I begin this writing journey with the belief that knowledge and experiences are only powerful when they are shared to benefit someone’s life. We only live once, so make it positively impactful!
Once I realized this, I started to let go of my insecurity and the side of me that’s overly self-conscious. It compelled me to commit myself to action to share my knowledge and experiences. I found the courage to express the thoughts in my head, voice in my heart and spirit in my soul. I begin to believe that no matter how “small” our voice or how “little” our action seem to be, it’s still a significant one which could make a “giant” impact in our family, workplace, community and even the world!
Personally, I like the story of David and Goliath, where the little shepherd beat the giant with his wit and courage. While there are many interpretations of that story, for me, it signifies the Power of the Little, that we all can use to harness the little strengths within us or among people to generate massive power in an instance.
Remember, we are all unique beings. Each and everyone of us! Each individual has talents, natural gifts, and strengths that we can tap on to make a positive difference in this world. Our mission in this world is to unleash the power of the Giant within us – many Little actions, with their effects accumulated, lead to Giant impact in our lives and of those around us. That’s the Power of the Little!
As I went through my learning journey all these years, I started to appreciate the effectiveness of this power more. Personally, I have experienced its positive impact in my life and other individuals’. I have also seen the Power of Little being harnessed for the greater good of the society.
Here are some of the ways the Power of the Little is leveraged to better our lives and the world we live in:
#1 Little progress each day leads to massive power one day.
I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.
Bruce Lee
Do not estimate the little progress you make each day, for these little progress when added up will lead you to a certain direction which determines your destiny. Same for forming a new habit. If you want to build the habit of exercising, say running, start with 2 km, 3 km and slowly adds up. You don’t start with 10 km run. I’m sure you will give up or burn out pretty soon, if you have not been exercising. If you have just started to hit the gym, start small and slowly increase the weights you carry. Break down your goal into smaller goals or milestones and give yourself a little reward when you hit each milestone. It’s important to celebrate small wins to keep you motivated along the path to success.
Another philosophy is kaizen, a Japanese word which means “change for better”, but most often referred to as the spirit of continuous improvement. We don’t need to achieve a big goal to feel great about ourselves. As long as we make progress each day, regardless of a small or huge, we will eventually get there. The key is to GET STARTED! Start small, and improve each day. What you do consistently, you become.
#2 Many little voices combined, lead to a giant movement.
The most recent global movement, which began in the entertainment industry and created a wave of voices and fights for women empowerment and rights against sexual harassment. What is it? I bet you immediately know what it is!
#MeToo and #Time’sUp have gone viral – thanks to the power of social media, not because it’s a catchy term or phrase or started by an influential female figure or president in the world. It started with just one person, who dared to speak up and stand up for herself and others who have gone through similar abuses but kept silent. Then, few voices appeared and more and more voices combined, leading to the tipping point of “Weinstein effect”. These “little” voices that were timid and afraid, finally found their power and strength in the group, against the “Goliaths” , the men who preyed on the vulnerabilities of women in the industry. Thanks to these many little voices, #MeToo has spread all over the world, across the regions, even to Asia, and it went beyond the entertainment industry to common workplaces in any part of the world.
#3 Little beings with great determination are the strongest.
One of the most inspiring person I have ever seen in my life is none other than Nick Vujicic, the epitome of someone living the Life Without Limit. I believe he inspires not only me, but millions of people in this world.
If I fail, I try again, and again, and again. If you fail, are you going to try again? The human spirit can handle much worse than we realize. It matters how you are going to finish. Are you going to finish strong?
Nick Vujicic
Few years back, I had the privilege of watching Nick speak live in a conference at the front rows. I would have to say that out of so many speakers in the seminars and conferences I attended, he is the only one who speaks to my soul. He touched my spirit just with his presence and words, the purest I have ever heard out from one’s heart.
Imagine, if you were to put Nick Vujicic and Tony Robbins on the stage, side by side, Tony will be the “giant Goliath”, while Nick will seem like the “little David”. But, if you have read his books, watched his videos or even better, listened to him live, you will never believe that your own capability is only what you have and who you are right now. Our potential is only limited by our belief. If a man without limbs could live his life with purpose and passion, touching lives around the world and building lovely family of his own, what then, can we still complain about or what excuses can we give ourselves for living a miserable and small lives. We simply have no rights to do that.
You may be conditioned to believe that you are small in physique, thoughts, talents, capabilities, and the list goes on and on. STOP believing that way! Break your mental and emotional patterns, and start taking ownership of your life! Remember, “little” beings with GREAT determination are the strongest!
#4 Little kind acts go a long way to create huge impact in someone’s life.
