In this series:
"Life With Bonnie" star Bonnie Hunt on making a difference.
Breckin Meyer loves to make a difference with "pound puppies."
Comedian George Lopez helps folks back home
Emmy-winning talk show host Wayne Brady on helping
Moderator of "The View" recalls a poor boy
Papers lead readers to improve their cities
Never Give Up! By Dick Vitale
It's so Raven to help others

Help balance things out
The Emmy-winning talk show host says, "You need to try to make a difference."
By Wayne Brady

To my mother, Valerie, every single day is Make A Difference Day. She's the most unselfish person I know and a big source of inspiration for me. She'll sometimes give jobs to ex-drug dealers or guys who have just had really bad breaks. She gave this one sketchy guy a job cutting the lawn. I was freaking out about it, but I realized that where I see this hardened criminal who could snap your neck and run amok, she sees somebody's son. It scares me, but on the other hand I think we all could use some of her vision.

The lessons I learned from my mother about reaching out are what inspired me to become a Big Brother about 12 years ago. I was working at a theater in Orlando, and they helped me get in touch with a kid named Mike; I hung out with him for a few months, until he moved away. I'll never know how much I helped him, but I know he taught me a lesson that helped me both personally and professionally and has stayed with me to this day.

Mike made me feel very thankful for what I've been given. I grew up in a family with a mother who absolutely adored me, and I was very fortunate with my schooling and my work. This kid didn't have the best of anything, but he had this attitude that said: "Nothing can hold me back. Nothing's going to keep me down." He wanted to be a doctor.

I brought him over to the theater one night after I'd had a really crappy show. In my very selfish, actor-y way, I was venting to him about it. I just remember him looking at me and saying: "I don't know what you're talking about. These people love you. I wish I had people love me like that. I want to be like you."

At first I thought he was just talking about the show, but then I realized he was talking about my family, because he'd been spending time with us. When he said he wanted to be like me, I was absolutely floored. It finally made me conscious of all I had that I didn't appreciate. After that, I vowed never, ever to be a whiny actor or a whiny person. I really think I was on my way to being a brat, and he curbed it. I don't take anything for granted anymore. I try to be humble and very grateful for everything that comes across my plate, and to not get so caught up in the I-I-I, me-me-me of it.

The Emmy-winning Wayne Brady Show will spotlight Make A Difference Day volunteers Oct. 20-24. Check local listings for time and channel.

I look at my baby daughter and want her to realize that there's value in other people's lives as well. It's not just about you. And that's why you need to try to make a difference. I'm not saying you should run out and save the world, because most people can't. But if you can help one other person and start a chain reaction, do it.

Especially if you've been very blessed, you can help balance things out. It's so important to remember the world is bigger than you.