The most remarkable christmas wish list I’ve received so far wasn’t actually a list but a simple email from my niece. At the time she was eleven years old and it read like this:
Dear family, this year I do not have any wishes. But I am saving for a 13’’ MacBook Pro. So instead of gifting me something you could support me there.
I really was amazed by the crowdfunding approach of the young lady. But on the other hand it really made me think. At the time I was sitting in an office with two other dads. All of us earning a family’s living – with less powerful machines. So I wrote back to her:
Of course I will back you. But just so you know: Technically, you now officially have the power to reinvent the world.
I wrote it to her. But it was addressed more to myself and had been a constant reminder ever since. I, too, had and have the computing power to reinvent the world. Today, anyone with a smartphone has.
So this year – again – the only appropriate wish for me is to remember this quote by Arthur Ashe more often: „Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.“