10 Pieces of Advice to Become an Impactful Change-Maker
“Seeking fulfilment should be the ultimate goal”
Being or becoming a Change-Maker is a term and an aspiration that has become more and more important and significant as we are facing more and more crises in the world – both social and environmental. We are living at a time when we need more people to step up and instil change – locally, globally, and at scale – to help us break from the past, from counterproductive ways of doing and thinking, and what doesn’t serve us anymore.
A Change-Maker is someone who imagines a new reality, takes action and collaborates with others to bring that new reality into being for the good of others. Anyone – at any age – can be a change-maker. It has traits of ‘new leadership’, of gaining ‘self-mastery’ to lead from a place of serving the world and empowering those around us, because an empowered group is a ‘power-full’ group.
In our podcast with Jenk Oz, the young 19-years old Founder and CEO of Thred Media who started at only 11, we discuss what has helped him in his journey as a change-maker and what he learnt from the past 8 years of putting it into practice. As Jenk has just become a Forbes 30 Under 30 Honoree for Europe 2024, we’ve extracted 10 of his best pieces of advice to become an effective change-maker (in pure Forbes style) and expanded on each one. Read on...
1. REDEFINE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR / CHANGE-MAKER
Change is a natural law and being able to embrace change is an important factor of growth and success. We should not be afraid to redefine entrepreneurship or ‘change-makership’, challenge what it means an how we go after it. It doesn’t have to follow any ‘old’ classic stereotype.
Access to new technologies, the democratisation of education, the development of AI, the willingness to grow ‘our self’ as a person, but also to better our inter-personal relationships and how we interact and communicate with each other, all participate to the bigger picture and as such ‘changing the world’.
2. START FROM WHAT YOU DO HAVE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE & GROW FROM THERE
“Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can”. This quote from Arthur Ashe is a good one to remember when we are taking on new challenges. None of us is powerless. We all have gifts, resources, support, inspiration, ideas, access to something or someone etc.
You can use these ‘assets’, however big or small, to leverage your voice and start building a bigger picture. Working to achieve a bigger vision requires effort, consistency and persistence. Progress demands to see beyond the frustrations that will forcefully happen on a daily basis and staying the course to see results and improvements.
3. DON’T FEAR FAILURE BUT BE TERRIFIED OF A LIFE OF REGRET
Choosing regret over the fear of failure means that you will escape the pain of failure ‘now’ but only to push the pain of regret to your future self. What do you want to tell yourself at the end of your life when you look back? It is an interesting question and there is no age limit to start looking into it.
Do you want to be the person who thought about it or acted on it? It is now faster, cheaper and more efficient to start something than it has ever been thanks to today’s technological advances. The cost of failure is now ten times less than it was ten years ago. So don’t let hesitation and overthinking get in the way. It will cost you more than failure ever will and we learn more from failure than success anyway.
4. PRIORITISE FULFILMENT OVER CHASING HAPPINESS
We tend to be obsessed with happiness and can spend our time and money on countless experiences, possessions, or information in hopes they will deliver the everlasting happiness we dream of. It is quite symptomatic of the ‘instant’ gratification and culture we live in which is also leading to many of the issues we are experiencing today.
Happiness is a fleeting feeling, an emotion rather than a state of being and we all know life is made of ups and downs. Chasing happiness is like chasing a moving target. It sets unrealistic expectations and ends up being a distraction from what’s really necessary for a better life: fulfilment. It means accepting who we are, making the most of it and being optimistic about the future. Fulfilment is a solid state, it is what builds you and the life you dream of.
5. OPTIMISE YOUR TIME TO ENSURE YOU ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS
Improvising can have its charm but lack of preparation can also quickly lead to stagnation, disorganisation and lack of structure if that’s all there is to it. We all need to ponder the benefits of Winging It vs. Winning It. To achieve any long-term vision, planning and scheduling are essential to rise to the opportunities, including scheduling the fun time!
There are times when spontaneity has its role and it matters to open yourself up to new ideas and doing new things which feeds creativity. But it doesn’t replace planning, scheduling and taking consistent actions towards a goal to shape it, see it grow, and create results.
6. DON’T FORGET TO CREATE BALANCE & HAVE FUN
Establishing priorities is essential but integrating balance is too. We are most effective when we identify our most important responsibilities and interests, and then devote time accordingly. When we establish priorities, we can focus our energy where it matters the most.
Now, having a big vision for the world, for your career is great, but we also need to balance it with the other areas of our life that matter like relationships or health, and without forgetting the fun time, which brings us back to improvisation and creativity too. Everything is about balance and finding fulfilment doesn’t only come from one source.
7. SWITCH PERSPECTIVES FROM GLOBAL TO LOCAL & VICE VERSA
We have major issues and crises to solve on a global scale and ‘thinking globally’ to make a difference in the world can often seem overwhelming. ‘Acting locally’ is part of the juggling of creating global change. We are more globally connected than ever but at the same time we still care more and are the stewards of our own country, neighbourhood etc.
Top-down and bottom-up approaches both have their role and benefits as we are aiming to create a better world. It is by combining them that we can increase tenfold the impact we can have. We can switch the lens as appropriate and keep sight that we are all interconnected on a global basis and that it is the sum of our local efforts that will lead to real change.
8. BUILD CONFIDENCE OVER TIME BY CREATING EXPOSURE
Being and becoming a change-maker goes hand in hand with stepping up. It comes with taking on responsibility and developing a voice which can mean gaining confidence and gaining public speaking opportunities to gain people over.
Many people can be confronted with imposter syndrome or stage fright that are fed by irrational fears. To build confidence, remember that it is OK to mess up, to not know everything at once. Building confidence comes from knowing your topic really well and learning to deliver it really well too. Practice is the key as well as challenging yourself to do it more and more.
9. SEEK MENTORSHIP
Asking for help can be one the greatest pieces of advice for any aspirational leader or change-maker. We cannot pretend to have the answers to everything. Not only will it help you learn new skill sets and grow faster, but the relationship mentee/mentor and its benefits is also a mutual one.
87% of mentors and mentees say they feel empowered by their relationship and have developed greater confidence. Mentees are promoted 5 times more often and say that their mentors helped them avoid really bad mistakes. 84% of U.S. Fortune 500 companies have mentoring programs and the benefits are numerous from better performance to retention.
10. BUILD GENUINE HUMAN INTERACTION
From mentorship to networking, nothing replaces building genuine human interaction and relationships. Far too often, today’s technologies give us the feeling that we connect with each other when in reality it stays at a surface level or gives a false idea of who you are. It doesn’t help foster real connections.
If we want to have a real impact in the world and build genuine communities, we need to be able to let the masks fall and share our vision and how we aim to help others in a deeper way. This is when interacting in real life, cultivating your friendships and networks, attending conferences, giving public speeches, participating to podcasts, taking part to courses and masterclass programs etc make a real difference – for you and those who will resonate with your messages.