At 56, he’s walked 21 miles round trip to his job at a factory. For five days a week. For 10 years. They call him Detroit’s “Walking Man.” When the Detroit Free Press wrote a story on James Robertson, the response from readers was incredible. They wrote letters. Gave him a car. Raised almost $350,000 for him, helped him move to a safer home, and featured him on ABC News. He’s had interview requests from radio stations to People magazine to NBC, all because readers were inspired by one man and his determination.

 

Our culture craves these kinds of stories. We want to be amazed and inspired by other people. We love hearing stories that warm our hearts and leave us feeling like we can still put our faith in humanity.

 

But there’s an issue here. For some reason, we always look to other people for these stories. We look to our James Robertsons, our Allison Perrines, and our Andrew Chapins for inspiration.

 

For some reason, we never look to ourselves.

 

We put the people we’re inspired by on pedestals for their accomplishments and set them to a standard at which we’re in awe but feel we can never reach ourselves. We worship these people. 

 

Yes, they’re all great people who have done incredible things, but the rest of us do little to become more like them. We’re inspired by them, but fail to internalize their messages. We strive to be like them, but figure it’s simply impossible. We want to make changes and make an impact on the world around us, but simply don’t know how to do so. 

 

Now, you might think walking 21 miles every day to work or riding 4,000 miles on your bike is crazy, but there’s an idea that’s even crazier.

 

You could do it, too.

 

While it may not seem true, we’re more like these inspirational people than we know. They care about stuff, and we care about stuff. James Robertson cares about getting to work every day. Allison Perrine cares about raising funds for cancer. Maybe you care about the dress code or people who have disabilities. Maybe it’s animal rights you’re passionate about or gender equality. Whether you care about something as simple as making people smile or something as complex as overpopulation, you care about something. 

 

So how are some people able to take what they care about and turn it into something more? What’s the main difference between you and these people who have such an impact? What makes someone inspirational? 

 

Action.

 

Think about it. These impactful people have simply taken what they care about and acted on it.

 

That is the only difference.

 

It’s kind of cool when you think about it. It’s kind of cool to realize how easily we can inspire other people through our own actions. 

 

But I get it, you’re only one person, right? You like the idea of inspiring others and making a change, but you don’t like the idea of all the work involved. You’d prefer to just help other people along in their own efforts. 

 

Here’s the thing: work doesn’t have to be dreadful. Yes, walking 21 miles every day to work or biking 4,000 miles seems like a lot of work to us, but Robertson and Perrine wouldn’t have kept going if it felt like work to them.

 

The key is to realize that the amount you care about something is directly related to your actions. The more you care, the more you’ll do, and the more you do, the more you’ll care. And in the end, it’s the cause that wins out over the work involved. 

 

But how do you go from there? What can you do to make a difference, avoid that “work” feeling, and become an inspiration to others? 

 

Well, let’s say you care about supporting local businesses. Say you also have a knack for the guitar. They seem unrelated, but what if you played your guitar in your local coffee shop to attract customers? Not only would it help the business and help send a message, it wouldn’t seem like work because you’re doing something you feel passionate about (and an added bonus is showing off your mad guitar skills). 

 

It doesn’t take a large gesture like singlehandedly curing global warming to become someone who others look up to, I mean, if you want to go that route, great, more power to you, but it can even be something as small as giving out a compliment a day or starting friendly conversations with strangers. 

 

It’s easy to get caught up in culture’s superheros and to put these inspirational people at a level higher than the rest of us, but these people we’ve put on pedestals aren’t too far off from where we are. By taking action on the things you care about, you could reach their “unreachable” standards. You could walk 21 miles every day, bike 4,000 miles, move mountains, even. You could make an impact and be the inspiration.