04/27/26
STORY
I don’t know about you, but at times, I question how impactful my work is.
It can feel like I’m doing so much, giving so much effort, and still, it’s amounting to so little.
I can easily fall into sadness…
Hopelessness even…
When I see the world moving in a direction of greed, selfishness, and hatred…
And I’m doing everything in my power to advocate for the opposite.
I then remind myself of a line from one of my favorite movies, Cloud Atlas.
There are so many powerful lessons shared through the interconnected stories told in the film.
It’s based on the book Cloud Atlas, which I read after seeing the movie.
The very end of the book (which is also featured in the movie) leads to the line that helps me to shift my perspective.
The setting is in the 19th century, and a young white man, Adam, has chosen to join the abolitionists in support of the end of slavery.
The man’s father-in-law, who argues that Adam is a fool for wanting to free slaves, says the following:
“You’ll be spat on, lynched…He who would do battle with the many-headed hydra of human nature must pay a world of pain & his family must pay it along with him! & only as you gasp your dying breath shall you understand, your life amounted to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean!”
Adam’s response to his father-in-law, which is the very last line of the book, gives me chills every time I read it:
“Yet what is any ocean but a multitude of drops?”
If you’re questioning how impactful your work is…
Feeling as though your efforts are just “one drop in a vast ocean”…
Remind yourself of the truth Adam shared in the words above.
Your work matters.
Your life matters.
And when your actions are fueled by love, compassion, and kindness, they affect “the ocean” as a whole.
So I invite you to realize how important you are.
You are not “just a drop in the ocean”.
You are influencing the entire ocean with every thought, word, and deed.
OBSERVATION
Meteorologist Edward Lorenz helped popularize the “Butterfly Effect” with a simple idea: in complex systems, tiny changes can create enormous consequences over time.
In his famous 1972 talk, he asked whether the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil could help set off a tornado in Texas. His point wasn’t that butterflies cause storms. It was that everything is connected, and small shifts can ripple through the whole system.
STRATEGY
Remind yourself of how your words and actions affect the world around you.
Since everything is connected, remember that you have influence over the “whole”.
Take that power seriously, and be intentional and mindful of your behavior.
Especially in moments of discouragement or frustration, bring this truth back into your mind before you act.
You are more powerful than you realize.
Rooting for you,
Jay (inviting you to realize your power)
Global keynote speaker
Host of the “Unstuck” podcast
Below-average golfer