"I want to do something that makes a difference".

"I want to change the world."

I've said it. You've said it. Many people have said it – but what if you're already doing something that matters? What if you already are making a difference? What if you already are changing the world?

And what if you're doing it in unexpected ways that might seem laughably mundane?

Look around you at the countless ways people are making important differences in the lives of the people around them, even if they don't intend to. Someone who designs a better salad bar or who lays out a better floor plan for a grocery store might not think he's feeding the poor, clothing the naked, or fighting food insecurity. But he is, and without transferring resources to other people but by creating new ways for people to cooperate.

Part of the beauty of the Christmas classic It's a Wonderful Life and the tragedy of George Bailey is that he doesn't seem to understand just how big a difference he is making by working to save three cents on a length of pipe. The seeming triviality of running the Bailey Bros. Building and Loan obscured a lot of the points that became evident at the very end of the movie when people took up a collection to help him make up for the shortfall in his accounts.