Matthew Emerzian, a successful music industry executive in Los Angeles, was walking back to his office with a co-worker one afternoon in 2004 when he stopped to pick up a plastic fountain drink cover from the sidewalk and put it in a nearby garbage bin.
"My co-worker quickly asked me what I was doing," Emerzian recalled. "I explained what I thought to be the obvious, but apparently I was wrong." To the co-worker, litter simple belonged to the litterer, not to the population as a whole.
"I explained to him that litter and pollution are everyone's problem not just the person who couldn't find the trash can for their cup lid. He profoundly responded with 'Dude, you're weird.'"
Emerzian, now 38, walked back to his office both angry and sad.
"I couldn't believe that someone could remove themselves so far from the greater good of our world."
Matt began to think, 'what if everyone in the country picked up one piece of litter on the same day.' Or 10 pieces! The math was easy, yet so powerful. He then began to think of a few other easy things that 300 million Americans could do to make a difference.
From this, a great idea was born. He called his friend, Kelly Bozza, and told her that he wanted to write a book about how all of us can make a difference with our lives. Within a week, they had over 100 items on their list and were ready to start writing.
Their book, titled Every Monday Matters...52 Ways to Make a Difference, has sold 120,000 copies. It is both powerful and thought-provoking. The ideas are simple - small acts that collectively add up to an enormous impact for the greater good. It's 144 pages with lots of illustrations - chocked full of big ideas.
Dr. Martin Luther King said, "Everyone has the power of greatness; not for fame, but greatness. Because greatness is determined by service."
By Mac Anderson / Simple Truths
