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Do What Matters


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Sometimes you have to remind yourself of the most obvious things.

Jaimee and I were discussing our goals for this year in the latest episode of the Tiny Challenges Podcast when I decided I may need to change one of mine.

"Maybe," I said, "I need to replace Make it You."

Jaimee asked what I'd replace it with.

"Do what matters."

Too obvious? Maybe.

Too simple? Maybe.

Too simplistic? Maybe.

None of those are reasons not to do it.

Step one is figuring out what matters.

Step two is figuring out what you can do to make a difference.

There are a bunch more steps filled with details that all add up to: Step three is doing it.

So many of us get caught up in step two. We get overwhelmed by people with more resources and fame who are working against what we think matters.

You don't need to change the whole world. You just need to change a small piece of it.

Change the world for just one person.

You don't even need to change their whole world. Improve some small piece of it.

When president Obama was running for office, his opponents ridiculed him for having been a community organizer.

What could be better than helping a community in a specific way? What's better than addressing the needs of a group of people.

I've been thinking about that because my friend Jean is changing her role at App Camp for Girls.

Jean tells the story of being at the Bash at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference. She looked around her on the lawn filled with thousands of developers and saw only a handful of women.

Jean decided she could help change this.

She decided to create a summer program that would teach young girls to write real apps using the same tools, programming language, and libraries that real iOS App developers use.

Jean had a clear vision of what mattered to her.

App Camp for Girls has touched lives and those lives will touch other lives.

Are you ready to take step one?

Figure out what matters. What is it that matters to you? You have to be able to articulate to others why it matters. You have to be able to commit yourself towards making it happen.

You have a lot of work ahead.

It's worth it.

Jean's work made a difference to the girls who attended the camp. It also makes a difference in the schools that those girls attend, in the colleges they will choose, and in the workplaces they will join or create.

Jean's work made a difference to the women who volunteered and worked as counselors and staff. It also makes a difference to the people those women work with and talk to about their experiences.

It's so worth it.

Do what matters.

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