Yes we can!

Hey folks!

Since picking up somebody else's posts and elaborating or commenting on them is a vital part of blogging, I thought that today I'll add my two cents to the excellent video blog Callum Ng posted a couple of days ago. As Callum used to study philosophy, I won't dare to try matching with him intellectually. All I can offer is my own interpretation of the stuff he says.

Basically, in his blog Callum advances the view that our lives, through our collective experiences, will add up to something great. This means that, I quote by memory, success is nothing else but the outcome of our collective experiences, combined to form something great. In the end, this knowledge that our experiences are all interlaced and can add up to make a difference in this world, should make everybody happy and satisfied.

I think this blog addresses a very important thing: That, by believing in ourselves, we can use our experiences (which I interpret as an umbrella term for our knowledge, skills and in some cases even wisdom) to make something great. Whatever this great something might be depends, since success is a very subjective term, but I don't want to focus too much on that. I can only concur with Callum, because I think you don't have to be Einstein or Obama to make a change in this world.

In the first entry of this blog, I wrote as a metaphor for going to Singapore: "Imagine you live in a nice country, where nobody dares to dream as big as you do." This country was of course my own Austria. I don't know how much you know about us folks (I'm already flabbergasted if you know we don't have too many kangaroos hoping around the mountains), but Austrians tend to be rather static. If something has worked for 50 years, there is no need to change it - even if it has never actually worked, but we rather got used to it. That's also why I deeply enjoyed Callum's blog, because he dares to proclaim: "My life will add up to something great." Where I come from, a similar exclamation would hands down earn you the "Arrogant Bastard of the Year Award".

I know that there are many charlatans out there making a fortune by giving you sweet pep talks (btw: Is there anybody out there sharing my admiration for Joel Osteen??). But to a certain degree, they are right. You can achieve everything you want to, if you just believe in yourself.
And I also think that with an extraordinary group like the Young Ambassadors and CEP Champs are, with so many great experiences, we can add up to something really great. I guess all we need to do this is actually believe in ourselves and dare to be great.

I guess there will be many entries following on the topic of being successful, believing in oneself and making a difference in this world. Until then, I'd like to hear your thoughts on the issue. Do you think that 'ordinary' people like us can really add up to something great and make a difference out there?