With apologies to Uncle Ben
You already know the backstory of Spider-Man.
Even if you’re not into superheroes, you know it.
So I’m going to take a page from the MCU book and skip it to get to the good stuff:
I’m not going to say he’s wrong about his… you know, his advice. It’s useful if you find yourself in power.
But most of us don’t have superpowers, which makes his advice backwards.
Unless he knew Peter was Spider-Man, what he should have said was:
“With great responsibility comes great power.”
What do I mean by that?
Well, take the average fool like you or me. There is something in the world that really bothers them. I’m sure there is something like that for you – some fixable problem that’s being ignored as if it were a symptom of our collective insanity.
Let’s say it’s world hunger for them. It’s something we could solve if we prioritized it, and it keeps our friendly neighborhood dreamer up at night.
So, one day they decide to take responsibility for it.
But what can they do? They are just one person. They are rich by world standards, but certainly not by their country’s. Certainly not rich enough to feed the globe.
And it’s not like they have the ear of any kings, CEOs or world leaders.
But they are not completely helpless.
They start by raising money for charity. It helps a little, but they know they can do more.
So they work for charity. Again, this matters…but not enough.
So they travel to some of the poorest and most hungry parts of the world to help directly.
Every person they help is a life saved. However, this problem is huge. One can do a lot of good like this, but it won’t change the system that keeps the problem alive.
They decide to do more.
In their spare time – not that they have much of it – they study.
History – to learn how the problem occurred.
Agriculture – to learn new ways to create life-saving, nutritious food.
Mechanical Engineering – learning how to use what these people have to create what they need.
Economics – to learn what prevents wealth from flowing here.
Influence and persuasion – learning how to be heard, not just talk. Persuading those they help to share their ideas and accept decisions. Influence power to support what needs support.
Entrepreneurship and management – because maybe it takes a business to solve these problems.
This guy doesn’t teach them for fun. They don’t teach them to impress people at parties or pad their CVs. They do it to end the unnecessary suffering they see every day.
Which means they will learn them thoroughly.
Deep enough to become powerful.
One person can change the world, but the average person cannot. It takes a powerful combination of skills and the drive to use them.
You don’t get there by chasing fame, money or power. These rewards do not go to the pure in heart, the strong, the ambitious, or even necessarily the worthy. They go to those who solve real problems.
Unsolvable problems.
If you’re feeling helpless right now—and I wouldn’t blame you if you are—this is how powerful you feel.
#apologies #Uncle #Ben
