I think we all feel this way sometimes. After a good event or conference, I can be all pumped up. Call it an event high fructose corn syrup high. The key is having a purpose - working towards it - on and off, all your life - you all know what you are good at. Some of you are excellent communicators, hackers, designers. Some of you don't know yet. That is fine.<p>All of us change the world. Some of us have a bigger platform to do so. All of us can make a bigger platform for ourselves. Fame, wealth, personal power are all ways to increase our platform. But the best way to increase our platform is to encourage and inspire others, to bring together people, to build a community.<p>For example, do you want to speak at Ted? It's simple but not easy. Become one of the best in the world in your particular field. You can have a much more direct impact by simply taking time to volunteer with those who don't have the skills you take for granted. That's a cliche. But a lot of people don't have your skills and you might be able to work in symbiotic fashion. Similarly, you can ask other people who have the experience, connections, skills for help. People love to help. In fact, it is a psychological conflict that asking someone 'higher' than you for help makes you look better than if you were try to do something for the person higher (asking a favor vs doing something for them).<p>As software developers, as another HN commenter said, we have unprecedented access to power to affect the world, to grab a bit of its attention. Most of us can or know someone who can create a website/app that can be scaled up to be used by thousands of people, within hours of its genesis.<p>Aim for being the local maximum. Be the guy or girl who co-organizes events, throws parties, brings people together. It is very hard to be the global maximum (that is like POTUS - President of the United States). It is definitely attainable to be one of the local maximums (leader, board member, advisor).<p>It is very hard statistically and numerically speaking to be a Mark Zuckerberg or a Jay-Z. They are literally one in hundreds of millions or one of a billion. But you can affect the world around you, in a positive feedback cycle. Stop fearing what you fear and do it. Keep the motivation going (take it with a grain of salt, particularly the self-help blogs/podcasts - realize that not everything is sunny-side up all the time), listen to Ted videos, Charlie Rose (rocks).<p>For more inspiration of the entrepreneurial kind, check out Stanford's mother lode of entrepreneur lectures and interviews:<p><a href="http://ecorner.stanford.edu" rel="nofollow">http://ecorner.stanford.edu</a>