A Life Lesson

by Marisela Garcia

http://www.ted.com/talks/mark_bezos_a_life_lesson_from_a_volunteer_firefighter.html

Mark Bezos, a volunteer firefighter, has a simple life lesson to such a complex issue. Many people often ask themselves, what can we do to make this world a better place? Mark’s response: act, don’t wait. If we’ve learned anything from Positive Deviance, it’s the power of acting your way into a new way of thinking. As previously mentioned, Mark is a volunteer firefighter and he shares a time when he was asked to do what he thought was an insignificant thing. He wasn’t asked to save anyone or to assist with putting out the fire, instead he was asked to go get a pair of shoes for the woman who was standing outside her home in shock and barefoot. A bit disappointed that he was asked to do such a minimal thing, he went about and got the shoes. It wasn’t until he saw the face on the woman that he realized; it’s the little things we do that make the difference for someone else. At the end of the video, Mark states, “save the shoes”. In other words, don’t be s spectator, DO something.