Every little effort we make may be the tipping point to our dreams come true.  It all counts: every smile we give a stranger, attempt to solve a problem, and election-day vote.  And it all matters more than we realize.  Every little effort hits a tipping point where it cataclysmically launches us into blissful, winning streaks.

I read the book Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.  Although I don’t recall much of the content of his book, I might be tipping into his ideas subconsciously.  And I always say, “We need every little advantage,” especially if the odds are stacked against us.  But with that said, here are some ideas on how every little bit counts:

Vote.  This past election, I voted for Jason Nixon’s brother, Jeremy Nixon.  Jason once served as a Student Union member at AU and is now a member of the UCP.  I wasn’t sure I’d vote, as I didn’t think my vote mattered, but it mattered.  When I watched the election results, Jeremy’s and his competitor’s votes were apart by a narrow margin—something like ten votes.  And I saw another candidate’s voting spread at, I believe, one vote in the lead.  That was the first time I learned my vote mattered—every little bit matters.  And every little bit pushes us closer to the tipping point of wins.

Make money.  I know this sounds greedy, but it’s not.  It’s the striving for abundance.  And we don’t need a lot of money to do this.  We need the goal to reach the tipping point where the funds find us faster than ever.  I’m still working toward that goal, but it’s starting to manifest.  And every dollar we earn or save matters.  Most millionaires become rich through savings.  However, I’m a spender, not a saver, so those of us like me must increase our earnings to acquire great wealth.  And more wealth means more ways to help others.  Buying one gift for a toddler can open a world of opportunities for that child.  For all of us, each dollar counts.  And when our earnings or savings arrive at the tipping point, imagine the good we can do.

Learn.  Every bit of knowledge is unbelievably powerful.  Learn as much as possible this lifetime.  Study every day, even when we’re no longer in school.  Always take professional and personal development courses every chance we get.  Not one day should go by where we don’t learn something, don’t read, study, watch a lecture, listen to a podcast, learn a craft, build or create something, or work on a hobby.  It’s all vital to our reason for existence.  Every bit of learning makes us more powerful.  We can withstand, overcome, and succeed at anything with the right knowledge.

There’s a tipping point with knowledge, too.  It can occur in our work where suddenly we have all the skills for a big promotion.  Or it could be in our personal lives, where knowledge turns a relationship into the most dynamic, loving, joy-filled experience imaginable.  And it’s pure joy to hit a tipping point, where we discover we have mastered a skill we previously knew nothing about.  I’ve seen this countless times in the same person.  He learns a craft, bit by bit, and suddenly we realize he’s world-class at his art.  The same goes for each of us.  We can reach that tipping point in anything we desire to achieve with each incremental bit of knowledge.

See things through other people’s eyes.  Everyone in our life is perfect—perfect for us—even if there is conflict.  The purpose of that conflict is to bring us to the goal: a greater place of love.  It all amounts to that: love.  And the greatest way to let go of our egos—at least, my ego—is to see the situation empathically through others’ eyes.  And every show of empathy matters.  Non-stop empathy helps us reach the tipping point to realizing connectivity with every soul all the time.

Love everyone.  I mean, surrender to loving everyone by seeing only the spark of God within every soul.  Every single soul has that spark of God–no exceptions.  And the more we love everyone, the more that love flourishes in us, like a savings account with a phenomenal interest rate.  And the more love we have in reserves, the more love we can readily give.  But truly, we all have infinite love flowing within us at every moment.  It awakens when we express that love toward another living being.

Here is a recent example of the tipping point in my life:

It was my birthday just yesterday, and I was infused with love.  As background, Mom and I had been at war most of our adult lives.  Mom loathed me.  But I went through a spiritual transformation over the past half a decade.  As a result, I committed to doing everything I could to help Mom love me again before she dies.  So, I started giving her nothing but unconditional love.  And this birthday marks the tipping point where Mom loves me again with that beautiful love she gave me during my childhood.  Still, my every step forward with her must be infused with unconditional devotion to not break the momentum.  And I feel compelled to provide this level of unconditional love to everyone.  It’s part of striving for enlightenment.  All of us can achieve the tipping point into deep love in any relationship.  It’s done through every tiny, selfless, loving act.

And the tipping point applies to everything we do.  Whether it’s one minute exercising, one minute on a hobby, one dollar earned, one gift given, one book read, one vegetable eaten, or one kind word offered.  It all adds up and impacts the world forever.  And when it all hits that tipping point, we are truly transformed.  We grow closer to our higher selves.  That’s why every little bit counts.