Pay it Forward

How do you change the world? No, it doesn't involve saving any cheerleaders or supermodels. You have to do it one step at a time. And initiating the first step is above all the most challenging and difficult part. You would probably wondering why I am talking like 'Peter Petrelli' all of a sudden, all optimistic for a better and brighter tomorrow.

Well, let me introduce you to a concept that I just learned, Pay it Forward . I got this from watching a movie on Astro with the same title. Like most inspirational movies this one originated from a novel.

It started as a Social Studies extra credit project of a 7th Grader and turns out as a movement throughout America that touches and change thousands of lives. They call it the Pay it Forward Movement. The concept is quite simple. It is one that any person can implement in his or her own life, at any time. It begins with doing a favour for another person without any expectation of being paid back. Indeed one would request that the recipient of that favour do the same for someone else: ideally for three other people. The unconditional favors can be large or small. As Trevor(the boy) observes: it doesn't have to be a big thing. It can just seem that way, depending on whom you do it for.

It is like another form of pyramid scheme, minus the fraud. The most important thing is that it shows that you don't have to be rich like Oprah to be able to change lives. Start small.

If you're still not convinced that this might work or curious on the details visit http://www.payitforwardfoundation.org/ . Maybe it's time for Malaysia to embrace it. Other countries have done it. What are we waiting for?

Then, perhaps in the future you'll stumble upon someone in distress and help them. When he/she asks what you want in return. You'll just say Pay it Forward.