How can you impact political policies?

Roughly 57% of eligible voters cast a ballot in the 2016 US Presidential election.

Shortly after an election, a surprisingly small number of people can recall who was elected or who their elected officials are.

An even smaller number actually engage elected officials over the course of the term. That old saying, "every vote counts" is amplified as we reach out to influence our representatives.

President Obama receives about 10,000 correspondence items a day and reads ten curated items every night he is at the White House. His staff reads and sorts every email and letter sent to the White House. A senior staffer decides what letters provide the best cross section and counter points to address current issues and forwards for the Presidents nightly reading.

Your representatives have a smaller constituency and receive less correspondence. This reduced engagement provides your opportunity to engage, lobby for your voice to be heard.

It takes a personal touch to cut through the noise of today's world; this is your opportunity to be the one to make an impact.

Going Further: Who are your elected officials, from the President to the leader of your kid's school council? What changes do you think need to happen? What is one step you can take to make your voice heard? How can you use the lack of others engagement, to become known by your representatives?

What kind of influence are you?

Apparently, I'm not a good one. I had been talking to a friend about my appreciation of Belgian wheat beers and then started talking about the various  Piscos, I had enjoyed. He replied that he was cutting back because he found himself drinking each night and it was impacting the family. It felt like the story went a bit deeper and recounting my enjoyment of adult beverages, was not helping him resist temptation.

Friends listen to each other, pick up on subtleties, and come alongside to help where needed. Each one of us has a laundry list of "yes" or "no" things we should embrace or resist. A caring friend will know what is on each of our lists.

A doughnut on National Doughnut Day is one thing, encouraging your dieting friend to restrict their doughnut intake to only those days of the week that end in "day," is not helpful. Someone trying to regain control of their budget is served by a stroll through the park vice the local marketplace. 

Confidence to achieve significant efforts is through small day-to-day decisions building on each other. Reinforcing these decisions defines our role as a friend.

Pause and reflect on your closest friendships. What kind of friend are you? Draw the circle a bit bigger; are you consistent in your care for this next group of friends?

Going Further: How do you specifically encourage your friends in their pursuits? How do you help your friends exercise self-control? When did you fail a friend and what did you both learn? Did the friendship survive? What changes do you need to make, to care for your friends honestly? How would these changes benefit your relationships? What question was missed?

How has nature influenced you?

Our shelter protects us from the elements and is foundational to our basic needs. However, it is nice to know what we are protected from, in our world of lattes and air conditioning.

Tree, camel, cat, lotus, mountain, half moon and firefly are all yoga poses named after the nature outside the window. These names provide a subtle invitation to experience the reality on the other side of the glass.

Orville and Wilber Wright studied vultures to understand the concepts of lift and drag and changed the way the world travels.

Author, Janine Benyus, formalized the idea of intentionally looking to nature to solve problems in her book, Biomimicry. Now the Biomimicry Institute helps a broad range of organizations discover their needed solutions in the swamps, skies, forests, deserts, and oceans. Michael Pawlyn applied nature's solutions to the Eden Project through improved horticultural architecture, with remarkable results and recounted in his TED Talk.

The design solutions discovered in nature are straightforward and elegant. Albert Einstein stated, "the best design is the simplest one." As humans, we tend to brute force our way into a solution through more power and resources to get the desired result (thanks, Seth Godin, for pointing out the article).

AsSummer ends and the Northern Hemisphere heads into shorter days, awareness of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) start to take effect. The yearly cycle of the sun helps to regulate expectations of what is coming next.

We decorate our walls, clothes, artwork, and furniture with scenes of nature on the other side of the front door. The iceberg screen saver gives mental relief during the heat of Summer, and the pristine beach provides hope of warmer weather during the Winter deep freeze.

If we are not looking, the quiet influence will pass unnoticed and we will return to solving problems with brute force and the protection of bubble wrap. Unfortunate.