Where the fuck do I even start? That’s often the question that the students I coach ask me when they embark on project that are related to big goals like ending world hunger, making the world more sustainable and so on. 

I often joke by calling such projects “Miss Universe” projects as they sound great for a “Miss Universe” speech but aren’t practical yet.

To make them practical, I often recommend to start in a very pragmatic way. Starting with the skills and access that you already have. For example, someone trying to fix world hunger could mean working to improve the work of an association that is already active. Or working with a specific community that has that issue. 

I feel that a real small impact is much nicer than a huge dreamt impact that never becomes true.

Action question

If you make a list of all your passions, skills, things that are already available to you,  Which ones could be of use to build more sustainable services tomorrow?

The inspiration

We discussed this principle with Service Design and sustainability nerd Haley Anderson. Watch that part of the interview here.