An Introduction to 'Make Your Difference'

My name’s Tom Norman and I’m 21 years old. I worked hard at school and college to achieve relatively good grades and finished in 2010 to start working. When I first left college, my desire was to work in London as a stock-broker or trader and live that idyllic ‘corporate life’ that so many crave. I loved the idea of working hard with all the other suited and booted businessmen scurrying across London’s busy streets, working long stressful days and rewarded with large pay-cheques and big bonuses. I started working in a bank and began to study for the qualifications that would be required to get myself into the City.

As the months passed, and the initial novelty of working the 09:00- 17:00 life wore off, I began to get more and more eager to do something better. I looked in even more detail at the job I craved in London, and attempted to motivate myself further by building a tangible image of how I’d feel when I finally achieved it… but it wasn’t working. For me, there was still something missing. I looked deeper and deeper at how my life was and how I wanted it to be. What I found to be missing from my 09:00- 17:00 banking job, and what was missing from this image of my job in the City was the ability for me to really make any considerable difference in the world. Sure I could be the best employee I could be.  I could try and be friendly and liked and provide excellent customer service to add as much value as possible to any institution that I may work in, but I sought more. I want to live my life to the full and use every ounce of me to build change and greatness in my life and the lives of others. Two certainties in life are that we were all born and we will all die, but I want the bit that happens in between to mean something. I want to leave behind something more than just my fingerprints on the Earth.

And that’s exactly what I want to help you to do. I’m starting an initiative called ‘Make Your Difference’, and through this blog I would like to connect with you and help you to seek to make your own difference in the world. You can expect to see posts about my ideas, interviews with people who are ‘making their difference’ and updates on my own life and my pursuit to ‘make my difference’. I will also be regularly posting challenges designed to get you a little out of your comfort zone, because it’s important to remember that to Make Your Difference, you have to start doing things differently. I value your contributions about your own quests to make your difference and I would love to hear exactly what it means to you so please get in touch. You can contact me on:

Email: me@iamtomnorman.co.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/iamtomnorman
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/iamtomnorman/