Great Thinkers: Why It's Still Important to Make a Difference

Introduction

Our parents, teachers, and political leaders urge us to become good, productive citizens from the time we’re born. We’re expected to succeed in school, pursue a career, pay our taxes, follow the rules, and somehow “make a difference” in the world. Yet despite this guidance, many of us struggle to answer the question: Why does contributing to society matter, and how do you go about it? Ahead, we’ll explore six Great Thinkers’ perspectives on making a difference.

Feiler and Confucius: Why You Should Make a Difference

Despite admonitions to make a contribution, the world is becoming more individualistic, according to research. We strive to “be ourselves,” pursue personal goals, and define success by our own standards. And since we’re fairly absorbed in our own lives and ambitions, we might not be as focused on contributing to society. Our attention is consumed by personal advancement, making it easy to overlook how our actions affect others or how we might use our skills to address bigger challenges.

In focusing so much on self-fulfillment, we risk forgetting that our lives gain depth and meaning when they’re part of something larger. According to two Great Thinkers, contributing to society isn’t a distraction from personal growth—it’s one of the most profound expressions of it. Let’s take a closer look at their arguments, starting with that of author Bruce Feiler.

For his book Life Is in the Transitions, Feiler interviewed hundreds of people about the ups and downs of their lives. He concluded that change is life’s only constant, which is hard for most of us to cope with. But for many, braving change feels more manageable when you can connect your experiences to something larger than yourself—a cause that guides your actions.

For example, this is how “me too” movement founder Tarana Burke (Unbound) dealt with her personal trauma—by channeling her struggles into a global effort to support survivors of sexual violence. Many of Feiler’s interviewees took similar measures to transform personal challenges into meaningful action, whether by mentoring others, volunteering in their communities, or advocating for causes they cared about. In each case, contributing to something beyond themselves not only helped others but also provided a sense of purpose, resilience, and fulfillment that purely personal pursuits rarely offered.

Centuries before Feiler, Chinese philosopher Confucius made another argument in favor of contributing to society. In The Analects, he writes that improving the world around you makes you a better person. This is because considering others’ well-being—and then altruistically fulfilling your responsibilities to them—helps you experience personal growth and inner harmony. At the same time, your contributions help society function more smoothly and fairly, which benefits you and everyone you know.

For example, consider a teacher who nurtures his students’ potential. By investing time and energy in others, he develops personal qualities, like patience and empathy, that enrich his own life. And his efforts help his students grow up to become responsible, compassionate members of society, creating a ripple effect that strengthens his community and future generations.

Sandel: Diagnose Problems, Envision Solutions

According to Feiler and Confucius, we should contribute to society because doing so benefits both ourselves and the communities we belong to. But knowing that contributing is valuable is one thing—figuring out how to do it effectively is another. It’s easy to look around you and see countless problems worth trying to solve. It’s not as easy to diagnose those problems and imagine potential solutions. Political philosopher Michael Sandel’s book Justice offers a starting point.

Sandel suggests that healthy societies try to ensure justice by balancing welfare with freedom. It’s difficult to maximize all three values at the same time because they’re in tension with one another. For example, consider how paid surrogacy pits welfare against freedom: On one hand, paid surrogacy can benefit everyone involved when consensually chosen—the surrogate gains money, and the adoptive parents gain a child. On the other, paid surrogacy can exploit the surrogate, especially if economic pressures limit her ability to choose freely. Because welfare and freedom are in tension, it’s hard for policymakers to craft rules about surrogacy that benefit everyone.

Sandel argues that injustice takes place when welfare and freedom are out of balance—one comes at the expense of another, compromising people’s well-being or rights. Keeping this in mind can help you better recognize situations where people’s welfare or freedom is being overlooked. This allows you to more accurately diagnose problems you notice in your community or in larger society—and in turn, you can come up with targeted solutions, which are more likely to succeed than quick fixes based on assumptions.

For example, consider the issue of planned obsolescence. Companies often design products to fail or become outdated quickly, which maximizes profits (shareholders’ welfare) but limits consumers’ freedom to use and repair their devices. Applying Sandel’s framework, you can accurately diagnose the problem: As it stands, welfare trumps freedom, creating injustice. This insight can help you identify a targeted solution to the problem, like right-to-repair legislation that requires companies to provide access to parts, tools, and information needed to repair devices, giving consumers greater control over the products they own.

