Whether it's the conception of a universe, a human, or a project, beginnings are often humble. 

But small changes can create big things! 

For instance, our entire universe went "from something you could hold in your hands to something at least 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times bigger" (as author Bill Bryson put it).

If you think exponential growth is reserved for universes, consider the fact that you yourself were once 0.1 mm small (much smaller than the dot on the "i").... and look at how far you've come!

That's the power of small changes and exponential growth.

If you want to initiate a small change that has the potential to create massive, positive results, these 3 principles are important:

A while ago, I facilitated a course about a topic I felt passionate about. During one of the sessions, I felt prompted to deviate off script and briefly talk about how to approach unsolvable problems. 

When the course ended, I felt like it had been a failure and a waste of my time. Doing the course had required quite a bit of effort and yet I didn’t think the participants liked it that much nor that they got a lot out of it.

Turns out I was in for a huge suprise.

Months later I was at a meeting. 

Some of the former course participants were also present. Without any prompt, they described how the course had impacted them in extremely positive ways. 

What blew me away is when one person, let's call her Anja (not her real name), mentioned how something I had taught in passing had created international ripple effects. 

Anja was at a meeting with a foreign government that was extremely antagonistic toward her own country's approach, painting a very black and white picture. It seemed impossible to create a consensus on anything or make headway. 

That's when Anja recalled my improvised mini-session about how to approach unsolvable problems. When she applied the principle behind it, the other governments approach softened.

Needless to say, I was stunned.

I went home feeling extremely grateful and happy, realizing that the effort I had put into the course as well as my in-the-moment decision to go off script had paid off (even if I hadn't been able to see it right away). 

A throwaway comment I had made during something that I thought was a waste of my time had created international ripple effects that I would have never known about had I not gone to that meeting.

Talk about a learning experience.

How the 3 principles and the overarching theme played themselves out in this:

Catalyst? I made a small change by going off script for a minute.  
(Small Change)

Why? Because I felt such passion for the topic of solving hard problems.
(Principle 1)

How? I adjusted my priorities on the fly because I realized that this was more important information for my participants than what I had originally planned.
(Principle 2)

What? As a result of sharing this, I received praise and recognition which was very rewarding.
(Principle 3)

Result? This small change created a substantial difference as it helped with
an international negotiation.
(Exponential Growth)