Pay It Forward – Let’s Start A Revolution

Saturday night, I watched Pay It Forward with my family.  I’ve seen the movie before, and I couldn’t help being inspired all over again by the premise of this movie.  There are some ugly parts in the story like an alcoholic mom, a homeless grandmother, a heroin addict, and a bunch of junior high bullies.  But there’s also amazing beauty in this movie.

The movie clip above gives a brief explanation of the “pay it forward” concept.  The idea is that a person does three acts of kindness for three different people.  The acts of kindness have to be something big – something that the person couldn’t do for themselves.  Instead of repaying the giver, the recipients of the act of kindness must pay it forward by doing acts of kindness for three more people.  You can see how this would multiply quickly if people really followed up on the “pay it forward” movement.

Do you think this idea could work?

Imagine with me for a moment, that each of the readers of this blog took this challenge seriously.  If 100 readers took the pay it forward challenge between now and the end of the year, 300 people would be impacted.  Then these 300 people took the “pay it forward” challenge in the next 3 months.  By the end of March, 900 more people would be impacted (for a total of 1,000 people).  Then these 900 people took the “pay it forward” challenge in the following 3 months.  By the end of June, 2700 more people would be impacted (for a total of 3,700 people).

Maybe “pay it forward” is utopian as the teacher indicates in the clip, but so what?  What if only half the people followed through on the “pay it forward” challenge?  Over 400 people would still be impacted by the end of June.  That’s a big deal!

This Christmas season can get so crazy with trying to find the perfect gifts for our loved ones.  It’s also busy as we run from one holiday event to the next holiday event.  It’s so easy to forget the real meaning of Christmas as we are flooded with all the pressures of this holiday season.

What do you think about trying something crazy this season?  What do you think about starting a revolution?

Let’s try it!  Seriously.  Let’s start our own “pay it forward” revolution.  Wouldn’t you love to change the world for someone this season?  Who’s with me?  Let’s do this thing!

Leave a comment if you plan to join the “pay it forward” challenge.  Let us know how you plan to join the revolution (not to brag – but to encourage – to share ideas).