Note, though, that contributing to society doesn’t always require lobbying for large-scale political change. You can diagnose and solve critical social problems via entrepreneurship, for example, as Alex Hormozi suggests in $100M Leads. This might look like identifying a common pain point in your community, like access to healthy food, and creating a product or service that addresses it. You can also address social problems through your career or hobbies or through community engagement. We’ll talk about how to determine the right avenue for your contributions next.

García and Miralles: Find Your Ikigai

According to Héctor García and Francesc Miralles, making a difference in the world is a matter of finding your ikigai. This Japanese word refers to your “reason for being” or life purpose—the thing that keeps you going in life and the reason you get up in the morning. In their book Ikigai, García and Miralles explain that your ikigai sits at the intersection of what you love, what you’re good at, what you can be paid for, and what the world needs (which includes solutions to social problems, as we discussed in the previous section). However, the authors note that your ikigai doesn’t have to align with a standard career. Many people make significant contributions to society outside of traditional 9-to-5 jobs—think of artists, athletes, and activists.

Ultimately, ikigai is a lens for deciding how to contribute to society in a way that feels authentic to you. By identifying where your passions and strengths intersect with society’s needs, you can choose the avenue—career, hobbies, or community work—that enables you to make the greatest difference.

To find your ikigai, García and Miralles recommend leaning into what experts call flow. In his book of the same name, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi defines flow as a state of optimal experience that occurs when you’re totally immersed in an activity. You lose your sense of time, your creativity is heightened, you perform at your best, and the activity itself feels deeply rewarding. Paying attention to the moments when you experience flow can reveal clues about your ikigai—those are often the activities that naturally draw out your skills, passion, and sense of purpose.

For instance, imagine someone who experiences flow while writing—they become so absorbed in crafting stories or essays that hours pass without notice. This sense of immersion signals that writing may be part of their ikigai. If they use their writing to shed light on social issues or to create aesthetically valuable works of literature, they’re not only fulfilling a personal passion but also contributing meaningfully to society. In this way, flow guides them toward their unique purpose, and their ikigai becomes both personally sustaining and socially impactful.

Greene: Become a Master

Finding your ikigai helps you discover what you’re meant to do—but according to strategist Robert Greene, knowing your purpose is only the beginning. In Mastery, Greene argues that to make a real impact, you must go beyond passion and commit to mastering your craft. Mastery, he says, is what transforms raw potential into profound, lasting contributions to society.

For example, consider how William Shakespeare’s mastery of storytelling allowed him to explore the depths of human nature, creating works that continue to resonate centuries later. Similarly, Albert Einstein’s mastery of physics transformed our understanding of the universe, enabling technological and scientific advancements that affect millions of lives every day. In both cases, their deep commitment to mastering their respective crafts turned personal talent into enduring contributions that shaped society.

Shakespeare and Einstein set a high bar, but Greene emphasizes that mastery isn’t reserved for prodigies—it’s achievable for anyone willing to engage deeply with their work. The path requires patience and resilience, but the reward is both personal and societal: When you master your craft, you not only realize your potential but also expand what’s possible for others. A master teacher transforms students’ lives; a master engineer designs technologies that reshape the world; a master artist helps others see reality in a new light.

So, how do you become a master? Greene explains that mastery develops in stages and is a lifelong process. It begins with foundational training, where you learn the basic technical skills you need to perform competently alongside the people skills you need to get ahead in your field. Then, you enter a phase of creative independence, where you apply what you’ve learned in new ways and develop your unique style or perspective. Over time, with consistent effort, you reach mastery—a state where intuition and skill merge, allowing you to innovate effortlessly and contribute to society at the highest level.

Great Thinkers’ Advice for Making a Difference

• Bruce Feiler (Life Is in the Transitions) and Confucius (The Analects): Although focusing on yourself is tempting in our increasingly individualistic world, your contributions to society are worthwhile—they help others and improve your well-being.
• Michael Sandel (Justice): Injustice occurs when welfare comes at the expense of freedom or vice versa. Recognizing this tension can help you diagnose social problems accurately and develop targeted solutions that positively impact your community.
• Héctor García and Francesc Miralles (Ikigai): To make a difference, start by finding your ikigai, or your life’s purpose. Acting on your ikigai allows you to contribute to society authentically and effectively.
• Robert Greene (Mastery): Knowing your purpose is only the beginning; to truly impact society, you must master your craft. When skill and intuition merge through mastery, you innovate, inspire, and expand what’s possible for others.

What Do You Think?

What is one problem in your community or the world that matters to you? How are you currently contributing to addressing it? What steps could you take this week to make a greater impact?