish gets bigger every time I tell my story. But, I honestly slip into default mode, the first option, often.

The truth is that I'm afraid.

I'm afraid to try and fail because then I feel like then I am a failure.

I'm afraid to offer my idea and look like a fool.

But now what scares me most of all is what could have been.

Before you feel discouraged, hear me out. This is not meant to give you FOMO hives and start hyperventilating. The pressure us twenty-somethings carry to "change the world" has pushed some of us to do so. However, it has ended up crippling most of us with hunched backs under a very heavy expectation that leaves us feeling powerless to even try. So instead we have created a culture where we take pride in how many Netflix shows we have watched in a week and how bitter we drink our coffee.

Sometimes (or oftentimes), life feels like trying to navigate a house in the dark. We want to change the world, but we can't even find the freaking light switch. So instead, we find the couch, get comfy and settle in. Or in my case, I'd find the fridge and probably plant myself near that.

My professor said something in passing one day that set me free. While trying to plan something way bigger than myself and feeling in over my head, he advised me,

"Just fail. Fail quickly so we can learn from it. The faster you fail, the better, so we can move on."

So back to the original question; how do you change the world in one step?

Take it.

Though you cannot see the future and plan for possible outcomes, take it anyways.

Though you don't have it all figured out, just get started.

Though you might fall, own it and get up again.

You don't have to open an orphanage or bring clean drinking water to 10 countries by next year. Simply do things that challenge you. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. You will look up one day in amazement and wonder, "Wow! How did this happen"?

Then you will look back down at your cup of three, straight espresso shots and feel like a boss who's just conquered a mountain.

Keep climbing. Before you know it, your life and family and community will start slowly shifting because of your existence.