Been watching the international news lately? Yesterday the executive director of the World Food Program reported that the international food crisis, spurred by the global economic troubles, has become a "silent tsunami" that threatens the economic and political stability of a broad spectrum of poor nations around the world. He reported that "one child [dies] every five seconds from hunger-related causes." Some have compared this growing threat as a 'Sally-Ann Struthers' problem: one that is getting 'hyped' but one that there's little any one person can do to alleviate. (BPO Philippines)

Doubtless there are enormous global issues that seem so overwhelming that one person feels utterly powerless to have any influence at all. Our 'circle of concern' may be very large, but our 'circle of influence' seems tiny indeed. What can one person do? The brilliant answer to this question comes from thought-leader Lance Secretan: you can discover your true circle of influence by letting your circle of concern speak to you, and by asking it questions. If we believe that everything has a purpose (and we do), then every 'problem' has a 'solution', if only we're willing to look for it.

How do you find out what 'problem' you're the 'solution' for? Secretan calls that your destiny (and so do I). It's the one mountain that you alone have been given to climb. Its location is engraved on your heart, so that's where you need to go to find it. Perhaps world hunger is your particular, individual 'mountain'. To find out, dig deeply into what disturbs your most - into what stands out most in your circle of concern. That's a good indication of where your heart's secret longing is focused.

Now ask yourself what about this issue concerns you the most? If you had all the resources in the world, where's the first place you would direct some of them? But, we all know that we don't have all the resources in the world. So, what resources do you have? Here's where a deep and enlightened mindful self-knowledge is vitally important. You weren't inspired with the overriding concern to be left without personal resources to do something about it. What strengths, talents, skills, knowledge and experience do you have that could somehow respond to the threat that you've identified?

If you've followed this procedure well, you'll begin to see that, in fact, you have a viable response to your concerns. There is an influence that you can put to bear on a concern that's bigger than you are. You'll take the next step when you confront your fears and make the decision to act. Once you've identified your destiny, you'll no longer have the temerity to say, "There's nothing I can do about that." In point of fact, you've identified things that not only you can do, but you must do to be true to yourself. I'll let you in on a little secret: if every individual discovered his or her destiny and made it a cause that he or she were willing to dedicate (at least part of) their life to, these 'insurmountable' problems would find global solutions.

Global hunger and economic collapse may not be your 'thing'; but somewhere deep inside you is a 'thing' that's particularly your own: a mountain that you alone must climb. You were put here to find that mountain, to gather your strengths, to train yourself, and to do your part. When you do that, you're not 'sacrificing' anything for a cause; you're choosing to become fully alive: the person you were always meant to be. Today, you can choose not to 'live in the problem', but, rather, to 'live in the solution' - your solution.