“Go Change the World!”
Google, “Josh Rodriguez”. Go ahead. No, wait…I’ll make it easy for you. Here is a link to save you the key strokes. You can thank me later.
You guessed it. Not me. My picture didn’t come up with “WORLD CHANGER” emblazoned underneath.
No, you probably saw a baseball player struggling to make it back to the MLB after a short stint in the majors. Not me. Or another Josh Rodriguez that blogs about finance. I am in finance (sorta) and I blog (somewhat inconsistently) but once again…not me.
(Now if you search “jnoahrod”, it’s all me all the time. But mostly will just bring you back here. However, you will find this awesome video on YouTube my buddy Justin and I put together. We think its pretty epic…)
So, yeah, my world changing ambitions have pretty much fallen flatter than the Oh My Disney PancakeArt I was watching with my girls the other day. Riveting videos…Dancake is a genius. –Wonder if he intended to change the world of flap jacks as a kid. Doubt it…–
Josh Rodriguez, who??
The world will never know the Josh Rodriguez that hailed from the armpit of CA (sorry Fresno, but you have disappointed me too many times. I still love you, though) and landed in the middle of flyover country. No fame, recognition, accolades, and all that.
You know what? I am good with that. Over the last few years my focus has changed a bit.
I am going to defer to an anonymous 12th Century monk to explain why. Why? Because it make so much sense…
I Wanted To Change The World
When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world.
I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation.
When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.
Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.
Start with me
Wow. Change me first, the world later.
Fix the things in you that you can. Make an impact on those you love the most. Let that spill over to those around you and eventually the world.
Sounds like sage advice, to me.
This is where being a dad comes in.
Do you have dreams? I sure do. Do you have things you would like to accomplish? Places you would like to visit? Yeah, me too.
Want to make an impact on the world? Become a world changer? Leave your mark on this world so generations after you are gone, they will still remember? With a passion!
Then start with you. Become a better man. Become a better husband. Be a better Dad.
Then focus as much of your time and energy as possible on those in your home. Grow and mentor them into men and women that will mimic what you have become and make a difference in the world around them. Raise them into World Changers.
I may not be very successful at changing the world on my own. But, I pray daily that God will help me to raise a baker’s dozen of men and women that will turn this world upside down. A bunch of Rod kids that will have great faith, stand for truth, raise families of their own, and make an indelible mark on this world.
Being a World Changer or raising World Changers?
Both sound pretty good. But I am a little more focused on my 13 World Changers at this point.
Go change the world, kids. Just remember to start with yourself.