We all have flaws. Hopes, dreams, aspirations. We all desire big things for ourselves and others. We all talk good game, but when it comes time to walk good game… well let’s just say the talking is usually easier than the walking.
Everyone has masks they wear in the world, but all too often, behind the masks, there are only excuses, what ifs, and ’shoulda, coulda, wouldas’.
Why Is That?
The naked truth is that it’s just easier to wear the mask. As a human race, we are creatures of comfort, of routine, of habit. We automatically look for the path of least resistance in the way we live our lives, and very rarely do we deviate without some sort of propulsion.
So as much as you may talk about doing good things in the world, as much as you might profess your ideals around taking care of the poor, feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, unless you are actually doing those things you profess to believe in, those things you are talking about doing… you’re only pretending.
Guess What?
Pretending to do good isn’t the same thing as actually doing it. Talking about doing good in the world doesn’t actually get anything done. Water systems for people who are suffering without clean water aren’t built with words.
They are built by people who use their words to inspire action, and who demonstrate what taking action looks like, by rolling up their sleeves and working shoulder-to-shoulder with other people and other companies, who share their vision to make a difference.
Orphaned children aren’t helped by words. They are helped by organizations and the people who run those organizations. Those people who risk their lives to scour hillsides, looking for babies that have literally just been thrown away in the brush by families too poor or too ill to take care of them and feed them.
They are helped by people who pick them up out of the brush, and make sacrifices every single day. They give up a portion of their time, their talents, and their hearts in an effort to feed them, clothe them, and nurse them to health.
Would you really be surprised to hear the homeless aren’t helped by words either? They are helped by communities of people who take it upon themselves to stand together and serve the needs of their neighborhoods. By companies who strive for a higher purpose than mere profits… These people and businesses serve by building homes, providing clothing, food, education, and spiritual nourishment to those in need.
Words Without Deeds are Lifeless
No good thing is accomplished in the world today without action and initiative. True change and reform can only occur when we are taken out of our comfort zones, out of our habits, and plunked squarely in the middle of things that challenge us.
It’s not enough today to just be a ‘CEO’ or ‘Entrepreneur’ or run a business that only ‘talks’ about doing good. Gandhi’s quote holds just as much truth now as when it was first uttered… “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Be a business with real purpose, not merely a pretender. Be good, and do good, and good will follow.
Sometimes the things that sound the most simple, are the most true. We just tend to complicate them. Share your thoughts in the comments below.