A few weeks ago, I had the chance to visit Zuccotti Park in New York, ground zero of the now-global Occupy Wall Street movement.

As a lifelong believer in the power of personal activism, I was excited to see how people from every walk of life, every age group, and every possible demographic had drawn the eyes of the world to some very immediate, very serious human concerns: pervasive unemployment, the influence of special interests over our government, the growing disparity between the rich and the poor, and the disappearing American dream. I was heartened by what I saw at OWS—an amazing variety of people with the courage to step away from their “real lives” and force us to confront these factors that are crippling our present and choking our future. I was most encouraged to see so many families there—parents and children, engaged together in the dialogue of protest, living democracy out loud. This was amazing.

When asked recently what he thought of the protests, former Salomon Brothers CEO John Gutfreund said, “But what is it for? What do they want, anyway?” He may be the poster person for vintage Wall Street piggery, but Gutfreund’s got a point. What new worldview is being proposed? How do we make change happen? What should we be doing?

On Halloween of 1517, Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Hammer—boom. Nail—boom. The Protestant Reformation—boom. How’s that for change?

I’m not sure there’s one person (like Martin Luther, or Martin Luther King Jr., for that matter) these days who knows the 95 things (or 45 things or even just five things) that have to happen in order for meaningful change to come right now. But I absolutely believe that there are 95 people who each have the potential to figure out one important thing that needs to happen, and that together these powerful gestures of practical, personal activism can get us where we need to go.

That’s because revolution is, at its heart, a deeply personal and intensely creative act. It’s not what happens in the streets; it’s what happens at your desk, in front of your computer, when everything you believe in converges with everything you’re capable of and something new is created—an idea, a process, an instrument—that actualizes change.

This moment in our shared history presents us with an extraordinary opportunity to be a part of what I call an “innova-lution,” the unleashing of our individual genius to identify the challenges, innovate solutions, and instigate change from the bottom up. We each have the assets to make this happen; the soft assets (values, passion, and creative abilities) and the hard assets (strengths, skills, and expertise). We have unimaginably powerful community-building tools at our disposal. And given our acute dissatisfaction with the status quo, surely we ought to have the motivation too.

The “Marianne” of OWS hasn’t been camped in Zuccotti Park or picketing the White House. Instead, 22-year-old Molly Katchpole put her passion and progressive values to work alongside her sharp communication skills and launched a viral petition against Bank of America from her laptop, a feat of practical, personal activism that within weeks caused the big bank to abandon its plan to charge customers $5 monthly debit fees. Boom.

What can you do to jump-start the “innova-lution” in your own life?

Make it personal. People want to hear stories that relate to their own lives. Thrashing and railing against “big banks” or “the government” or “society” isn’t nearly as effective as naming the individual characters in the story (Bank of America and Molly herself, for example) and making it very clear to people how this also is their story (you know, how they, too, were about to start paying $60 a year for the pleasure of accessing their own money). Identify the people, organizations, or institutions you’re talking about by name. Complain about “Congress” or “Washington” and even your closest allies will turn down the volume and quit listening to you. Complain effectively about a particular party (Congressman So-and-So, CEO Such-and-Such, or Organization ABC)—and use all the sharpest tools you’ve got to spread your story—and I guarantee that particular party will be listening.

Make it practical. Sometimes being a leader is as simple as just showing people what you want them to do. Telling someone to “fight” or “protest” isn’t nearly as useful as telling them exactly how to gather 50 signatures or make 50 calls. On YouTube, Ransackedroom’s “Keep Wall Street Occupied (Part 1)” showed simply and clearly how to engage in a meaningful “dialogue” with the financial institutions by returning their junk mail and credit-card solicitations with a little message inside. You’d be shocked how many people want to help, but just need you to give them something to do.

Make it a priority. Don’t wait for something to happen; make something happen yourself. Don’t look around for something to join; take the lead and ask others to join you. Engage your genius tribe and pool your powers to initiate the ripples of change. Just remember that every day the forces you’re fighting have your inertia in their favor, so don’t put off until tomorrow the movement you need to start today.