There has been proliferation of activities in the crowdfunding sector, thanks to the sharing economy and crowd-based businesses. The first thing that comes to your mind when you see or hear “crowdfunding” might be start-ups who are raising funds to launch a prototype or products. However, there is a sector which has been gaining needed funds by leveraging on online crowdfunding platforms – the charity or non-profit organizations.
I have worked in the non-profit sector for a couple of years, serving the poor and needy disabled adults and elderly in a nursing home. Most of the residents in the home come from families that belong to the lower income brackets of the society. The costs of medical and nursing care are high and many of them could not afford the monthly bills and have to rely on private and government assistance to pay for the care of their loved ones. Those that I have seen are just a small segment of the society with deep financial needs. There are many more who face similar difficulties and nobody knows, especially the elderly who are socially isolated.
The younger generations who are tech-savvy could tap on these platforms to raise funds for their loved ones, grandparents, parents or kids, or even for a cause they feel strongly about, should the needs arise. $1, $10, $50 or $100 of donations, it’s your call. You can give without sacrificing your own needs. It’s the intention and small actions that make a big difference for the needy. If each donor gives $1 and there are a thousand of people with such intention, then that’s $1,000! That’s the beauty and power of little kind acts which go a long long way to create a huge impact in someone’s life.
#5 Little failures are a source of lasting success.
Have you ever felt like there’s no way things could get better, even after you’ve tried to improve it, whether it’s a job or relationship? You feel like there’s simply no hope in trying, there’s no chance that you’ll get better results after multiple attempts, and finally, you decided this is it! You’re so damn fed up with your circumstances and think that everything and everybody is against you, your way of thinking and doing things. You decided to put a stop to it, end the suffering, and you quit, you give up! Sounds or feels familiar? If yes, then you’re just like the normal human beings in the world. It’s easier to give up than to get back up. It’s human NATURE. BUT, it’s not human POTENTIAL!
Let’s make this clear. I am not saying you should not give up at all. There are many things we should give up, such as disempowering habits, thoughts, emotions, old ways of doing things which hinder our progress or ineffective methods or strategies of achieving outcomes we want. But, you DO NOT give up your dreams, goals and the life you have always wanted! You give up the HOWs, not the WHAT and WHY. If there are roadblocks along the path to your goal or success, you don’t change your destination of getting there, you change your routes or ways of going there. You don’t change your dreams and goals so easily.
I have not failed. I’ve just found out 10,000 ways that won’t work. – Thomas Edison
Recently, I took on a 21-day push-up challenge with a buddy of mine. We have to do it every day for 21 consecutive days or we have to restart if there’s a single day we did not do the push-up we committed. We announced this to a group of friends and have to report our daily accomplishment. My buddy who has committed 20 push-ups a day met his first obstacle on the second day of challenge. He almost gave up. But thanks to encouragements from the group, he persisted. Not only did he persevere and complete the push-ups every day, he even did an “upsize” from 20 to 30 push-ups! You see, what my buddy faced was a little setback in the beginning, and if he has given up that moment, he would not have built his muscles to do 30 push-ups every day. Our setbacks or failures, whether big or small (we can determine the size of how we see our failures, by the way), serve as feedback that things are not working and there could be something wrong with the way we approach it. We can choose to accept the feedback, think about how we can do better, and quickly move on with it. Beating yourself up when you receive feedback will not help to solve the issues and make you feel better. Start embracing the feedback you receive in life, be thankful about it, and focus on getting better, and you will head to a direction with more possibilities and excitements.
The Voice of Little Giant
The future of this world will very much depend on what the people of this generation do with the talents and resources we have. When I say generation, I mean the Millennials specifically. I am a member of the Millennials.
We grew up in time where things are changing at a pace that all our predecessors have never seen before. We are blessed to be living in a world with such a huge space and yet, feel connected with each other across the globe, as if we are living in the same neighborhood. We enjoy the vast benefits of the advanced technology around us, which makes us the most powerful generation of human beings since Man were created. We also have great responsibilities to make the world that’s passed to us a place worth living for our next generations. We may not be as rich or experienced as our predecessors, but we are capable of making an impact as great, if not greater, than anyone before us. We can not only move the Earth and mountains, but most importantly, we have to use our greatest strength, talents and capacity to move hearts and souls. Making impact is useless, touching lives is the ultimate purpose. That’s the reason I always say make a “positive” impact, not just impact.
Millennials are the many Little human beings, when gather all our minds, hearts and souls, into building the world as a better place for mankind and living things on Earth, create the Giant force that will shape our future.
The Voice of Little Giant
That’s where the name of this blog comes from. It comes from the belief that the world will be shaped by the Little Giants of our generation, if each of us align our purpose, passion, talents and identity, the core of who we truly are, with what we do every day to make a positive difference in someone’s life. That’s the Voice!
Do share you thoughts with me and give me some feedback and encouragements.
Deeply grateful!
The Voice of Little Giant 