Well now, that’s mighty ambitious of you, and I admire it. You see, the world is changed every day—by people like you and me, for better or worse. But if you want to leave your mark, you’ll need three things—or at least two of them.
Those things are knowledge, money, and power.
“But wait,” you might say, “you just listed three. What about passion?”
Ah, but I didn’t count passion because you already have it, or we wouldn’t be having this chat. Passion is the beating heart of change. Without it, the other three are just lifeless tools.
Let me show you how this works:
The Alchemy of World-Changing
If you have PASSION, you can learn the knowledge and convince someone to lend you the money. With those, you gain power.
If you have MONEY, you can hire the knowledge and wield power. (Though without passion, you’ll do little but throw fancy parties and write checks to soothe your conscience.)
If you have KNOWLEDGE, you can create the power and attract the money.
But passion? That’s the fire under it all. It’s what gets you out of bed at 5 a.m., keeps you working through rejections, and drives you to push your rock uphill long after others have quit.
The Secret About Government
Now, some folks will tell you, “Shouldn’t the government handle this? Feed the hungry? Vaccinate the children? Solve the crises of the world?”
Well, sure, the government tries. But here’s the rub: it’s slow, it’s expensive, and it’s inefficient. If Bill Gates decides to vaccinate a million kids, he makes three phone calls and has it done in six months for $40 per kid. The government, bless its bureaucratic heart, will spend years debating, overpaying, and end up spending $400 per kid after the crisis is already out of hand. The appeal of government solutions is that if a government promises they’re going to solve a problem, everybody gets together gives money in form of taxes, comes up with grandiose plans and then everybody’s happy that they did something, whether it worked or not. Everyone’s guilt is mitigated but the problem is never solved. If want to take this route, you do it by running for office, and after 20 years may be you get 4 ideas passed, and they mostly work. And you had to put up with a thousand hours of BS to get it done, very inefficient use of your time.
Governments are good at promises and paperwork; people with passion are good at action.
The Harsh Truth of Problems
And here’s a bitter pill to swallow: problems are never solved. They’re only mitigated. You won’t eradicate hunger, end disease, or save every stray cat. But you can make a dent. You can lessen the suffering for one person, one village, or one community at a time.
Does that mean you shouldn’t try? Of course not. It just means you’ll need the humility to work on solutions without the illusion of finality.
How Much Money Do You Need?
Ah, the age-old question: how much cash does it take to change the world? The answer: it depends on your passion, knowledge, and the size of your goal.
If your dream is massive, you might need billions. Don’t have billions? Well, then you need to find someone who does. And here’s the kicker: people with billions aren’t fools. You’ll need a solid plan, sharp knowledge, and enough passion to make them feel your fire. Show them how your passion serves their purpose, and you might just open their wallets. A billion dollars gives you credibility and power and yet you won’t have to spend it either to get things done. When you have someone powerful on your side that can make one phone call and solve a problem, it is priceless. See further info below about Billionaires.
The True Cost of Passion
Passion isn’t free, though. It will cost you sleep, comfort, and years of your life. You’ll get rejected, fail repeatedly, and spend countless hours grinding away. But here’s the beauty of it: passion doesn’t run out if it’s real. You’ll keep going—not because you expect a guaranteed win, but because you can’t not do it.
Knowledge: The Secret Sauce
If you’re short on money, knowledge is your greatest weapon. Don’t know the law? Learn it. Can’t afford a lawyer? Become one in spirit. Study law, marketing, branding, politics, and negotiation. Research the problem you want to solve until you know it better than anyone else. Combine this with your passion, and you’ll be unstoppable.
A Word of Encouragement
I’ve spent decades pushing my own rocks uphill. I’ve had wins, sure, but plenty of failures too. I don’t know if the internet I helped bring to Somali kids made a difference or if that one conversation inspired a future doctor. But I do know this: if you’re driven by passion, the need for tangible results fades. You push because you MUST, not because the world guarantees a pat on the back.
So, here’s my advice to you:
Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. And when you think you’ve done enough, do a little more.
The rock is heavy, the climb is steep, and the summit is far away. But if you don’t push it, who will?
As Archimedes said, “Give me a lever and a place to stand, and I will move the world.”
Your lever is knowledge.
Your place to stand is passion.
Now go. Change the world, one inch at a time.
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I dedicate this post to all the young people out there who are looking to do something in the world, they feel lost, sometimes lonely, sometimes depressed about the world we live in.
They feel small in the world, they don’t feel their power.
Remember your lever is knowledge, and the place to stand on is passion.
YOU HAVE THE POWER! – Go do it!
Sorry for the long post, lots of info here, read it several time on different days. Also look at this post on First Principles and Critical Thinking. Very important
I will be expand on this idea in the future, perhaps starting a how-to section covering some of the details of the process.
Side note: If you tell me there are not enough Billionaires to talk about my idea…. I give you the following info. THERE IS YOUR MONEY….
As of 2023, the United States is home to approximately 1,050 billionaires, collectively holding nearly $5 trillion in wealth
| Name | Major Contributions | Estimated Donations |
|———————|—————————————————–|——————————|
| Bill Gates | Global health, education, poverty alleviation | $50+ billion |
| Warren Buffett | Gates Foundation, family foundations | $50+ billion |
| MacKenzie Scott | Unrestricted giving to various organizations | $14+ billion |
| Michael Bloomberg | Arts, education, environment, public health | $12+ billion |
| George Soros | Democracy, human rights, social justice | $19+ billion |
| Jeff Bezos | Climate change, homelessness | $10+ billion (pledged) |
| Elon Musk | Renewable energy, AI safety, carbon capture | $100+ million |
| Mark Zuckerberg | Education, scientific research | 99% of Facebook shares (pledged) |
| Phil Knight | Education (Stanford, University of Oregon) | $1+ billion |
| Charles Koch | Education, public policy, criminal justice reform | Extensive but undisclosed |
And there are approximately 1,050 billionaires in the U.S. $60 billion per year collectively from U.S. billionaires.
And I talk about Billionaire but really most of contributions come from the group below.
Estimating the exact number of family offices in the U.S. managing net worths over $50 million is challenging due to the private nature of these entities. However, based on available data:
Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals (UHNWIs): As of 2021, there were approximately 218,200 individuals worldwide with assets exceeding $50 million, with a significant portion residing in the United States.
Family Offices: In 2019, estimates suggested there were over 10,000 single-family offices in the U.S. with over $50 million in assets.
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