LESSON 1
WE CANāT WAIT FOR CHANGE
Hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are.
AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO
Rob and I are excited that youāre reading these words, and we want to tell you something right off the top:
This book is written for you
IF
You want to change your world.
Going through the pages of this book, you will read about . . .
Missy, a volunteer at a school who was asked to share her apple, discovered hungry children, packed food into backpacks in her garage, and started a program that today feeds eighty-seven thousand kids.
Missy changed her world.
Bryan, who took his childhood trauma and pain and used it to build a safe place for sexually abused children so they could live with hope, dignity, and unconditional love.
Bryan is changing his world.
Ethan, a third-grader who put his hand over his heart and asked, āDo you ever feel deep down here that you want to help make a difference?ā
Ethan is only just beginning to change his world.
This book is written for you
IF
You want to change yourself.
You will be changed as you read about . . .
Charlee, a high school dropout with no sense of purpose in her life, who spent five months working with children in the slums of Africa and said, āI came home a totally, radically changed person.ā
Charlee was changed and now she is changing her world.
Rene, a man in Mexico who searched for his brotherās murderer for ten years so he could exact revenge, but learned the value of forgiveness at transformation tables, chose to forgive the man, and changed his familyās history.
Rene was changed and his life is getting better.
Yomila, a timid young woman from Guatemala who gained the courage and confidence to take a better job when she adopted a more positive attitude and now helps others in the villages surrounding her home.
Yomila has changed and is now helping others.
This book is written for you
IF
You want to be part of a transformational movement.
You will be inspired as you learn about . . .
Sam, the owner of a company that manufactures outdoor furniture who started making plastic face shields for medical workers braving the COVID-19 pandemic and brought together the people in his small community while making a difference.
Sam helped others create a movement in his town.
Cerro PorteƱo, one of Paraguayās most popular professional soccer teams, joined hands with rival Club Olimpia to teach good values to players at every level of their organization, and itās spreading to other teams and changing playersā lives.
One team helped another and started a movement in their community.
Roy, who learned his son wanted to take his life because he was being bullied. While helping his son, Roy realized other parents and kids needed help, so he started an organization that now helps millions of kids in forty-two states.
Roy is part of a movement that is changing the country.
You have the potential to make a difference by joining with us as we help others or by starting a movement of your own.
You can change your world.
Rob and I have invested our lives in bringing positive change into the lives of people. This workbook has been written to encourage and equip you to be a catalyst for transformation in your world: your family, your workplace, your community. If you are already changing your world, we hope to help you become even better at it. If you are not yet involved in making a positive difference in the lives of others, we hope to encourage you to get started, and we want to teach you how to intentionally add value to people, because anyone, anywhere can make a difference.
ASSESS
How do you answer these questions?
| Yes | No | |
| | Do you want to change your world? |
| | Do you want to change yourself? |
| | Do you want to be part of a transformational movement? |
| | Are you ready to make a difference? |
What do your answers say about you?
[Your Response Here]
WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE?
Looking at our world, itās pretty easy to see that things could change for the better. Wouldnāt it be wonderful to have better schools? Better neighborhoods? More positive workplaces? Would you like to have a more connected family? Communities where people get along and work together for everyoneās good? Wouldnāt the world be better if people were more respectful, unified, and positive?
You probably know intuitively much of what can be read in newspaper headlines. We have reasons to believe our world needs to become better:
⢠Families are breaking down in the United States, where 9 percent of households in 1960 were led by single parents; in 2014 that number grew to 26 percent.1
⢠In 2014 about 2.5 million children experienced homelessness in the United States.2
⢠Civic engagement and volunteerism, two characteristics that were once identified as Americaās strengths, have fallen drastically in the last fifty years.3
⢠In 2015, 3.3 million people were victims of violent crime in the United States.4
⢠An estimate by the Institute for Economics and Peace recently concluded that violence costs the global economy $13.6 trillion a year.5
⢠Mental health issues are on the rise6 and getting worse.7
⢠Corruption is a problem around the globe.8
⢠Itās estimated that 40 million people worldwide are victims of modern slavery.9
We could go on, but we donāt need to. Problems that could us...