"SOMEONE should do something about fill in the blank."  Global warming.  The traffic on my block.  Bullying.  My husband's lack of motivation.

Research shows that the average college student today feels less empowered to change the events that will shape their lives than 80% of students 40 years ago.  Why are we waiting for this 'SOMEONE'?

Why not you?  Why not me?  The bestselling author of The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die, John Izzo PhD explains that if we all step up and do our share - focus on our "five rows of responsibility" - change can happen.  Keep reading to learn more!

Stepping Up: How Taking Responsibility Changes Everything argues that almost every problem can be solved if each of us looks to ourselves to be the agent of change, rather than waiting for 'someone' to do it for us.  Izzo shows that one person matters, A LOT!

In order to bring about change in your community, church, relationship or life, we cannot wait for somebody else to take action.  Stepping Up features inspiring stories of people who have stepped up.

• Two high school students who stood up to a bully and started a pink shirt day movement.
• Three American women who bought beads from a woman in Africa and have now helped 7,000 women start businesses in Uganda.
• One woman who wanted to rid her life of plastic and wound up getting a large corporation to change their products.
• A homeless man who started a recycling revolution in his community.
• A shopkeeper in Italy who risked her life standing up to the Mafia.
• A group of nurses and housekeepers who helped transform the image and service at their hospital.

Their stories can be applied to a variety of situations that any of us encounter almost everyday.  They illustrate what can be done when one steps up and why taking responsibility matters.

Stepping Up also details how people can change their attitudes and what actions people can take to create a more "can-do" environment.

• Do something.  Do anything.  Find one thing:  Think of something in your life, or in the world that you want to do something about.  Instead of trying to hatch a master plan, identify one thing you can do starting immediately to move in the direction of the change you seek.
• Banish victim thinking and acting from your life:  Every time you are tempted to think that something has been done to you, ask what you can do with what you have.  Choose to focus on what you can control.
• Get together:  Find a few allies and start to meet.  The focus could be making your school better or saving the planet.  But when you meet, don't spend one minute talking about how other people need to step up.  Instead, focus on what you can do, the steps you can take, no matter how small they may be.

Stepping Up can help any individual bring change to and improve their life, from your relationship with your kids to the fair treatment of animals.

Disclosure:  I received Stepping Up: How Taking Responsibility Changes Everything by John Izzo from Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. in order to facilitate this post. No other compensation was received.