Today, we are pleased to have a very magical story from Sam Davidson of Cool People Care. Sam is a co-author of New Day Revolution, a book on how to save the world in 24 hours. Sam is a Gen-Y leader for nonprofits and social change, helping to better the world by giving only a few minutes of your time to make your life and the lives of others better. Hear how he creates magic below!

If you want to do something magical today, offer up five minutes of your time for something important. By doing so, you’ll be giving life, offering hope, practicing compassion, and saving the world.

At least that’s my take on it. After all, we believe folks literally can save the world in five minutes a day, if they know how. That’s what led us to create and grow CoolPeopleCare.org. This online resource shows you how to change the world in whatever time you have each and every day.

But we all know that countless five-minute blocks of time are wasted every single day. We wait in traffic, stand in line, watch commercials, get distracted, and simply do nothing. Then, before we know it, no time is left for us to do something we’re great at, something we’re passionate about, or something that can make the world a better place.

It’s easy to think that creating magic takes lots of time. After all, when you read through the other articles in this series, you can easily get overwhelmed with the drive and commitment that it takes to stand out and be remarkable. But, we believe magic happens every time you make a better choice, buy a better product, get to work in a better way, and donate your money in a better manner.

Magic in the nonprofit, philanthropic and social change realm is just like magic in the business world. It takes drive and commitment. It takes practice and planning. It takes dreaming big and working hard. But you’ve got to start somewhere, and the best place to start is always where you are.

You can spend the next five minutes saving energy (and money). You can take the time to educate yourself on an important cause. You can email your senator, call your mayor or write to your newspaper, all in the span of a commercial break. You can buy fairly traded coffee, shower quicker, eat organic and replace a light bulb in no time at all. Indeed, you can save the world, five minutes at time.

But ideas are only half of the magic. You still need the action to bring that magic into reality. And that’s where CoolPeopleCare stops and you begin. Each day, we’ll bring you a different idea, nicely wrapped in 99 words, straight to your inbox. We’ll show you how to protect the environment, help the homeless, and feed the children. But ultimately, improving your community in a very magical way is up to you.

The beauty of Generation Y is that they grew up believing in magic. From an early age, they heard fairy tales, watched Disney movies, played make believe and dreamed big. Their parents and teachers drilled them about positive self-esteem. Generation Y believes everyone belongs and anything is possible. If anything, Generation Y is Generation Magic, complete with the dreams and potential to change the world.

But only if we get out there and put those big plans into action.

But if you do – if you take our daily idea and bring it to life – you’ll see that magic that happens when communities of poverty are turned into communities of prosperity. You’ll evidence the wonder that happens when empty stomachs are filled so that they can then feed others. You’ll see the dreams of others come true, able to live another day.

It all happens in very small steps. Walt Disney, looking over his empire near the end of his life, famously said, “It all began with a mouse.” In a very similar fashion, saving the world can all begin five minutes at a time.

Sam Dividson can be found at his personal blog and behind the reigns of CoolPeopleCare.