I heard a quote one time that went something like this:
“One person can change the whole world for the better, as long as they don't give a damn who gets the credit.”
-Unknown
As you can see, I don’t know who said it. I don’t remember where I heard the quote, and throughout the research I did I was unable to find who originally said it. In either case, I think it rings true, but not quite in the same ways I used to think.
When I first heard the quote my first thinking was changing the entire world, as in every single person, place, and thing. But if you think at a much smaller scale, the impact of this idea can become so much greater. If you think in terms of how a country could change, or even a community. Not only that, the quote says “change the whole world for the better.” Better is relative. It doesn’t say save the world, or even just change the world. Those three little words at the end of that sentence make a huge difference. Changing something for the better doesn’t mean every aspect of it has been flipped, just that it is headed in the right direction.
When I started making YouTube videos in Albania I had one distinct goal: To change the world’s perception of Albania. The hope was that by showing what the people, culture, and landscapes were actually like, we could move away from the stigma of Albania that was created through the help of films like Taken. I thought that I would get famous by being the guy who is showing the world Albania. As it turns out, I gained a bit of fame and a was noticed for a short time, but it quickly faded when the next foreigner with a bigger following than me decided to come through the country. As first I would get a bit annoyed thinking, “I have been putting in the time in this country, why does that person get the recognition that I deserve.” And then, the quote came back to my mind; “…as long as they don’t give a damn who gets the credit.” I thought about my goal for my videos from when I started, and realized that my goal could be accomplished even if it wasn’t me being the face of it. I have no way of proving this, but there’s a good chance that my videos spurred someone to come visit Albania, which inspired someone else, which moved another foreigner, each of them with bigger influences than the last. Slowly, my goal is being accomplished, and I will likely never be thought of in it. I have helped to change this tiny world, now I need to stop giving a damn who gets the credit.
So now, in a similar vein, we come to my friend Sam, who also happens to be my supervisor at the nonprofit I work for. Sam has been devising a new permaculture project on a small plot of land nearby our campus. Agriculture is a big part of the Albanian livelihood and Sam hopes to figure out a way that the farmers around the country can shift from their monoculture farming to more of a polyculture practice. He has been doing small experiments with the plot he’s working on, in order to find the best methods for this climate and environment. His goal is not to be known as a revolutionary farmer in Albania, but rather to help make a small change in agriculture in this region that could vastly impact the entire world of the farmers that live here.
Even if only a dozen people have their perceptions of Albania changed through my videos, or the stories of people that I’ve inspired to come here, this country’s world has been changed for the better. Even if only two or three farmers see Sam’s practices, decide to give it a shot on their own farms, and realize how fruitful it can be, that is changing the world of those two or three farmers - and potentially their descendants for generations - for the better.