Legal News

Making a difference: Shoe edition

By ewalters

At Fastcase, we really enjoy TED talks. They convey big ideas in small talks, and are good daily transitions between bigger tasks. Today we’re spotlighting a TED talk from Mark Bezos, a volunteer firefighter who talks about the importance of making a difference in small ways.

As Bezos points out, you don’t need to save someone’s life (or their dog’s life) to make a difference in their lives. We are confronted daily with the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of other people. No need to wait until we have achieved our life’s work, or until we can contribute vast sums of money. We can make a difference every day in smaller ways that count just as much.

For one small example, most people have seen footage of the devastating Tsunami in Japan, and the ensuing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.  These crises are enormous in scope, and it’s difficult to imagine how we might help in a large way.  However, many small contributions can make a huge difference.  In the face of a large-scale disaster, we each can make a contribution, such as donating to the relief efforts of the American Red Cross, or donate to the work of Telecom Sans Frontieres (Telecom Without Borders), which establishes ad hoc, emergency telecommunications infrastructure in disaster zones.

I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything; but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.

– Edward Everett Hale

Hat tip to Bill Gross (@Bill_Gross) who shared this talk via Twitter.

Full post as published by Fastcase Legal News on March 16, 2011 (boomark / email).