“Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.” ~African proverb

It’s confession time. Over the last couple of weeks, I have felt like I’ve been sort of stumbling along.

My motivation has waned slightly. When people ask me what I’ve been doing lately, my response is a lackluster, “Ehhh… I don’t even know, just the usual stuff…”.

My to-do list dwindled and my project and adventure ideas were suddenly few and far between. This is simply a common occurrence for me: a natural ebb and flow of progress and regression, risking and reeling-it-in, exploration and contemplation.

But lately, it’s grown frustrating!

With awesome things on the horizon like BlogWorld Expo NYC and the World Domination Summit in Portland, Oregon, part of me has been waiting (admittedly lazily) for inspiration to come to me in the forms of brand new experiences and connections with other men and women from across the world.

However, today inspiration decided to find me and kick my ass into gear, instead.

A Message from Nigeria

Early this morning, I received a short but encouraging email message through my alternative leadership blog LeadWithoutFollowers.com from a man named Solomon from Lagos, Nigeria, in Western Africa. He wrote,

I got connected with your idea of this alternative leadership movement and want to encourage you to move on. Just like you wrote, the World is listening. We just concluded our general election in April 2011 and all you said is real. We must change from the old fashioned traditional system.

Although his message was short, through the simple act of reaching out, this human being far across the Earth provided me with incredible and relentless motivation to work hard and work inspired today.

And, even better, Solomon’s simple act reminded me of the nature of our modern world, our incredible connectedness to one another and the privilege we possess in being able to genuinely spark positive change in mere minutes — and actually witness the benefits of our efforts instantly.

Our Shrinking World

The world is small today and it’s only getting smaller.

Modern technology, ranging from satellite television to cellular phones and, of course, the Internet, has united and connected the human species more than ever before in the thousands and thousands of years of our storied existence.

The wonderful news is that the more connected we are, the more power we possess to radically influence happiness, goodness and positivity in our world. In this brilliant day and age — for all the problems, conflicts and difficulties our species has created and that we must work to solve and overcome — each of us possesses the chance and ability to spark change in the world in 1 minute or less.

Action Point: Pay it Forward!

A short message from across the planet sparked positive energy, motivation and determination in me. From that simple act, I write this blog post for you.

What will you do to stoke the positive energy and continue it forward in your corner of the Earth?

Let me know in the comments below or email dave(at)daveursillo(dot)com. And a big thanks to Solomon, merely one of over 6 billion human beings on earth, who helped spark some much needed motivation in Boston today.

Flickr photo credit: Paul Downey