Many people are aware of the need to hand-over a better world to future generations. Frequently you will hear individuals say: “I’d like to make a difference.” Let’s explore how you can continue to improve the planet.

1) You can choose a project that you believe will help to build a positive planet.

Everybody chooses their own way to encourage future generations. You may aim to raise happy children, raise money for charity, pass-on your knowledge, run a new kind of business, create software that enables people to take charge or their futures or whatever. Over the past 50 years I have met many people who chose different ways to plant seed of hope.

Alec Dickson, one of my mentors, chose to build Voluntary Service Overseas and Community Service Volunteers. Elisabeth Hoodless took over from Alec at CSV. She gave me my first opportunity to work with people as a housefather with Mencap. Barrie Hopson and Mike Scally started the first Career Development Unit in a British university. Their books on ‘lifeskills’ enabled many people to find fulfilling work. Nicholas Albery started one of the early foundations for social entrepreneurs: the Institute for Social Inventions. After Nicholas’s untimely death, his son Merlin turned it into The Global Ideas Bank and it published a book called 500 Ways to Build a Better World.

Everybody can do something to improve the planet. It may be by simply encouraging other people or by focusing on a specific project. For example, taking part in a charity fun run, helping students to find work they love or revitalising a disused canal. Try completing the following sentence:

The specific ‘project’ I can do to
help to build a positive planet is:

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2) You can work on the project that will help to build a positive planet.

Archie Duncanson chose to concentrate on a specific project. During the 1980s I met him when he attended a Strengths Building course in Sweden. An American living in that country, he was working as a computer engineer. Although he was good at his job, it was simply a way of earning a living. Over the years, however, he developed another dream. Frustrated by the powerlessness people expressed when talking about the environment, Archie eventually produced the best-selling book Ecology Begins At Home. First published in 1989, it was very radical for its time and illustrated practical steps that people could take to live a greener life. He began by self-publishing, but then the book was bought by a bigger publisher and received excellent reviews. Permaculture Magazine wrote:

“This is definitely the best book yet on how to green your lifestyle…It shows how one man looked around him and saw what he could do to reduce his personal ecological footprint…With delightful illustrations, and packed full of simple ideas to reduce the ecological impact of your daily life, Ecology Begins at Home is an inspiration for adults and children alike.”

People who make a difference frequently dream, do and deliver. The delivery part takes commitment, careful planning and then execution. Sometimes it calls for being selective to be effective, concentrating on one project, rather than spreading one’s energy. Try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I can do to work on the project
that will help to build a positive planet are:

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3) You can complete the project that will help to build a positive planet.

Viktor Frankl completed his book Man’s search for meaning. Maria Montessori created a new way of educating children. Dame Cicely Saunders helped to start the modern hospice movement when opening St. Christopher’s. Tim Berners-Lee gave birth to the worldwide web. Across the world many people are doing their best to give hope to future generations. What do you want to pass-on to people? What do you want to be your legacy? How can you do your best to finish this project? Try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I can do to finish the project
that will help to build a positive planet are:

*

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